Woods suitable for a cutting board

[weithman5]

so after swapping some emails, an allergist, has confirmed my suspicions.  I will try to summarize.

 

 

1  the nut allergies that lead to anaphylaxis from the food are caused by proteins in the nuts. and not found in the wood.  some of these proteins could be found in the nut oil.  (hence a walnut oil finish if derived from nuts could be an issue)

 

2.  the wood, oils derived from the wood, would have a different reaction such as dermatitis, irritation etc.  this can be problematic and severe on its own such as Bob above describes his symptoms.  It is still different from a food related allergy.  That said people can be allergic to interesting things that cause allergic reactions and even an anaphylactic reaction.  just saying an allergy to walnuts, does not confer an associated allergy to walnut. (I checked three times to make sure the "s" was in the right spot)

 

3.  there could be some unique exceptions. particularly he referenced an occupational asthma induced by plicatic acid. he thinks this is found from types of cedar.  could be found in other woods as well.

 

bottom line.

 making a cutting board out of walnut is not likely to induce any problem in most people with an allergy to walnuts

[solo1001]

So I picked up about 6.5 board feet each of 8/4 sapele and hard maple today.  He milled it before I got there and I grabbed it and brought it home.  Please keep in mind that I am a novice with a couple of projects under my belt but still fairly naive when I ask this: I measured the thickness when I got home and the sapele is 1 11/16 thick and the maple is 1 13/16 thick.  I'm trying to make end grain cutting boards.  a) don't I need them to be pretty much the same thickness, especially since I have no milling equipment of my own and I'd rather not use a router jig if I can avoid it and can I take that to someone and have them reasonably mill them to even thicknesses?  Thank you.

[..Kev]

Cut your strips on the table saw and then flip each strip and cut again on the table saw so they are the same thickness.

[solo1001]

Cut your strips on the table saw and then flip each strip and cut again on the table saw so they are the same thickness.

 

Thank you.  I wish I thought with that side of my brain because when you put it like that it just seems like such common sense.

[..Kev]

Thank you.  I wish I thought with that side of my brain because when you put it like that it just seems like such common sense.

 

No worries, happy to help!  I look forward to seeing your creations!

[bob493]

so after swapping some emails, an allergist, has confirmed my suspicions.  I will try to summarize.

 

 

1  the nut allergies that lead to anaphylaxis from the food are caused by proteins in the nuts. and not found in the wood.  some of these proteins could be found in the nut oil.  (hence a walnut oil finish if derived from nuts could be an issue)

 

2.  the wood, oils derived from the wood, would have a different reaction such as dermatitis, irritation etc.  this can be problematic and severe on its own such as Bob above describes his symptoms.  It is still different from a food related allergy.  That said people can be allergic to interesting things that cause allergic reactions and even an anaphylactic reaction.  just saying an allergy to walnuts, does not confer an associated allergy to walnut. (I checked three times to make sure the "s" was in the right spot)

 

3.  there could be some unique exceptions. particularly he referenced an occupational asthma induced by plicatic acid. he thinks this is found from types of cedar.  could be found in other woods as well.

 

bottom line.

 making a cutting board out of walnut is not likely to induce any problem in most people with an allergy to walnuts

 

Great information, thank you. 

[solo1001]

No worries, happy to help!  I look forward to seeing your creations!

This is a bit off-the specific subject of the thread but cutting board related.  I did what you said and flipped the thicker pieces over and cut to width and it worked beautifully so thank you.  I glued the strips last night with tightbond III and clamped and everything looked good.  I came out this morning and there were very tiny gaps in a couple of spots.  Couple of questions: I don't want to re-rip and re-glue just because my table saw skills are not up to that kind of precision so I'd most likely do the glue and sawdust patch.  How do I mix this as far as amounts?  This is a common sense and another one where I wish that side of my brain worked better but should I repair/patch those now and then make the cross cuts or should i cross cut, do my second glue-up and then fix any gaps?  If this requires its own thread, please let me know.

 

Incidentally, I got the Grripper and it worked great on the sapele but when pushing the maple through, several times the gripper started sliding along the wood instead of pushing the wood through.  Has anyone else ever experienced that?

[Scott Bailey]

This is a bit off-the specific subject of the thread but cutting board related.  I did what you said and flipped the thicker pieces over and cut to width and it worked beautifully so thank you.  I glued the strips last night with tightbond III and clamped and everything looked good.  I came out this morning and there were very tiny gaps in a couple of spots.  Couple of questions: I don't want to re-rip and re-glue just because my table saw skills are not up to that kind of precision so I'd most likely do the glue and sawdust patch.  How do I mix this as far as amounts?  This is a common sense and another one where I wish that side of my brain worked better but should I repair/patch those now and then make the cross cuts or should i cross cut, do my second glue-up and then fix any gaps?  If this requires its own thread, please let me know.

 

Incidentally, I got the Grripper and it worked great on the sapele but when pushing the maple through, several times the gripper started sliding along the wood instead of pushing the wood through.  Has anyone else ever experienced that?

