Gluing up a cutting board...harder than I thought

[atgcpaul]

Last year I was going to make cutting boards for the various families as Christmas presents but never got started. This year, I decided to do edge grain boards and started with a prototype for us.

I have been holding on to so many scraps and full boards waiting for THAT perfect project to come that in the end I don't end up making anything. I even had these wide, thick walnut boards milled and glued up for an entertainment center that never came. So I'm taking a new tact--wood literally grows on trees and more will come; it's not doing anyone any good sitting on my full lumber racks.

So I started cutting apart those boards I prepped for the entertainment center 2+ years ago. Then I applied a good layer of Titebond 2 on one side, flipped them on their edges, and started clamping. I really cranked down on my parallel clamps and I was still seeing a gap here and there between my boards. I started panicking and took them all apart. Glue was not transferring evenly to the opposite board. So I added glue to the opposite side and starting clamping again. I had to use all 8 of my parallel clamps on just a 24" section of board and I think I still have a small gap between one section! I only glued 8 blanks together, too.

This morning I ran this section of board through the planer. I see a gap between boards 3 and 4 (from the right). I'm going to rip it at that line on my bandsaw, handplane the two edges smooth, and reglue.

I decided to make the boards 1 1/2" thick. Even though I'm using 5/4 and 6/4, it eats up a lot of wood. Wife willing, I'll glue up the other section tonight, clean them up tomorrow, and glue the two halves after that. I am still debating whether to keep it under 15" wide so I can use my planer or go to 16" or 18" and finish with the drum sander. I don't plan on routing a juice groove, but will route grips into both ends of the board. I think I will also make the cherry accent strip, just 3/8" wide instead of 1 1/2". Every time I think I've accounted for another person/couple in my family, I think of another one.

[cwsmith]

If you're having difficulty, maybe your boards are either too thick or the length is too long for boards that aren't as edge parallel as they should be. Hardwood is very stiff and if the edges are not perfectly parallel and 90° to the face, it will be nearly impossible to squeeze them into alignment enough to have them hold well as the glue sets. You also don't want to over squeeze them either, as that forces all the glue out of the joint.

I've done a number of bench tops for our two libraries (bench seats) as well as a couple of table tops. Most of that was pine and only 3/4-inch thick, but the boards themselves were 9" wide. Primarily, I cut them all with my BT using a 50-tooth blade. In a couple of cases, I jointed them on my router table, as I had some curvature after setting too long in the humidity that summers saturate my basement shop with. I generally use four to six clamps... depending on length (one clamp per linear foot for pine).

The red oak panel that I did was significantly tougher though, even though that stock was only four inches in width (3/4). So, having absolutely parallel edges would be extremely important and I would consider that some kind of jointer to be essential to that task (factory straight edge, jointer, or a good router table with fence). I'm not sure that a thickness planer would do much for me other than ensuring that all the stock is the same thickness... that doesn't do much for the edge to be glued however.

In addition, I've always used dowels or lately biscuits to keep the edges in alignment. But getting those edges parallel while ripping is a challenge. Years ago I built a couple of work benches using 2 x stock, a combination of 2 x 6 and 2 x 4's. But even back then, I used a piece of ply to act as a guide for my circular saw as I found that there really wasn't much I could do running a curved board against the fence... the final cut will still follow the curve of the original edge.

I hope this is helpful,

CWS

[poolhound]

I have done quite a few cutting boards like this and have not had too much of a problem. I think the faces were probably not as flat as you thought or possibly you had something caught in the gap. The gap is pretty small so it wouldnt need much.

[capncarl]

Glue ups in long boards are a problem. You have to have every board jointed really square and flat, something that doesn't happen often. I've experienced this myself building heavy table tops. It takes a lot of clamps. For building cutting boards I suggest using shorter glue ups. My Tiny Tables are usually less than 20 inches and I seldom have a gap in the glue ups
capncarl

[atgcpaul]

I definitely think bad stock prep was to blame. The boards I used had gone through my drum sander years ago after they had been glued up into panels. There must have been some divots here and there.

