Cutting board and wood movement

[Dave Falkenstein]

A while back I bought two bamboo cutting boards from Amazon. After they arrived I saw that there were several cracks in the center section of both boards along the glue lines. I complained to Amazon, and they gave me a small credit to compensate me for the poor quality, as they were unable to replace the boards. I decided to fix the boards, so I cut the ends off and cut along the several cracks using my table saw. I reglued and clamped each of the cracked joints and glued the ends on - I did not use any type of breadboard joint - just glue. We have been using these boards for several months and it has surprised me to see that no new cracks have developed. Of course, the boards see a lot of water and moisture in daily use. I wonder why the wood movement has not caused any new cracks, especially since I glued the ends???

[Norman Hitt]

Dave, I'm sure no expert on this, but I would hazard a wild guess, and maybe someone will jump in and give us the true facts and tell me I'm all WET.:D

I would think that the reason the cracks developed originally was that the bamboo was not fully dried and was still shrinking in some areas, thus causing the cracking. When Bamboo is fully dried though, it seems to be exceptionally stable and very resistant to moisture absorption and shows minimal swelling, (if any), which I think would pretty well eliminate any further cracking caused by movement.

Anyhow, that's my story 'N I'ma stickin' to it.:rolleyes:

[Vaughn McMillan]

Dave, I think Norman hit the nail on the head. I'm guessing some mass-produced bamboo products from Asia are likely done before the material has fully dried, plus, it's likely coming from a more humid environment. As Norman said, once it stabilizes, it should stay put for you. I've had the same experience with a multi-hardwood cutting board my mom and dad brought back from a Panama Canal cruise. I don't recall the Central American country it came from, but within a month it had cracked badly in three places. Now that it's been here in the drier California climate for a year or so, it hasn't moved any more, and one of these days when I have a lull in shop projects I'll do just what you did and re-cut the board. (I'll probably add a bit to it too, knowing me.)

- Vaughn