John.Lamia Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 I made a cutting board out of hard maple and purpleheart, followed all the steps from the two youtube videos. This is my second board. The first one was given to my mother, is used regularly, and looks like new. This is the 2nd one made for a friend. She insists she didn't put it in the dishwasher/use any odd product to clean it (just hot water). It's unbelievable warped. What causes this? Most importantly, did I screw up or was it her fault? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikbrown Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 I have a giant cherry board that does this as well. It's due to uneven moisture content. If you only use one side of the board and wash that side, then that side will have more moisture in it, and thus cup I solve this problem by constantly flipping my boards. I use one side and wash it, once it dries the board will have cupped and will no longer sit flat. So I flip the board over and use the other side and wash it. this usually causes the board to cup the other way. If you ever wash a side, and then place the wet side down, the board will cup drastically because all the water goes into the wood as opposed to evaporating! Theoretically if you wash both sides every time you use it, and then dry it standing on its edge, then the doard shouldn't cup much, as the water content of both sides of the wood will remain about the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 One other possibility is similar to it getting placed on one face (probably the way the photo is) after being washed: it gets placed in a section of the counter that has moisture while it is in use. All of my cutting boards get stored on edge, instead of face, which limits the cupping to merely dishwasher damage. (Before anybody yells at me for the dishwasher, it needs to go there because I have people in the house that do not clean the cutting boards right away... and I find them at the bottom of the sink after a week. I'm a torture test for pretty much anything at this stage, as I've just gone through three cutting boards and two cars in the past year.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 Solution ... only build cutting boards bigger than what your dishwasher can take and bigger than your sink One other possibility is similar to it getting placed on one face (probably the way the photo is) after being washed: it gets placed in a section of the counter that has moisture while it is in use. All of my cutting boards get stored on edge, instead of face, which limits the cupping to merely dishwasher damage. (Before anybody yells at me for the dishwasher, it needs to go there because I have people in the house that do not clean the cutting boards right away... and I find them at the bottom of the sink after a week. I'm a torture test for pretty much anything at this stage, as I've just gone through three cutting boards and two cars in the past year.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillaume Breton Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 put some rubber legs under the board. if not, only the top will dry, both side need to be in contact with the air. also, if you do so, you obviously will have a top and a bottom. you will need to seal that wood on both sides. wait for the board to come back to its original flatness (it will give it time) what i do for end grain cutting boards is i dilute some pour -n wipe (oil/varnish wipe on poly) with a little bit of mineral spirits, i apply a generous coat on 1 side, and WET SAND IT before it hardens. So, apply, no waiting, sand with like a 400 grit sandpaper to make fine saw dust, then quickly wipe off the excess. let dry, and do it on the other side. that way, almost no finish will stay on the surface and it will seal the wood so nicely warping will never happen again. Then, once both sides are sealed, go back to mineral oil as your top coat. its safe imo. solvents evaporate, the resin and oil gets into the wood, and the top coat will be the coat that will touch the food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethhoover Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 I have noticed also with the boards I have made, the thinner the board, the more moisture related movement it has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zapdafish Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 how about new knives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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