I had the same problem on one of my boards and I just filled the gaps with epoxy and it came out fine, no finishing issues at all.  Marc has a video on the basic technique here http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/cutting-board-disaster/?category_name=techniques

[..Kev]

This is a bit off-the specific subject of the thread but cutting board related.  I did what you said and flipped the thicker pieces over and cut to width and it worked beautifully so thank you.  I glued the strips last night with tightbond III and clamped and everything looked good.  I came out this morning and there were very tiny gaps in a couple of spots.  Couple of questions: I don't want to re-rip and re-glue just because my table saw skills are not up to that kind of precision so I'd most likely do the glue and sawdust patch.  How do I mix this as far as amounts?  This is a common sense and another one where I wish that side of my brain worked better but should I repair/patch those now and then make the cross cuts or should i cross cut, do my second glue-up and then fix any gaps?  If this requires its own thread, please let me know.

 

Incidentally, I got the Grripper and it worked great on the sapele but when pushing the maple through, several times the gripper started sliding along the wood instead of pushing the wood through.  Has anyone else ever experienced that?

 

Sorry I missed this!  The epoxy would certainly work as would the CA glue trick as long as the cracks are very small.  Apply a little CA glue to the crack and sand without dust collection until the glue is dry and your crack is filled.

[Scott Bailey]

oi the CA glue idea is appealing, especially if the crack doesn't go all the way through. I had one fairly big gap that went all the way through the board so I did the epoxy/vac trick and it worked like a charm, but for smaller cracks I may use that CA technique, especially since the applicators on CA are usually nice and small, easier to get into the cracks.

[..Kev]

Glad it worked out the right way for you!

[wdwerker]

For a crack that goes all the way thru or on an edge you can use a shop vac to pull the epoxy into the crack from below. Just check to see when the glue is coming out the bottom.

[solo1001]

Thanks.  I found Marc's video soon after i asked the question and that worked on the crack but then there were a couple of glue holes that i patched with glue and sawdust and sanded out.  Worked pretty well.  I did learn the difference between patching with table sawdust and sander sawdust.  Overall it turned out better than my first cutting board and the sapele really showed up well.

[..Kev]

Looks awesome!

[Martin Crawley]

On 6/13/2011 at 9:29 PM, Whitebeam said:

My timber selection basis for any food related item swings on a few points.

 

1) Exotics, as a general rule I shy away exotics, at least until I know of examples of their being used.

 

2) Oily woods, I stay away from these because usually the oil transfer a taint to the food.

 

3) Ring porous woods, Oak and hickory are examples, the open grain on these woods is a potential trap for food particles and the oils from dressings and so forth to get left in the wood and carry over into the next time.

 

4) Acidic woods, Oak again, spanish / sweet chestnut and Robinia / locust are examples. The oak at least has high levels of tannin and the others the same or other acid content but such woods will usually stain when in contact with iron and can be fumed with ammonia to change their color. Again, likely to taint the food and potentially react with some foods.

 

Thus, I would usually stick to a range of woods that include the following:

 

Beech, Maple, birch, fruit woods, and holly as the main ones. As a means of selecting suitable wood, consider those that have little or no fragrance, are close grained and free of knots.

 

There are exceptions to the above but this is what I fall back on when in doubt.

 

Ben

Awesome post, thanks. Anything first principles really helps. Thanks again

[Brendon_t]

3 minutes ago, Martin Crawley said:

Awesome post, thanks. Anything first principles really helps. Thanks again

Keep in mind those are by no means hard and fast rules. There are many many woods you can use for a cutting board.  

If you are using a film forming finish like general finishes salad bowl finish, I have no issue using white oak in cutting boards.

I often use W. Oak, Birch, Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Padeuk, Ppl Heart, mahogany, Holly in cutting boards. 

[Mycrossover]

I'm curious - no one has mentioned bamboo. I've seen bamboo cutting boards in dept. stores lately. Does anyone know how it comes or even if you can get it anywhere?

I have few store bought ones. They are pieced together from little pieces in three layers A piece fell out on the edge of the middle layer. It was like the lowest grade of plywood you ever saw. There was more air than bamboo in there, a bunch if scraps looseIy spaced. Only the outer layers were complete. I made a replacement piece from an old chopstick and cemented it in with JB Weld Still holding. Technically bamboo is not wood, it is a grass. I guess you could plane the surface finish off a plank of bamboo flooring. Bamboo, I believe, is considered to be pretty hard. I tried mineral oil/ bee's wax and it does not seem to be very porous or really absorb it.

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[Mycrossover]

I agree but there are also other safe woods, as i see maple is traditionally used in north america but here in europe the traditional wood for kitchen tools is beech and in souther Italy (and i think in all the mediterranean shores) it is olive tree...

I think that if our ancestors used them for centuries maple, beech and olive are reasonably safe, it would be interesting to know what woods are used in india, china or south america...

I have an olive stirring spoon. It has a beautiful color and grain but the wood is very expensive I think it would be more widely used but for that.

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[Mycrossover]

That is surprising. They sell walnut oil as a cutting board finish, because it dries. The oil comes from the nuts. In fact, walnut oil is sold as a food item, next to the other cooking and salad oils.

the allergy issue to walnut I find interesting.  typically it is the nut that people have an allergy too.  I wonder what percentage of people with tree nut allergies actually are allergic to the wood.

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[wdwerker]

If your cutting board has voids in the core I would strongly suggest putting it in the burn pit. Voids can soak up meat juices and lead to a breeding ground for bacteria. 

[wtnhighlander]

Regarding bamboo cutting boards, I think it isn't practical to make one from raw bamboo. I've seem some 'how its made' type shows about bamboo flooring and other bamboo products. There is a TON of work that goes into transforming those round, hollow tubes into flat 'boards'. I suspect the product is so hard because it is composed of more resin than plant fiber.