Cutting Board Blues...

[Kaptan J.W. Meek]

Ok, I have to admit, this simple project is now in the scrap pile, probably because of my own stupidity..
I built a cutting board for a friend of mine. I used 1-1/2" strips of Hard Maple, 1/4 sawn Red Oak, Jatoba, and hard Cherry. I jointed the sides, planed the tops, drilled 3 holes in each strip for reinforcment rods, and glued it all up using Titebond III. I installed the 1/4" threaded rods added washers and recessed the holes tightened it all up and plugged the holes with pieces of dowl. It looked great.. I smoothed it out with my belt sander, and rounded the edges with the router, and was sanding it with 320 on my R-O sander, and it started to split. First the Jatoba, then the cherry. I thought the jatoba was a very hard wood, and wouldn't move, I was worried about the cherry, but I figured with the strips and the threaded rods running through it, I'd be ok.. Anyone want to tell me what went wrong?... The wood wasn't wet. It had been cut into 2x2 strips for months...

[John D. Thompson]

Ok, I have to admit, this simple project is now in the scrap pile, probably because of my own stupidity..
I built a cutting board for a friend of mine. I used 1-1/2" strips of Hard Maple, 1/4 sawn Red Oak, Jatoba, and hard Cherry. I jointed the sides, planed the tops, drilled 3 holes in each strip for reinforcment rods, and glued it all up using Titebond III. I installed the 1/4" threaded rods added washers and recessed the holes tightened it all up and plugged the holes with pieces of dowl. It looked great.. I smoothed it out with my belt sander, and rounded the edges with the router, and was sanding it with 320 on my R-O sander, and it started to split. First the Jatoba, then the cherry. I thought the jatoba was a very hard wood, and wouldn't move, I was worried about the cherry, but I figured with the strips and the threaded rods running through it, I'd be ok.. Anyone want to tell me what went wrong?... The wood wasn't wet. It had been cut into 2x2 strips for months...

Hi Kaptan,

All I can tell you is that, while Jatoba is very hard and dense, it is also moves a LOT in response to changes in moisture content. Perhaps the friction/heat from the sanding?

Sorry to learn of your loss.
JT

[Mike Armstrong]

Wood will move. You're not going to stop it. I think your reinforcement rods are the problem. Since you've limited movement in one direction with the rods, the wood cells are forced to move perpendicular to the rods. All the cutting boards I've made have just been glued up and I don't know of any that failed yet. Since you haven't been able to apply a finish yet, the shrinkage/growth may occur slightly faster than when there is a finish, but it's gonna move either way. Just take the rods out and go ahead and complete the project. You should be fine.

It could be worse. I had a friend make a beautiful cutting board out of various exotic woods, but he framed it. He barely had it completed before it busted the frame apart.:(

Mike

[Kaptan J.W. Meek]

Well, I'm gonna rip out the jatoba, and the cherry, and just go back with all the maple and at least try to use the oak pieces that are glued to the maple that I have.. they havn't started to split.. I could understand the jataoba spliting away from the maple and cherry if it was moving, but it split in the middle of each strip. along a grain line.. I dunno.. Thanks for lookin' anyway..