First stab .... chop?...at cutting boards

[wtnhighlander]

Ok, so I chickened out on fancy end grain and wavy stripes. I was afraid of a total failure leaving me without enough time to start over before Christmas.

Anyway, here are a couple of edge grain, reversible boards, made from walnut and mulberry. Finished with a commercial beeswax / mineral oil blend.

Sorry the lighting is poor. Tried using the flash, but it came out kinda green...

Here's a better shot of one board, showing the grain:

Thanks for looking.

[..Kev]

Those look great bud!  Maybe you can try the other stuff when you have more time..  Looking at these, I'm pretty sure you won't have any issues pulling it off.

[AstroDave]

Very nice! I like the perpendicular grain arrangement.

[RichardA]

You do damn nice work neighbor  Keep it up.   Well done, or should I say "Ya done good" for a Tennessee redneck!

[TerryMcK]

Yes very nice work. The contrasting timbers look good.

[pdjms1]

There is always beauty in simplicity.  Be proud of your work.  Art, consciousness, civilizations… all progress is all made one sequential step at a time.  Ok enough "Confucius says" these are great looking cutting boards and like Tidos says when you have time you can tackle those different styles.

[wdwerker]

It really looks good !

So no one has any concerns about the cross grain joint? I am guessing about a foot of walnut cross grain glued with a tongue and groove joint to the mulberry side pieces. What's going to happen when the walnut expands or contracts ? Maybe I tend to err on the side of caution?

If I did the math right the walnut could move between 1/4 to 1/2"

[Vyrolan]

So no one has any concerns about the cross grain joint?

 

LOL...that was my first thought when I saw the pictures but nobody else had said anything so I just assumed I was wrong and it was not a big deal. =p

[..Kev]

In the end, it's a cutting board.  If it does move and create a problem, it's a cheap lesson.

 

I'd be willing to bet he's not going to see that much movement tho.  

[wdwerker]

Could be. I would definitely keep it dry, well oiled and store it on edge. Time will tell.

[Eric.]

Definite concerns about the cross-grain.  It WILL fall apart...the question is, when.  The good news is, like Kev said...it's a cutting board...a long grain board at that.  Head out to the shop and have a new one in an hour.

[Eric.]

Strike that...taking a closer look, it appears he built them with "breadboard" ends.  I guess the question is if they're glued together or pegged from the bottom.

[weithman5]

i don't think i would worry much. and if it does fall apart in a year, clean up the joint and reassemble

[Rapid Roger]

I too thought about the cross grain situation. With all the talk about cross grain and face to end grain gluing here lately I was surprised to see those cutting boards.

I know there is movement in wood but by the same token the air temp and humidity in a house doesn't change that much these days. With the heating and air conditioning systems keep temps fairly constant and if you have a furnace with a humidifier and an AC system with a dehumidifier all should be well. 

However, seeing that dining room table with the huge crack scared the bejesus out of me!

I've  had fairly good luck in most of my projects with the exception of one chess board that I made with the frame (floating, not glued) too tight to the field and blew out one corner. I think my son stored it in a damp basement for awhile. I remade a frame and gave it a bit more room to float the field and all is well now.

 

Rog

[wtnhighlander]

Believe it or not, I considered movement in the cross grain joint, but figured that 10" of what is now "quarter sawn" walnut wouldn't move enough to matter. Especially considering the things are saturated with oil & beeswax.

Of course, if they end up in the dishwasher, all bets are off!

[wouldwurker]

I also thought it was done on purpose from a breadboard end perspective, no?

I guess that depends on the glue up?

Very pretty, by the way

[wtnhighlander]

 

LONG-TERM UPDATE:

 

 

Since there was a bit of controversy with regard to the cross-grain joints on these boards, I thought you all might like an uodate.

 

 

After 2 years of daily use (and appropriate cleaning / care), the board we kept is in excellent condition.

 

 

 

 

There has been no sanding or scraping, no refurbishment of any kind. Yes, it has knife marks, but no splintering. The wax/oil seems to keep the walnut a rich, deep brown. Sunlight has darkened the mulberry wonderfully.

 

 

And the joints are still intact. The walnut has shrunk maybe 1/64", just enough that I can catch the joint with a fingernail. Well within the limits of PVA creep, it seems.

 

 

Meanwhile, the one I gave my SIL is sitting on display in her kitchen, "too pretty to use". Now it looks like a dried-up piece of scrap lumber.

 

 

[Coop]

Na Na Na Na Na!!!!!

[Eric.]

12 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

Since there was a bit of controversy with regard to the cross-grain joints on these boards, I thought you all might like an uodate.

And the joints are still intact. The walnut has shrunk maybe 1/64", just enough that I can catch the joint with a fingernail. Well within the limits of PVA creep, it seems.

Patience, grasshopper.

[wouldwurker]

I'm still proud of everyone on the forum for not being a nerd hall monitor about food borne illness and open pore walnut.

Hey Ross - if you can confirm that nobody has died from using this cutting board, can we never discuss foodborne illness and cutting boards ever again?

Well done everyone.

[drzaius]

That's a beautiful board. But I would not take that kind of a chance. It's worked out well so far, but what if you move across the country & the climate is different? Or if for some reason that board were to go into non-conditioned storage for a period of time?

I know, that's a lot of ifs, but why take a change on something beautiful that you have created?

[mat60]

So far so good.  I like your work.   Sharp looking board.

[wtnhighlander]

I know, that's a lot of ifs, but why take a chance on something beautiful that you have created?

Because its just a cutting board?

[Pwk5017]

Good update. People freak about wood movement--in this case unnecessarily. I agree with your one response that your multiple strips of walnut  in a 10-12" width almost negates the cumulative expansion and contraction across the width. Personally, i wouldnt have run the boards perpendicular, but that is because i could have had the same aesthetic with 2-3 less steps involved. 

[wtnhighlander]

Personally, i wouldnt have run the boards perpendicular, but that is because i could have had the same aesthetic with 2-3 less steps involved. 

Do you mean that you would just use face grain boards? I cut strips and rotated them for glue-up because I wanted more thickness. Honestly, the edge grain doesn't look much different than the face did.