New Cutting Board Out the Door

[Saga Dan]

Just shipped a new cutting board out yesterday.  Largest to date.  24" x 24" x 3".  Also the first time I have had to purchase wood in a couple of years for this one.  Tried to talk them into maple, something I have an abundance of, but they wanted a darker wood so walnut it was.  Little surprised that after the wooden shipping box the whole thing tipped the scales at 67lbs.  Little bit more expensive, shipping it across the country, than I originally thought but still worth it.

  

 

[wndwlkr65]

That's really nice. Good job !

[low_48]

Looks pretty, but aren't you ignoring the law of seasonal wood movement? Cross grain in the middle, and then the solid frame all around? It'll be interesting what happens about Feb. I'd expect lots of cracking.

[Den Socling]

X2 but it sure looks nice now.

[5quarter]

Shouldn't be a problem if they use it and care for it properly. Woodenware lives in a dynamic environment. it should be washed in hot water frequently, allowed to surface dry and recoated with butchers wax, mineral oil or even a good olive oil. As long as your customer uses it and takes care of it, it should be just fine.
BTW... how do you surface your cutting boards? do you have a wide belt sander?

[teakwood]

I agree with low 48. I dont know how much difference you have were you live but here in the tropics i have to considerate the humidity changes from dry to wetseason in every piece of furniture i make.  In dryseason wood goes down to 10% and in rainseason it goes back up to 16%. every half year it changes and it doesnt matter if its waxed or varnished or whatever,  wood breathe

[Saga Dan]

Should be fine in terms of seasonal changes...I hope...  Wood was dry and it is going to a dry environment in southern California.  I do not anticipate a great deal of movement since there should be limited long term exposure to high humidity.  I hope it gets a great deal of use and they keep it up with oil and wax to ensure a long life. 
I like to take extra time in getting everything flat and true upon glue up then use a series of belt and random orbital sander.  But the most important part is to be patient. 

[low_48]

Sorry 5quarter, but care will not stop wood movement. You can't fool Mother Nature! I'm not talking about wood needing oil, I'm talking about changes at a cellular level.  https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-163.pdf

[5quarter]

   Sorry low 48, but experience says otherwise. I have about a dozen bread and cheese boards that have been in service at the local winery for almost 7 years (All similar to Saga Dans design) and other than being marked up by serrated knives used to slice bread, they're as good as the day they left my shop.
   Thanks for the PDF, but I  already have a fairly clear understanding of how wood moves over time. Since wood shrinks much less along its length than it does along its width or depth you might expect that seasonal increases in EMC would cause the corners of the cutting board to gap. likewise, at a lower EMCs  the end grain blocks may pull away from the edges.
   First, you are assuming that there are seasonal changes. The ability to control both temp and humidity in an indoor environment has greatly reduced the effect of seasonal changes indoors. few homes are without air conditioning and a Humidistat.
   Second, we assume that Dan knew enough to use wood that had already reached the EMC found in most indoor environments, so any change in EMC from his home to someone elses home would be negligible.
   Third, the use of oil or wax is not to stop the movement of moisture in or out of the wood, but to slow it down. ever see what happens to a cutting board of any type, especially an end grain one, that has been washed and left on the counter overnight to dry? it dries alright; on the top only. I suppose you can imagine the result. anyhow, as long as Dans customer takes care of her new favorite kitchen thingy, it should be just fine.
   As an aside, humans fool Mother Nature all the time...never makes the news. But every so often Mother Nature strikes back. That does make the news.  ;)

   BTW dan...I have been using a home made  2 plane Router sled to flatten my end grain boards. It's small and can only do about 16"x32", but it sure does a great job. very little block sanding to a perfect surface. at some point I'd like to build a much larger one to flatten large slabs and tabletops.

[low_48]

You don't think the wood is going to move from the EMC in Detroit to Southern Ca? Are your bread and cheese boards 2' square and 3" thick?

[Saga Dan]

Low_48 I know there is a difference in RH% form Minnesota to Dry Southern California.  I am also not trying to start anything either.  I have several cutting boards that have a combination of end and edge grain that have weathered quite a few extremes and have not ripped itself apart or exploded.

The point that I was making is the wood has been kiln dried stored climate controlled indoors and the cutting board was produced in a shop with an average temp of 68* and 45%humidity.  I know that wood moves and things need to be produced to accommodate that fact.  Knowing this was being sent to a dry environment I wanted the wood to be "dry".  I looked at the climate averages for the location and based upon that data for the month of November the EMC should be in the 6.0 - 7.9 range.  This would be if it were kept outside of course and the wood was respirating and able to match the current air temp and relative humidity in realtime as it fluctuates.  Without probing every piece of wood that I put in the project, taking a representative sample, I found the moisture content of all the pieces to be roughly 6.8.  By looking through the seasonal averages of temp and humidity while taking into account the average rainfall of less than 5" per year.  Cross-referenceing the EMC of Outdoor wood in Table 2 of the US Forest Service document for Yuma, AZ, the closest City listed, having a yearly outdoor EMC average of 7.275 with a range of 5.6 - 8.7.  I do feel fairly confident that if they do not let this cook in the sun and take reasonable care of it as directed that it will hold together. 

5quarter-  I may have to look into fabricating a router-sled like you suggest.  I would also be able to be used to true some cupped and twisted boards or slabs.