Replies

1. 
   MLZettl | Jan 23, 2007 02:16pm | #1

   I've used jatoba for cutting boards for the past couple of years. It is slightly denser than hard maple, has beautiful color, and machines well. Also, it does not have a very open grain, so the surface is not very porous, although it is not as closed a grain as maple. Teak is notoriously hard on edge tools because of its silica content. Also, I think the oiliness might make durable glue bonds more challenging. I use Titebond III, and have not had any glueline failures. Before I started to use the jatoba, I did a few unscientific tests to assess the glueline stability.

   I glued up several small blocks of jatoba using Titebond III, allowing the glue to cure for 24 hours. Then I boiled them for ten minutes, kept them submerged in water for a day, and finally put them out in the sun for several days in midsummer. There was a lot of end checking, but no large splits in the wood itself, and more importantly, no evidence of glueline separation.

   That being said, I still recommend not placing any wood cutting board in the dishwasher, or even soaking in water in the kitchen sink.

   Hope this is helpful.

   Matt

1. 
   vincentedwards | Jan 23, 2007 08:00pm | #2

   Thanks-I was hoping to hear something like that. I'll try to avoid woods that have a dulling effect on knives... that would be very bad news. Those tests you did sound convincing to me! Titebond III is my glue of choice already, and if I try any new species I can use a test similar to yours.

1. 
   MLZettl | Jan 23, 2007 09:03pm | #3

   I forgot to mention in my initial post that Titebond III is also approved for food contact, so it would seem to be the ideal glue for this application. I've also tried epoxy, which certainly works well, but is a little more inconvenient because of the mixing, as well as the need for a solvent (acetone) for clean up.

2. 
   chscholz | Jan 23, 2007 09:19pm | #4

   Vincent,

   Bamboo seems to be quite popular in the West recently. I saw a few cutting boards made of bamboo in the museum store of the Dallas Museum of Art. (Not sure if bamboo qualifies as tropical, bamboo certainly is not wood either).
   If done right you will not need glue. I have attached a photograph of an original bamboo cutting board that is held together with a metal ring. As you can see board was heavily used with some rather large chopping knifes and seemed to wear extremely well.

   Chris

   
1. 
   vincentedwards | Jan 24, 2007 12:57am | #5

   Do you know anything about working with bamboo... how well it machines, does it dull cutting tools, etc ?Also, if anyone knows of a good source of bamboo lumber, I would like to check it out.thanks!vincent