Timber Movement in End-Grain Cutting Boards
howpenambrose
| Posted in Wood and Materials on
Recently I saw photos of end-grain cutting boards made from two (and sometimes 3) dissimilar timbers. In one particular image a “middle section” (about 10 inches by 6 inches) made of Rock Maple was edged with a 4 inch wide frame in American Walnut, all oriented in end-grain. Would not the different expansion/shrinkage properties of such timbers ultimately result in cracking?
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I have made many end grain cutting boards of mixed materials; cherry, maple, walnut. The different species have not been a problem in use but, cutting board surfaces become somewhat irregular in use so maybe the problem is not significant enough to be noticed over this.
Thanks GeeDubBee, Think you're right - I've not seen it mentioned as a problem in any of the books on cutting boards I've read. But just thought it unusual given the problem in furniture-making.
Wood movement is usually expressed as a percentage of the width of the boards. As the boards become really small the physical change become so small that it can pretty much be ignored. Paying attention to grain direction is a good idea anyway.
Actually, wood contracts along the growth rings mostly hence a flatsawn board will move twice as much than a quartersawn one. Placing your end grain blocs along the same growth ring paterns will probably diminish differential wood movement.
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