Tom Hammond
12-21-2011, 9:08 AM
I made a maple end-grain butcher block (24 x 30 x 2) a few weeks ago and it has been sitting un-oiled because of my work schedule. I've checked it every week or so, and it has been as flat as a smashed pancake. All of a sudden, in the last 48 hours... and, of course, just before I'm getting ready to oil it so I can give it to my wife for Christmas... it's developed a 3/32" hump.
I made the block by making 3/4" thick maple panels out of 1x2s, sanding smooth, cross-cutting into 2-inch strips, then gluing the strips together, alternating the matching joints. So, the pattern is a 'running bond.' The hump is consistent and goes all the way across the board, with the high point running parallel to the long joint line.
I had the board in my upstairs den for the past weeks and I am not sure how the humidity could have changed enough to cause this. I may have made one mistake in that I stored it flat, so one side was not exposed but the other side was. So, if it was a humidity issue... since I don't know now which side was up and which side was down... is the convex side or the concave side the one with the higher humidity? Since I discovered the hump, I've stored the board open on both sides, vertically, and the hump has subsided slightly to about 1/16"... but I can't tell you why. Very frustrating since it was dead flat for so long. ARGH!!
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I've got to oil this thing by tomorrow to have it ready for Christmas!
I made the block by making 3/4" thick maple panels out of 1x2s, sanding smooth, cross-cutting into 2-inch strips, then gluing the strips together, alternating the matching joints. So, the pattern is a 'running bond.' The hump is consistent and goes all the way across the board, with the high point running parallel to the long joint line.
I had the board in my upstairs den for the past weeks and I am not sure how the humidity could have changed enough to cause this. I may have made one mistake in that I stored it flat, so one side was not exposed but the other side was. So, if it was a humidity issue... since I don't know now which side was up and which side was down... is the convex side or the concave side the one with the higher humidity? Since I discovered the hump, I've stored the board open on both sides, vertically, and the hump has subsided slightly to about 1/16"... but I can't tell you why. Very frustrating since it was dead flat for so long. ARGH!!
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I've got to oil this thing by tomorrow to have it ready for Christmas!