Rocking cutting board - how to cure it?

[stoppy]

I'm doing two end grain butcher block cutting boards.  One is great, beautifully flat.  The other one rocks slightly on one side.  I have had no success finding the high spot.  it feels nice and smooth.  Suggestions please on how to fix it.  I've been warned not to use a planer on this segmented board.

[Redman]

Winding sticks maybe to find the area causing the problem.

[barryvabeach]

It may be tough to keep it from warping in the future.  If you are only worried about now, take 4 evenly sized items - like 4 nickels,  turn the board so that the side that rocks is facing up, lay the nickels on the 4 corners , and hold a straight edge from corner to corner and see if you can see the high spot.  If you can't see it, take a fifth nickel and try to pass it under the straight edge - it should stick a little, if it is a solid no go, that area is high.  You can move the 4 nickels and the straight edge to check the entire surface.  Personally, I would go for a slightly concave surface, otherwise , the first time you wash it,  it will probably warp slightly.

[FS7]

I do a lot of cutting boards, and having them be slightly uneven is almost unavoidable. For one, very few surfaces are absolutely flat. You can put a board on a workbench and it's fine. You can put the same board on the countertop and it's fine. You can move it a few feet on the countertop and it rocks. It's very common.

If you don't have feet on your board, you should. Otherwise you are guaranteed to get warping since there will definitely be uneven moisture exchange between the top and the bottom.

I normally use rubber feet and stainless screws purchased in bulk from Amazon. They are inexpensive and work well. With these, you have very limited capability to fix rocking by tightening high corners more than the others. This will cause very slight compression and might fix something like 1/64" out of level. Beyond that, I use neoprene washers that are the same size. If you have a high corner, just put a similar-sized neoprene washer underneath the foot and tighten it. Most of the common feet are 5/8", and they sell 5/8" neoprene washers at Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace...you get the idea.

End grain is OK through the planer, but there are caveats.

1) I have never tried this with knives and I don't think I would. I have a helical head and I think that does a much better job.
2) No matter what type of head you have, if you are going to do this, take VERY light passes.
3) No matter how little you take off, the ends will chip off (possibly substantially). Use a sacrificial board on the trailing end.

[stoppy]

These boards are gifts to my kids. They are made from reclaimed hard maple (from bowling lanes I used to own) and laminated wood of their college school colors. I have a strong suspicion they will not be used for everyday use. Would you still put feet on them?

Another question, I routed out the spots where nail holes showed on the end grain. What filler is best for maple wood?

[5thumbs]

First off - nice gift for your kids - they should treasure these for years.

I agree that rocking cutting boards are common. The feet and washer technique is a good one and usually works. If that doesn't fix the problem, then the high spot has to be found and eliminated.

I have a planer with straight knives and routinely run my cutting boards through it. The secret is to take VERY light cuts and not rush things. If it takes 10 passes, so be it. I agree that sacrificial boards on the ends are a must; otherwise you will get tear out that's hard to fix - except by shortening the overall board by about 1/16".

The finish I'm using on my end grain boards (walnut/birch or walnut/maple or cherry/birch) is to apply two coats of mineral oil (pharmaceutical grade), then two coats of  a beeswax/mineral oil mix. There are a ton of recipes on the 'net showing how to make this, it's pretty easy. I stick with food grade materials for the finishes since most of these boards will be used for food prep.

Good Luck!

[Bill Wilson]

These boards are gifts to my kids. They are made from reclaimed hard maple (from bowling lanes I used to own) and laminated wood of their college school colors. I have a strong suspicion they will not be used for everyday use. Would you still put feet on them?

Depends on how it will be displayed.  If it hangs from a hook, then probably not much need to worry about a little rocking in the first place.  If it's going to sit on a counter or table, then would probably use the feet, just because that way it could always be adjusted, should the board move a little over time.

[Splinter Puller]

Use a router with straight batter boards and skim mill off the bottom to make it flat.

[stoppy]

Used the planer with very light passes, no longer have a rocking cutting board.

[barnowl]

Used the planer with very light passes, no longer have a rocking cutting board.

Good to hear.

I was going to suggest a drum sander.