Is this cutting board a wood movement problem?

[Edwin Santos]

A friend of mine sent me a link to these tony cutting boards made by the owner of Taylor guitars under the brand Stella Falone. At first glance, it looked to me like there could be a wood movement problem judging from the thickness of the outer Ebony layers and the (supposedly) solid Mahogany core.
And they're laid up cross grain. But then I notice the Mahogany is mostly quarter sawn so maybe there would be minimal movement. What do you think?

I remember back in the day there used to be a type of plywood called lumber core where the core was edge glued lumber strips. So maybe this cutting board is based on the same principle just with thicker outer veneers?

For the largest size of these things (22"x18"x1.6") they're charging $479. Obviously aimed at a high end market.


464804

[Richard Coers]

I see hundreds of cutting boards at places like Reddit. I'm amazed at the size of those things. Who needs a 1.6" thick slab to cut on? Same with the 22x18". Our favorite cutting board is 6x12". You can cut up a pork loin, or cut a sandwich in half. I don't want to lift a 25 pound cutting board to cut celery or a sandwich!!!! Who needs more than 1/2" thickness to cut a loaf of bread?

[John TenEyck]

I think it will be fine, like lumber core plywood as you said. And they should last forever for what they are charging.

John

[Jim Becker]

I see hundreds of cutting boards at places like Reddit. I'm amazed at the size of those things. Who needs a 1.6" thick slab to cut on? Same with the 22x18". Our favorite cutting board is 6x12". You can cut up a pork loin, or cut a sandwich in half. I don't want to lift a 25 pound cutting board to cut celery or a sandwich!!!! Who needs more than 1/2" thickness to cut a loaf of bread?
Purely a subjective thing, Richard. Functionally, you are correct...major thickness isn't required for general cutting. A heavier board does stay put better, however. And for end-grain designs, there's no getting away from a little thicker to accommodate better glue surfaces between the "blocks".

[George Yetka]

I see hundreds of cutting boards at places like Reddit. I'm amazed at the size of those things. Who needs a 1.6" thick slab to cut on? Same with the 22x18". Our favorite cutting board is 6x12". You can cut up a pork loin, or cut a sandwich in half. I don't want to lift a 25 pound cutting board to cut celery or a sandwich!!!! Who needs more than 1/2" thickness to cut a loaf of bread?


If you entertain and grill a lot big is good. I usually go 12x18 but that is super crowded with just 4 steaks. Agreed I wouldnt go for it to cut up 1 cucumber though.
I have these for small stuff
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TJMPRE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Assuming all grain is running in the same direction it should be good

[Edwin Santos]

Purely a subjective thing, Richard. Functionally, you are correct...major thickness isn't required for general cutting. A heavier board does stay put better, however. And for end-grain designs, there's no getting away from a little thicker to accommodate better glue surfaces between the "blocks".

Agree, it's totally subjective. In my case, I have a tendency to chop a lot of ingredients into little piles on the cutting board, and then hold it with one hand over my pot or pan and scrape the ingredients in with the knife in the other hand. This would not be easy at all if it were a monster thick board. I've known other chefs who portion their prep into monkey dishes in which case it doesn't matter. It depends on the way you cook.
The big heavy boards do make a statement though.

[Edwin Santos]

Assuming all grain is running in the same direction it should be good

But here the grain is not running in the same direction. They've crossbanded the outer layers against the core.

[George Yetka]

I see I didnt realize. It still better than end/edge. Should be limited

[johnny means]

If it's built the way it looks, it's toast. It's going to move. The question is, what's going to give?

[Jim Becker]

Relative to wood movement, those outer layers do not appear to be very thick, so that alone could help minimize wood movement challenges with the cross grain. In fact, aside from the cross grain, the item pictured is put together like many solid body guitars are built...a mahogany or sapele core and a .25" to .5" thick cap of figured material; sometimes only on the front and sometimes both sides, depending on the specific instrumenet.

I really like that they are taking waste from their regular production and putting it to use rather than sending it to the landfill as many production operations might do.

[Cassius Nielsen]

That cutting board seem like a bad decision to me. Ebony is great for a knife handle, terrible for a knife edge, there's .5ish inch thick face grain waiting to get split by a cleaver, and $479?! Would work well as a fancy charcuterie board. Wood movement would be the least of my worries.

[Andrew Hughes]

I think it’s a waste of ebony and mahogany. A proper cutting board is maple with the grain vertical.
Heres a look at the world famous cutting board with a pocket. Designed by the world famous woodworking artist me.:)
What we have here is a meat side and a vegetable side. 2 for 1

[Jim Becker]

One thing to consider...many "cutting boards" like this are not really "users". They are decorative by their nature and also great to use as serving pieces a la charcuterie. For actual prep work, I prefer a plain, sturdy maple board.

[John TenEyck]

Seems some of you haven't learned about cross laminated timber yet. Well, now you have: https://www.apawood.org/cross-laminated-timber

John

[Alan Lightstone]

My experience in making cutting boards for friends is that end grain boards get used, face grain boards are "too pretty" and become decorative items. I've actually thought of making crappier designs to get them to be used, but gave up. :(

Strange looking cutting board, though. Never seen one like that. :confused:

[Jim Becker]

Strange looking cutting board, though. Never seen one like that. :confused:

I actually like the inherent finger hold all the way around because of how they did a radiused recess of the core material. That's really great for serving purposes which is frankly, how I'd use that particular board if I owned one.

[Mark Hennebury]

That's not a cutting board......

464882

[Edwin Santos]

I think it’s a waste of ebony and mahogany.


Andrew,
I would not call it a waste of anything. If you have 4:52 and are inclined, here's the how and why video Bob Taylor put out on the cutting boards.
https://vimeo.com/584960177/2a3f62bcc1?key=%40EVmhj8GaEFZ3ZiKwmGrKpw%3D%3D

The cliff's notes - the wood they are using is the waste after milling the ebony for guitar and instrument parts. Rather than see it languish in Cameroon and go to waste, they came up with the cutting board idea. It all looks very sustainable and responsible.
Not promoting these cutting boards, nor do I plan to buy one, but I thought it was worth pointing out that it's not wasteful. Their stickering and manufacturing process looks sophisticated too. I wonder what type of glue they are using.

[John TenEyck]

No, it's about 150 of them.

John

[Tom Bender]

The cross grained panels are just big plywood which works by staying mostly dry and by using thin (restrainable) plys.

Guitars may get built that way but they rarely get run thru the dishwasher. This is a recipe for failure.

[Mark Bolton]

Andrew,
I would not call it a waste of anything. If you have 4:52 and are inclined, here's the how and why video Bob Taylor put out on the cutting boards.
https://vimeo.com/584960177/2a3f62bcc1?key=%40EVmhj8GaEFZ3ZiKwmGrKpw%3D%3D

The cliff's notes - the wood they are using is the waste after milling the ebony for guitar and instrument parts. Rather than see it languish in Cameroon and go to waste, they came up with the cutting board idea. It all looks very sustainable and responsible.
Not promoting these cutting boards, nor do I plan to buy one, but I thought it was worth pointing out that it's not wasteful. Their stickering and manufacturing process looks sophisticated too. I wonder what type of glue they are using.

Stellar video Edwin. That was pretty awesome to watch all the way around, the responsible harvesting/planting job creation, then there the tooling, super cool Fadal milling center and a Mirka Deros lol. Great video. Thanks.