I was a remodel carpenter for a few years after college. I’m out of the trades now, but I’m trying my hand at some woodworking on the side. Lots of new information to learn. In particular, I don’t know much about the wide variety of many wonderful woods out there.
I have this specific question: I know that maple is a good wood to use for cutting boards, but what about something like cambara? And if cambara is okay to use in cutting boards, would it be okay to make a cutting board that uses both maple and cambara, or will one of them react adversely to long-term contact with the other?
Thanks!
Replies
Cutting Boards.
A simple thing - NOT!
On commercial boards, beware of any that just state that they are made of HARDWOOD or SELECT NORTHERN HARDWOODS.
There are "hardwoods that are softer than pine and there are extremly hard softwoods.
For cutting boards, you want a hardwood with a good specific gravity or denseness. Preferably in the .6 range. I avoid woods above .8 as they can dull the edge of a knife too fast. Hard maple is the wood of choice. If you are making these boards for as much decoration as use, a mixture of suitable woods can be used. most usually you will see walnut added in but others can be used also. Check the reaction properties of the woods you want to use, as some woods can produce reactions when handled or when a splinter or even dust is in contact with a person.
There is a possibility of wood fibers being imbedded in the food, a splinter getting in skin or for some sensitive individuals even just handling the wood. These cases are rarer the more severe the reaction, but they can and do occur, so if you are in a productin environment use of those woods could be a liability issue.
My favorite boards are made just using hard maple with a fighured maple banding around the outer edge - ususally birdseye or quilted.
There are 3 methods of making a cutting board and only 2 are worthwhile.
1. edge joint - face up board. usually boards 2"-3" wide edge glued. In my mind, this is the weakest board and CAN POSSIBLY result in the board warping after repeated washings. These boards are USUALLY not more than 3/4" thick.
2. Face Glued - edge up board. This is a fairly easy to make board. Rip the wood into strips equal to the thickness you want the board to be (best boards are 1 1/2" - 2" thick), using 4/4 boards that have been jointed and planed. then glue the boards together face to face to get the sze of the board desired.
3 End Grain boards - the best quality boards are these. Start by making up a board as in #2 above, with the 1 1/2" wide strips, then when dry, crosscut the board into strips equal to the desired thickness of the final board (again 1 1/2" - 2" for a cutting board, if making a chopping block look at 3"-4" thick) then glue it up again with the end grain up. Best results are obtained where the joints are staggered from one row to the next)
The rationale behind this: a simple explanation. Wood fibers have a certain elasticity. Think of wood fibers in a board as a bundle of straws held tightly together. if you are cutting across the bundle - that would be a #3 board and the fibers do not spring back well at all. If you cutting along the length of the bundle the fibers will spring back but will eventally lose their ability to do so. that is a number 2 board. If you cut into the end of the bundle, the fibers spring back and will do so longer - that is a number 3 end grain board.
Finishing a cutting board - rub in a number of coats of mineral oil. I Personaly submerge mine in mineral oil over night then let dry and buff out and then run in 1 more coat and buff that out.
Sorry for the long dissertation, but I like to feel that I make high quality cutting and chopping boards.
As a picky point - a Number 2 cutting board is what most people refer to as Butcher Block, when in reality a true butcher block is an end grain board usually quite thick.
Cool. Thanks for the tips. Can't wait to get to work!
If you use maple, make sure it is HARD maple (rock maple.. other names possible) but not SOFT maple.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Nice explanation.
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Rick503, What is your preferred glue for cutting boards.
Walker1
I generally prefer Titebond II - it has level II water resistance. If I use anything else it is Titebond III that is rated as waterproof. I only use III when I run out of II. As the boards will get wet and then wiped down you could proably get by with almost any yellow glue, but I prefer the extra insurance of at least a rated water resistant glue. I make my boards to last long enough to be handed down to grandchildren and beyond I hope.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Hey Rick - Once while deer hunting I ran onto an old butcher shed out in the woods. It had been abandonded for years and years. Well, in it and covered up with leaves, was an old butcher block that was a 4' diameter slab cut out of a maple tree and it was about 18" thick. Went back a couple years later with my pickup and a couple of buddies and it was gone! Don't know what I would have done with it, but I sure was pi--ed that it was gone.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
The preferred woods for cutting boards are those that are small pored. Maple (hard or soft), birch, beech, walnut and cherry fit this description. Mahogany is sometimes used but should probably be reserved for edge trim, not the center of the board.
It is best, if you mix woods, to choose woods that have a closely similar coefficient of expansion/contraction. Go to http://www.woodbin.com and click on the "Shrinkulator". Input the species, range of relative humidity and starting width. The output will be the amount of expansion/contraction due to moisture changes. Choose woods that are close.
Well, actually there is no 'good wood' for a cutting board, because wood is not sanitary.. (this comes from my 10 years of sanitation pounded into me by Red Lobster) .. But anyways.. any wood with more closed pores (like maple) wll work.. vs say an open grain like oak.. If I remember right, they used to seal the cutting boards with parifin wax.. (may want to check me on this)
Actually some people use a parafin & mineral oil mix. Mix the parafin into the oil in shavings and heat up till the wax is melted and then let cool to a temp you can handle and coat and buff out. Some people use this other don't. I prefer just mineral oil. To sanitize and care for the board, Rinse well wafter use and mix 2 tblsp of bleach in 1 qt of water and wipe the board down real well 1 - 2 times a week (or after cutting meat on it). Once a month, rub it down with mineral oil. AND NEVER, EVER PUT A CUTTING BOARD IN THE DISWASHER!!!1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
nice table metod.
jericho
and i like the cutting board too.
I remember that article, but cannot locate my copy right away. I will look for it.
As I remember, the microbes die off on a wood board within 10 hrs after use. I just like to be safe and use the bleach solution on a lot of my kitchen equipment. After wiping down the wood cutting board I do the same to the plastic one and then my wooden spoons and finally wipe down the counter tops before dumping it.
After woodworking, Cooking is my favorite pasttime.
For those that like to use chop sticks, making stick rests out of scrap wood is something to consider, especially some of the nicer woods. out of some of the left overs from making the cutting boards, I will sometimes save up pieces and make a cheese board also
This topic was kinda beat to death a year or so ago, but there are a lot of university and other studies that claim wood cutting boards are unsanitary. However, some studies also show that the drying action of the wood actually combats bactertia. My own thought is to look at how long people have been using wood as cutting boards as compared with how long we've had plastics for this use. Hey -- look at what they use on the food channel! Of course, nothing beats a little common sense when cutting chicken or other raw meat on any cutting board, n'est pas?
I just got some flax seed pills to lower my collesterol. Probably just some BLO in there, eh?
I was a remodel carpenter for a few years after college and the Army...
So was I but I bought this OLD house for my new bride...
Sorry.. I had to...
The study was done by the University of Wisconsin ,Madison. Google it and you can find it.
Philip
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