Best Heavy Duty Wood Cutting Board?

[bschoen]

Those are not cracks, they are delaminations, failures of the glue joints. Use some hypodermic needles with a good wood glue, get some in the fissures, clamp for a day. Then as already mentioned, keep oiled/waxed.
If you don't have clamps, either figure something out or throw it on the camp fire.

Well, that last was not helpful, get some 15-30 minute epoxy glue and a thin putty knife, mix the epoxy and spend some time working it into the exposed joint with the knife. Start on one side, work the epoxy in, then use masking tape to seal it in, turn over and work in more epoxy.

Never had to do that, but that is how I would approach it. Good luck.

Keep it oiled/waxed.

 

[Dweverett]

Those are not cracks, they are delaminations, failures of the glue joints. Use some hypodermic needles with a good wood glue, get some in the fissures, clamp for a day. Then as already mentioned, keep oiled/waxed.
If you don't have clamps, either figure something out or throw it on the camp fire.

Well, that last was not helpful, get some 15-30 minute epoxy glue and a thin putty knife, mix the epoxy and spend some time working it into the exposed joint with the knife. Start on one side, work the epoxy in, then use masking tape to seal it in, turn over and work in more epoxy.

Never had to do that, but that is how I would approach it. Good luck.

Keep it oiled/waxed.

Agree with this advice. Titebond 3 is a good wood glue if you go the hypodermic needle route

 

[ModelMaker]

Delamination is correct. That's why you don't see a lot of long grain cutting boards.
If you have a quality table saw you can re-cut, sand, re-glue. Will be new again!
Ed

 

[4ever3]

That’s a real beauty Maylar!

 

[cayenne]

Food safe?

Those are not cracks, they are delaminations, failures of the glue joints. Use some hypodermic needles with a good wood glue, get some in the fissures, clamp for a day. Then as already mentioned, keep oiled/waxed.
If you don't have clamps, either figure something out or throw it on the camp fire.

Well, that last was not helpful, get some 15-30 minute epoxy glue and a thin putty knife, mix the epoxy and spend some time working it into the exposed joint with the knife. Start on one side, work the epoxy in, then use masking tape to seal it in, turn over and work in more epoxy.

Never had to do that, but that is how I would approach it. Good luck.

Keep it oiled/waxed.

That sounds all good, but is there such a thing as "food safe" epoxy ?

I"m guessing there are food safe adhesives....in that they had to use some to make the darned thing, but what out there that I could get would be food safe?

Thanks for all the input so far!!

C

 

[Maylar]

That sounds all good, but is there such a thing as "food safe" epoxy ?

I'm guessing there are food safe adhesives....in that they had to use some to make the darned thing, but what out there that I could get would be food safe?

Thanks for all the input so far!!

C

Pretty much any adhesive is food safe once cured. Most woodworkers (including me) use Titebond II and that's likely what your board was made with. Understand that once clamped tight a wood joint is only a few mills thick so there's very little glue area exposed to the surface.

That said, your board has seen some use. Those cracks are likely not clean inside and I would question the ability of most adhesives to bond properly. My choice would be thin cyanoacrylate that has a low enough viscosity to seep into the cracks. With clamps, of course.

 

[bschoen]

Ed's advice to re-cut the board along the delams, re-glue and clamp is by far the best solution. I mentioned epoxy because it is gap filling, which you want if you don't have clamps. Properly mixed and cured epoxy is just a food safe plastic, also gluten free. As for wood glue, I would use Titebond 3 as it is rated for full, but brief, immersion.

Here is a link discussing food safe epoxy:
https://www.theepoxyresinstore.com/blogs/news/is-your-epoxy-resin-food-safe

 

[PhredS]

Depending on how dry the board is from lack of oiling and or using dish soap to clean, a good food grade mineral oil should bring it back. I put a light coat of oil, then cover with plastic wrap and let it soak over night. If cracks are big, may want to look at using food safe wood filler/glue.

 

[Charny]

That looks like a nice board and is well worth fixing. Those delams are probably easily fixed. There are lots of videos on this, a few of them are probably even good.

At some point it is better to 'break' it apart at that point rather than squirt glue in there. Driving a wedge in the delam, using a bar clamp to press it in, is one way. Carefully bending it at the delam is another, but you need a setup that doesn't stress other joints.

You may find it will release easily. Then you can scrape off, and/or block sand (keep it flat to avoid gaps) any remaining adhesive. Though that dark bit looks like it might be mildew, and some wood may need to be removed - via jointer or table saw. If you don't have proper clamps, careful application of ratchet straps can be a substitute. But it is much better to borrow clamps. Best to only glue one joint at a time.

A cutting board edge like this is often finished on a jointer, not a table saw. Cutting the edge of the board would be a rip cut in thick hardwood. Getting it perfectly square, etc, is not trivial. Cannot recommend. You could ask someone to run it through a jointer. You could also just run it through a table saw. At some point during the cut the delam would probably let go..

Most epoxies are not food safe. Casual mixing of epoxy, as is common, does not fully mix the epoxy and hardener, small amounts of uncured material often remain. If you do some searches on glues for cutting boards, you'll find many recs against epoxy (for other reasons). Titebond III is food safe and very often recommended.

