How to correct a stupid mistake..?

[Niels J. Larsen]

I was planning to make an end-grain cuttingboard made up of small blocks of teak.

I milled the lumber on the jointer and planer and all was well...

At least so I thought until I made a dry run of the glue up :rolleyes:

*Someone* forgot to check that the faces of the lumber were perpendicular to each other before running it through the planer and then cutting it up into little piece. :o

So, now I have a whole bunch of small 2"x2"x2.5" pieces of teak that does not have right angles (seen from the end-grain), but are parallelograms.

I could dump them all into the bin and start over, but I feel it's too valuable to do that and would rather be able to correct my mistake.

However I cannot figure out how I can correct it safely, so this is where I need some help.

I don't have a table saw, a router table or a bench plane (for use in a shooting board), so how can I best fix this?
I do have a SCMS, but the pieces are too small for me to feel safe handling them with the saw.

Naturally I'm the first here on the 'Creek that have done this :D, so you'll probably have to come with theoretical suggestions...

Anyway - suggestions for a solution are VERY welcome!

/Niels

[Greg Cuetara]

Neils,
If all the pieces are cut at the same angles and are the same parallelograms could you just glue them up....either the lines woudln't match up which would make a unique pattern or make all the lines line up and then you would have to trim the cutting board after the fact to make it square...either that or have a parallelogram cutting board which again would be fairly unique....

you could always say that you did it on purpose to see how it would look
good luck with the fix
Greg

[Ken Shoemaker]

I'm sure you indented this "design element" and executed it perfectly... If anyone asks...;)

[Thomas Knapp]

You should be able to flip the blocks around so you have pieces the same angle meeting in opposite directions therefore canceling each other out. Or you can square the sides and the sizes on a disk sander with a jig.

[harry strasil]

FWIW, I am assuming SCMS is some kind of miter saw. You could make a simple cutting jig as shown at [A] and cut the first side, then roll over on that side and cut the second side. Then using a spacer [B] cut the other 2 sides so they would be square.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/irnsrgn/odd/squaringjig.jpg

[David DeCristoforo]

Your pieces of teak are now too small to remill safely or accurately enough. You could possibly do this (square up the edges) on a disk sander but you would need some kind of jig to hold the pieces and insure that they all end up the same size. If you decide to start over, may I suggest an alternate method? Cut your wood into strips first and glue up a "blank" with a width equal to that of the intended finished width of your block. Clean that up and then crosscut it into strips equal in width to the intended thickness of your block. Stand these on edge and assemble into a block. It will be much easier than trying to glue up all those small pieces.

YM

[Howard Acheson]

If I understand what you did, I would venture that you did not use the standard procedure for making this type of cutting board. Here is something that should help if you do another.

There is a little engineering that needs to be considered when building an end grain butcher block or cutting board. First, choose wood where the growth rings (viewed from the end) run as close to 90 degrees or parallel to one edge. Remember, the expansion/contraction is about double along the annular rings verses perpendicular to the rings. You've got to keep the grain running in the same direction as you glue up your strips. In other words, don't glue a flatsawn edge to a quartersawn edge.

Next, the way butcher blocks are made is to glue up strips of wood like you were making a laminated type cutting board. These laminated panels are then run through a planer to flatten them and bring them to equal thickness. Then the panel is crosscut into strips of blocks equal to the thickness that you want the butcher block to be. These block strips are then glued together again keeping the grain running in the same directions.

Not paying attention to the grain orientation will lead to the block cracking and/or joints being pulled apart.

A type II adhesive will work just fine however, you need to be sure you do everything right to get good adhesion. Your glue faces should be flat and freshly cut. It they were cut more than a few days earlier, freshen them up with about three swipes with 320 sandpaper and block to keep the faces flat.

Generally, threaded rod is not used as maple has quite a bit of movement when it's moisture content changes. Threaded rod would restrict this movement and either deform the block or pull the nut/washers into the wood when it expanded leaving the rod performing no function when the wood later shrinks. Proper gluing will keep the block together.

