cutting board glue up

[Mark Rios]

I am making a cutting board along the lines of the ones in the SMC tutorial. One of those has the maker cutting a narrow strip out of the middle of the glued up cutting board and flipping it end for end and gluing it back. Is this end grain gluing strong enough for a working cutting board? I don't remember the author/maker saying anything about any kind of splines, biscuits, dowels, etc. Will just a good glue line cut be good enough to glue together?

Thanks for your help.

[Dennis Peacock]

Mark,

Just use a good Poly Glue and it will be fine. I have made several cutting boards while using poly glue and they came out great. I even made one for a chef and they use the board every single day. Glue and good clamping pressure for 24 hours and you should be able to drive on top of it without it coming apart.

[Kent Cori]

Mark,

I've about a dozen of those cutting boards. My family all have at least one in their homes. They also make great wedding gifts.

I used Titebond II Extend for all the glue ups with no problems. At $22 for a gallon of the stuff, it is less expensive than Poly glues which is why I chose it. It has about a 20 minute working time window so it took two cycles to glue the board blank. I learned that starting from the middle and working outward from there as I glued worked the best. Since you'll end up with thin strips on the outside edges, be sure to use some scrap for a backing board between the thin strips and the clamps. Otherwise, they can come out a bit wavy. You'll also want to use some cauls to keep the tops/bottoms of the slices aligned while the glue sets up.

I made each of my blanks long enough to produce two boards. This helps speed the process a bit. I also limited the width to just under the capacity of my planer. This made flattening the blank much easier and quicker. I did this just before I cut the blank into two boards.

The slice that you flip and reglue has plenty of surface area for a very strong glue bond since the boards are thick. No biscuits are required.

[Mark Rios]

Thanks very much for the replies and the info. However, I forgot to mention that I am milling these to a thickness of 3/4" to be used as a breadboard that replaces the existing (built in) breadboard in lower cabinets. will the thinness (thickness) of the board play a factor in the strength of the end grain joint?

Again, thanks for your help.

[Kent Cori]

Mark,

Ah, now I see your concern. The thinnest one I've made is still about 1 1/2" thick.

I suspect you would still be okay with a 3/4" thick board but you may want to add biscuits to provide a little more glue surface. Another option would be to glue a 1/2" plywood backer board to the under side of the cutting board if it will work in your planned installataion. The third option is to just avoid the reverse strip entirely but it does make the board look really cool. :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

Mark,

You might try a Lock-Miter Bit ($$$s) or some kind of Glue-Joint Bit to gain more glue surface area. Tongue n' Groove might work, too, or a spline.

[Mark Rios]

Thanks very much guys. that gives me the thought process to proceed in a much more educated way. Thanks again.

[Jim Becker]

Here's is Mike's response to your question:

"I was concerned about the integrity of the end grain glue joints so I tested them by throwing the glued up (but unfinished) cutting boards hard at the concrete floor in my basement. I threw probably half a dozen of them, several times, and only one broke - the only cutting board I ever made with Gorilla Glue. I use Titebond II for all of my boards and the bond is so strong I'm sure the wood would give way first. Extreme clamping pressure and a good clean joint surface are a must. Don't worry about squeezing all of the glue out, it seeps into the end grain pores and holds on tight."