 

[cayenne]

Thanks!!

Ed's advice to re-cut the board along the delams, re-glue and clamp is by far the best solution. I mentioned epoxy because it is gap filling, which you want if you don't have clamps. Properly mixed and cured epoxy is just a food safe plastic, also gluten free. As for wood glue, I would use Titebond 3 as it is rated for full, but brief, immersion.

Here is a link discussing food safe epoxy:
https://www.theepoxyresinstore.com/blogs/news/is-your-epoxy-resin-food-safe

Alright....thank you all!!
Yes, I would like to save this if I could. I got a decent price on it...and well, with recent purchases of Spike brewing equipment and my BS smoker on the way...I'm a bit low on funds for awhile.

I had just liberally oiled this thing....it soaked it all up.

I'll look for the Titebond adhesive....and I figure maybe I could buy some larger wood clamps at Lowe's/Home Depot? Hoping I could shoot the Titebond in there and put a couple clamps on....

I really have no wood working tools at all, and no knowledge how to wood work. I don't even own a saw....

So hoping I can get some Titebond III, and squirt it in the cracks and put on a couple large clamps and see how that works out.

Thank you all!!

C

 

[NoNotTheDuo]

Alright....thank you all!!
Yes, I would like to save this if I could. I got a decent price on it...and well, with recent purchases of Spike brewing equipment and my BS smoker on the way...I'm a bit low on funds for awhile.

I had just liberally oiled this thing....it soaked it all up.

I'll look for the Titebond adhesive....and I figure maybe I could buy some larger wood clamps at Lowe's/Home Depot? Hoping I could shoot the Titebond in there and put a couple clamps on....

I really have no wood working tools at all, and no knowledge how to wood work. I don't even own a saw....

So hoping I can get some Titebond III, and squirt it in the cracks and put on a couple large clamps and see how that works out.

Thank you all!!

C

You can find Titebond at Lowes/Home Depot.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Titebond-III-16-oz-Ultimate-Wood-Glue-1414/100522343


Harbor Freight has decent clamps for a good price: https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/clamps-vises/24-inch-bar-clamp-96213.html

 

[Charny]

I don't want to put up obstacles to getting this done, but the liberal oiling is definitely a concern for the glue bond. Especially since the easiest place for the oil to go was into the gap. Glad you mentioned that. It is a pickle. Squirting glue in there after that? I don't think that does much. It could fill the gap. Oily wood with a water based wood glue? Not a good combo.

I lean toward wanting to remove some oil from the bond surfaces with a solvent. Alcohol tends to be more food safe (but isopropyl isn't - I don't know about residual). Mineral spirits is often suggested for this, but then there is the wood cooking surface. The formulation of "mineral spirits" isn't a specific thing, and there will be byproducts. I'd probably do it - I mean, we're all here smoking our meat and chomping our lovely char.

The gap looks pretty big on the worst spot. Maybe you could slide some paper in there, and leave it to soak oil. Possibly floss it with string. Paper soaked in mineral spirits?

The solvent will tend to disolve the glue in that joint. So .. you may be heading toward opening it up. That may be a good thing.

A quick search turns up this same issue. Suggestion is to either clean the exposed faces with solvent or soap and water, or remove the material. I agree that oil will not have penetrated deep into this long side grain.

https://woodworking.stackexchange.c...r-two-parts-of-oiled-butcher-block-countertop

Btw, you can thin titebond glue 5% by weight.

http://www.titebond.com/resources/use/glues/faqs

 

[Maylar]

I'd be tempted to just leave it as it is and accept the splits as "character".

 

[cayenne]

total structural failure fear

I'd be tempted to just leave it as it is and accept the splits as "character".

Well, I"m afraid it'll keep splitting and come apart in pieces on me....

 

[Charny]

That bad split coming apart is the best thing for the repair. It allows you to clean the surfaces and reglue it properly.

I may be missing detail - I only see two problem areas - the really bad one, and then a much more minor one.

Btw, titebond will ooze out when you clamp it up. Just wipe it away with a moist rag before it sets.

 

[Maylar]

That bad split coming apart is the best thing for the repair. It allows you to clean the surfaces and reglue it properly.

I may be missing detail - I only see two problem areas - the really bad one, and then a much more minor one.

Btw, titebond will ooze out when you clamp it up. Just wipe it away with a moist rag before it sets.

The photos also seem to indicate that the board is cupped or warped. That makes things more complicated in that the surfaces won't be right angles to each other.

I agree that the gap should be cleaned out as best as possible before attempting to glue. I'd probably use lacquer thinner. And be aware that the stresses that caused the splits are very powerful. Unless the joint is perfect it's likely to split again when the clamps are removed.

 

[bschoen]

Cayenne, has that board ever been put in a dish washer?

 

[cayenne]

No dishwasher...

Cayenne, has that board ever been put in a dish washer?

No, never put in a dishwasher...too big to do so even if I wanted to.

That being said, it is on the kitchen counter near the sink...and the dishwasher is underneath that part of the kitchen counter.

So, there is a bit of moisture that kits the board.....I try to keep it dry, but there's some there that hits it that I'm more than sure I miss from time to time.