Anyway, I ripped through 3 joints with my bandsaw and redressed the edges with my #5 hand plane. Then I reglued those boards and they appear tight. I had 7 more boards to glue up, and I hand planed each of those mating faces before glue up. That glue up went smoothly, too.

I've been eyeing a combination Grizzly jointer-planer. I don't have a jointer and I would like a planer beefier than my current Ridgid lunchbox planer. For now I'll keep drooling.

I guess I really need to re-evaluate which family members I like best. That's going to be a lot of hand planing!

[poolhound]

Do you have a router table? If so you can create a jointer setup by shimming the outfeed fence. It only needs a little, a 32nd would do. Maybe less if you are just trying to true up stock that is pretty close already.

[capncarl]

I dislike using my jointer, it's a full size 6" delta and is a good unit, I just don't like using it. Instead for my glue ups under 4' I have a jig of sorts, a piece of 1/2" melamine with clamps on each end. Square up the blade on the table saw, clamp the subject board and cut off a whisker thin slice, then take the board off the jig and cut the other side parallel on the table saw. It's really quick and I've never had a bad glue up this way.
capncarl

[cwsmith]

Do you have a router table? If so you can create a jointer setup by shimming the outfeed fence. It only needs a little, a 32nd would do. Maybe less if you are just trying to true up stock that is pretty close already.

That's a very good point. I have a router table top which I purchased from Rockler a number of years ago. It has a pretty good split fence on it and the sides are shim-able. Shortly thereafter, I bought their "6-Piece Router Table Jointing Shim Set" which works great for jointing. (http://www.rockler.com/router-table-...g-shims-6-pack)

While this set was made to fit their table, I would think that the general idea can be used on any router table as long as it has an adjustable split fence.


CWS

[poolhound]

That's a very good point. I have a router table top which I purchased from Rockler a number of years ago. It has a pretty good split fence on it and the sides are shim-able. Shortly thereafter, I bought their "6-Piece Router Table Jointing Shim Set" which works great for jointing. (http://www.rockler.com/router-table-...g-shims-6-pack)

While this set was made to fit their table, I would think that the general idea can be used on any router table as long as it has an adjustable split fence.


CWS

Yup you dont need anything fancy for shims. I keep a stack of old business cards or use printer paper and fold various times to get different thicknesses.

[jussi]

You could also try bowed cauls. Kind of like a reverse spring joint. I have a commercial brand, bowclamps. But they're easy enough to make youself.

[atgcpaul]

The board sat in clamps all week because I didn't have time to work on it. Today I took the clamps off and ran both sides through my drum sander (too wide to fit into my planer) then sanded out any variations with my ROS. I squared the ends to make a 24" wide board and then used a 1/2" bullnose bit with an edge guide to make the finger holds. I rarely use that edge guide so I checked and rechecked my setup before I started. I lent my Dad my 1/4" shank roundover bit so I had to use a 1/2" shank bit to ease the edge of the finger grip.



I then eased the edges with a 45deg chamfer bit, did a final hand sanding, and rubbed the whole thing down with food grade mineral oil. I let it soak in several times. Apparently the boards I used really weren't that flat sawn because it's more of a rift sawn edge board than an edge grain board.




The final board is 15 1/4" deep x 24" wide. Now I just need to decide what I'm going to cut first on it. I volunteered to build a manger scene at church (apparently I'm making 2 now) so I don't know if I can fit in some production cutting board making for the relatives. They may have to wait another year.



Thanks for looking,
Paul

[BadeMillsap]

Looks really good to me!

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[Stytooner]

That is a classy looking cutting board. I would love to have one like that. I am sure if you get the time, your Family will as well. Great job on it and overcoming adversity. That is the sign of a true craftsman.

[cwsmith]

I think there's a really big problem there.

That board is beautiful... I don't think I would want to take a knife to it! The first time I found even a scratch in it would probably bring me to tears.


CWS