bushwacked Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Always a fun topic So I have a work craft show that they let employees sign up for for free so I figured why not. I could turn some pens and make some cutting boards and maybe some bandsaw boxes and other smaller things. So I was going to try to put some other cool looking woods together along with the basics. I was going to use walnut, maple, cherry, oak ... but was hoping to get a few others in there like pecan or sapele and maybe some other you all know of?? Thoughts? I am mainly asking because these people wouldnt know quality wood if I beat them over the head with some 8/4 figured walnut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Despite using a range of materials, people mostly go for the maple and walnut variable checkerboard in my experience. Might be a west coast thing(?). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 I think I've used just about every species of wood that's ever been in my shop in a cutting board at some point. The only exception would be ebony for obvious reasons. I've done the "chaotic" boards that have a little of everything in them as well as more traditional boards with odd accents to them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted October 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 good to know there is not a limitation on them. I will take a look and get some grainy woods as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eric. Posted October 3, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 I would pass on the "grainy" woods like oak and hickory, ash, pecan, etc. Not only can they potentially trap bacteria in their large pores, IMO they don't even look that good as end grain. Stick with maple, cherry, walnut and dense exotics. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted October 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 18 minutes ago, Eric. said: I would pass on the "grainy" woods like oak and hickory, ash, pecan, etc. Not only can they potentially trap bacteria in their large pores, IMO they don't even look that good as end grain. Stick with maple, cherry, walnut and dense exotics. got any recommendations on a few dense exotics that are not going to break the bank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 1 minute ago, bushwacked said: got any recommendations on a few dense exotics that are not going to break the bank? Nope. LOL Purpleheart is fairly cheap for a dense exotic. Of course it's purple. I usually just use my scraps. I'm not gonna lay down real money for expensive exotics just to hack them up into little squares. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted October 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 true, I dont want to throw down a lot of money either ... I may take a look at purplheart and if not stick with the basics and mix those around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Yea, I do the same as Eric.. They're just shop scraps.. I don't usually buy material to make a cutting board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 I know walnut is widely accepted for use in cutting boards, and I've used it in probably every board I've made, but it's got open pores too. I've never really understood why it's acceptable and other porous woods are not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 21 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: I know walnut is widely accepted for use in cutting boards, and I've used it in probably every board I've made, but it's got open pores too. I've never really understood why it's acceptable and other porous woods are not. Not nearly as open as oak, especially red oak. Hickory also has huge pores. I'd put walnut about halfway between cherry and oak. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 What about allergen risks? don't some woods pose a bit of a health concern? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 I would recommend not eating the cutting board and using it to cut on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 7 minutes ago, Isaac Gaetz said: What about allergen risks? don't some woods pose a bit of a health concern? Meh. Only when you breathe the dust. I know some people get in a twist over some trace toxin in cocobolo, but I've yet to be personally effected by it or know anyone who has. The chances of ingesting enough of anything toxic in the common species we have available to us are slim to none. Now certain people do have severe allergies to certain species...but again, I wouldn't really be concerned about that unless I was breathing the dust. Or otherwise ingesting the wood through some other orifice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 1 minute ago, Eric. said: Or otherwise ingesting the wood through some other orifice. In which case your allergy would be the least of your worries. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 32 minutes ago, Isaac Gaetz said: What about allergen risks? don't some woods pose a bit of a health concern? Woodworkers have been killing people with cutting boards for millennia. I just prefer Corian or UHMW cutting boards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 18 minutes ago, Immortan D said: Woodworkers have been killing people with cutting boards for millennia. I just prefer Corian or UHMW cutting boards. Would you drag a plane iron over a rock? If not, then why would you drag your kitchen knives over one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Gixxerjoe04 Posted October 3, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 58 minutes ago, Isaac Gaetz said: What about allergen risks? don't some woods pose a bit of a health concern? If i were him, I'd use cocobolo and any other potentially toxic woods, I mean, if a couple coworkers get knocked off, could mean a promotion!!!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDrow Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 1 hour ago, Immortan D said: Woodworkers have been killing people with cutting boards for millennia. I just prefer Corian or UHMW cutting boards. UC Davis did a long-term study on this... they started out researching how to disinfect wood surfaces to be as safe as plastic but they found that wood is already safer than plastic... An exerpt: Quote Our research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. Our safety concern was that bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, which might contaminate a work surface when raw meat was being prepared, ought not remain on the surface to contaminate other foods that might be eaten without further cooking. We soon found that disease bacteria such as these were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts. Although the bacteria that have disappeared from the wood surfaces are found alive inside the wood for some time after application, they evidently do not multiply, and they gradually die. They can be detected only by splitting or gouging the wood or by forcing water completely through from one surface to the other. If a sharp knife is used to cut into the work surfaces after used plastic or wood has been contaminated with bacteria and cleaned manually, more bacteria are recovered from a used plastic surface than from a used wood surface. http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 53 minutes ago, MisterDrow said: UC Davis did a long-term study on this... they started out researching how to disinfect wood surfaces to be as safe as plastic but they found that wood is already safer than plastic... An exerpt: http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm Yeah, there is study for everything. Still synthetic materials are easier to disinfect with bleach and hot water after cutting raw meat. A wooden cutting board will look messy after using either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 7 minutes ago, Immortan D said: Yeah, there is study for everything. Still synthetic materials are easier to disinfect with bleach and hot water They have proven this false. This is why wood and stainless are allowed in two different types of food prep. Plastic is not. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post xxdabroxx Posted October 3, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 I've cut a lot of raw meat on a wooden cutting board. Haven't died yet. YMMV 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wdwerker Posted October 3, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 Years ago the USDA, Forrest service , or one of those agencies did a similar study and wood cutting boards were declared safer than the plastic ones. End grain cutting boards last longer and develop fewer deep cuts that might harbor bacteria. Corian will dull your knives quickly . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdabroxx Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 1 minute ago, wdwerker said: Years ago the USDA, Forrest service , or one of those agencies did a similar study and wood cutting boards were declared safer than the plastic ones. End grain cutting boards last longer and develop fewer deep cuts that might harbor bacteria. Corian will dull your knives quickly . And wood just looks better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Coop Posted October 4, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 41 minutes ago, xxdabroxx said: I've cut a lot of raw meat on a wooden cutting board. Haven't died yet. YMMV Just wait 80 - 90 years, you'll regret it 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.