Cutting board repair

[32t]

I made this cutting board in Junior High shop class back in the 70's. [1970's!] I gave it to my mother. After over 30 years of of using it almost daily it cracked. To anyone else they would say toss it in the garbage but I want to repair it. It is from a slab of White Oak that came from my parents farm and we cut it on our saw mill so needless to say I have an attachment to it.

Tonight I finished breaking it in half. It is to rough to reglue in its present shape. If I flatten the edges it will change the shape to narrower.. I set in a scrap of Black Walnut that I still have left from the farm and I am thinking that if I place similar in between the pieces it will keep more of its origional shape and I maybe can pass it on as Grandpa's 3 piece cutting board. Would glue have enough strength or would I have to pin it to be strong? Would the odd colored piece look weird.

What do you think?

[sharptonn]

You are good. Glue, clamp and wait! Neat board!

[SirStropalot]

That's a neat piece. The story is even more neat!!

Most cutting boards are multiple pieces that are glued and they work fine. If you treat it with food grade mineral oil after you fix it you shouldn't have anymore drying and cracking. Also it's recommended if you're going to use it so food doesn't penetrate the wood. Apply and let stand for awhile and reapply until it quits absorbing. Wipe off excess and your good to go.

Excellent heirloom board!!

Best Regards,

Howard

[32t]

Thanks. There are a couple of minor cracks that are hard to see in the pictures that I question if I could get the glue to penetrate. Feathered from the main crack. that is why I was thinking about having to flatten it before gluing. I guess the worst that would happen is that the cracks would show again and then I could flatten it.

[SirStropalot]

You might try clamping it without glue to see how tight the cracks will be and check flatness while clamped.

If you're going to use it, open cracks are kind of a bad thing for letting in food and bacteria.

[cudarunner]

If you treat it with food grade mineral oil after you fix it you shouldn't have anymore drying and cracking. Also it's recommended if you're going to use it so food doesn't penetrate the wood. Apply and let stand for awhile and reapply until it quits absorbing. Wipe off excess and your good to go.

Howard, Excellent Advice!!! :

Now you shouldn't need to 'purchase' Food Grade Mineral Oil. Talk to your local Meat Department People and see if you can bring your repaired cutting board in and use the spray that they use on their equipment (sometimes call Keene Oil) as that's exactly what Keen Oil is/Food Grade Mineral Oil!

They may even be able to sell you a bottle.

One negative note: If it's a Chain Store, you may not have much luck (stupid people behind desks wearing white shirts and ties counting beans) so you might try a local owned and operated store.

Just a thought

[SirStropalot]

Howard, Excellent Advice!!! :

Now you shouldn't need to 'purchase' Food Grade Mineral Oil. Talk to your local Meat Department People and see if you can bring your repaired cutting board in and use the spray that they use on their equipment (sometimes call Keene Oil) as that's exactly what Keen Oil is/Food Grade Mineral Oil!

They may even be able to sell you a bottle.

One negative note: If it's a Chain Store, you may not have much luck (stupid people behind desks wearing white shirts and ties counting beans) so you might try a local owned and operated store.

Just a thought

We just get the mineral oil from the pharmacy section of Walmart, etc.. It's sold as a laxative.

I think Keene Oil has a small amount of bees wax added and they somehow make it even thinner than regular mineral oil and it penetrates very quickly. I've read about it, but never tried it. At least I think it was Keene.

[cudarunner]

We just get the mineral oil from the pharmacy section of Walmart, etc.. It's sold as a laxative.

I think Keene Oil has a small amount of bees wax added and they somehow make it even thinner than regular mineral oil and it penetrates very quickly. I've read about it, but never tried it. At least I think it was Keene.

hehehe, a Little too much information on the Walmart oil

The Keen is very thin and works well with sharpening knives on a Norton Tri Stone setup, it also soaks in really well on my wooden handled knives/been using it for years and it's hard to beat/there are other brands out there/I just happened to have a Ton of it so I've never needed to buy the others but I would presume that they are close.

Anyway if the Walmart/Human Lube works then great

[criswilson10]

Titebond III wood glue - waterproof and FDA approved for food safety. Glue it and clamp it for 24 hours. Then sand the joint flat and plane the board if necessary. Finally start coating both sides and the edges with a lot of food safe mineral oil (also called salad bowl oil). Keep coating the board every day until it stops absorbing the oil which may take a week or more. The wood fibers will expand and hopefully fill in the small cracks.

[SirStropalot]

hehehe, a Little too much information on the Walmart oil

Yeah!!!

I added it so they wouldn't pass on it thinking it had some additives or something. If it just said food grade mineral oil.......it's the same thing!! So far no one has ever had to run from the table.