[Bill Huber]

This is what I would do, learn from what you did and start a new one.

Go take a look at Marc's video "A Cut Above (Pt 1)" and "A Cut Above (Pt 2)" on his web site. This is a very good step by step on end grain cutting boards. I made 30 if them last year and they all came out just fine.
http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/cutting


http://thewoodwhisperer.com/


82379

[Peter Quinn]

Not sure I would use Teak for a cutting board anyway...it makes a nice boat deck but nobody eats food prepared on a boat deck. Teak has oils that are best kept away from food as they tend to give many people alergic reactions. Maple is traditional not only because it is hard but because it is nuetral and safe for food preperation. Something to consider...

[Jason Scott]

This is what I would do, learn from what you did and start a new one.

Go take a look at Marc's video "A Cut Above (Pt 1)" and "A Cut Above (Pt 2)" on his web site. This is a very good step by step on end grain cutting boards. I made 30 if them last year and they all came out just fine.
http://www.pbase.com/wlhuber/cutting


http://thewoodwhisperer.com/


82379

I agree completely with Bill, I know it hurts, but in the end I think you will be happier, I have been there with cutting boards, I have a bin full of beautiful 2X2 walnut/maple scraps that b/c the cuts were not perfect, it threw off the design...The most important thing about a cutting board with a patter (like the one in my avatar) is precise meetings at the joints, other wise it looks bad...You can get away with a little bit off, I mean just a little, but any more than just a tiny bit you will not be happy with, start over and learn from the mistake...Good luck!

[Jim Becker]

If all the pieces are cut at the same angles and are the same parallelograms could you just glue them up....

Exactly...then it's a "design feature" and there never ever was a, umm... mistake... :)

[Bill Wyko]

What is described above will only be safe if you have a zero tollerance fence. It's like cutting pieces for a segmented turning. I cut very small pieces by using a hold down stick on the block.

[Niels J. Larsen]

Hmm, it seems I have to bite the bullet and bin it.

The angles are the same only on some of the pieces, so I cannot make a unique design.

I actually didn't think about aligning the grain - I thought only about arranging all the small pieces in a pretty pattern. I knew about the importance of grain direction when I built it, but didn't use that knowledge. Oh well, I'll much rather see the failure now before it's put to use, than have it crack on me later.

Regarding the choice of teak for a cutting board - is it *really* that bad?

It will be finished simply with vegetable oil anyway, so does it really mean anything what wood species I use - if we disregard the difference in hardness of different wood species?

I only used the teak because I had it in my stock and really didn't have anything better to use it for.
I've read about maple being widely used in cutting blocks for e.g. butchers, but personally I don't like the look of maple and this board was meant to be used only for cutting bread.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions so far!

/Niels

[John Fricke]

those 2x2 scraps would make nice bottle stoppers if you have a lathe

[David DeCristoforo]

"...those 2x2 scraps would make nice bottle stoppers if you have a lathe..."

Yes, and they would also make great ammo if you happen to see a rat in your shop....

YM

[David Damiano]

It will be finished simply with vegetable oil anyway, so does it really mean anything what wood species I use

I've read about maple being widely used in cutting blocks for e.g. butchers, but personally I don't like the look of maple and this board was meant to be used only for cutting bread.

/Niels

I wouldn't use vegetable oil for cutting boards as it will turn rancid. You can use just regular mineral oil soaked in with or without some beeswax added. I've had good results using a thinned Salad Bowl finish on the dozen or so boards I've made. Some use walnut or almond oil, but you have to be careful if someone has an allergy to nuts.

[Danny Thompson]

I'm with Jim and Greg. Match the angles into a Herringbone pattern. Go Michelangelo and let the wood tell you what it wants to be.

[Ben Grunow]

Glue them up in strips with the most parallel sides together and when they are dry- glue, screw or nail them to a straight board and then rip them straight on the TS or guided CS. Then remove the board and rip the other side which will leave you with a strip of end grain material with 2 parallel sides. Rpeat and glue them all up to make the board.