Cutting Board Material

[Capn_Jackson]

Hello all. I’ve been on the forum for years, but forgot all my login credentials and couldn’t get into the email I used, now I’m BACK!!
I have a buddy who owns a piano shop and has a ton of 5-ply hard rock maple. I started talking to him about possibly making a cutting board out of it, but at first I didn’t realize it was ply. The 2” thick boards are 5 layers of solid hard rock maple, but I have no idea what the piano supply companies use to bind those layers together. The idea was to saw three 20” lengths off the board, and glue them side by side to make a 20” x 18” board (they’re 6” wide each, I believe). Not knowing what holds those layers together gives me pause, though, even though no food would be touching anything but the surface. What are your thoughts? Anybody made a board or block out of ply maple like this?

 

[airedale]

For a cutting board you want to be cutting into end grain. Look at end grain products here: https://www.thekitchn.com/boos-end-grain-cutting-board-review-23229929 and here: https://www.johnboos.com/products/

 

[lunchman]

For this material, an end grain board is out since you don't want to expose the adhesive once you flip the boards on edge. There's nothing wrong with an edge grain board, it'll show some knife scars eventually.

Once you joint and make sure the strips are square and parallel, use Titebond III which is for outdoor use and water resistant (and food safe). As far as the plies being visible on the edges of the board, they can be left as is or banded with solid wood. The visible plies might be an interesting effect.

 

[OSD]

The best would be end grain, then edge grain wood. What you will have is face grain wood. It will work, but rock maple face grain wood has a tendency to be hard on knives. It will work, but tends to dull knives very fast.
I would cut off a piece and then wash it and let it dry. Do this several times to see if it swells or the layers start to separate. Not sure what glue they used, but if it is what they use for guitars it will start to separate when it gets wet. I made some cutting boards at my shop and tried all different ways and face grain was the least favorable to use.
JWWFM-YMMV

 

[JIMSMOKES]

If it's 5 ply solid and no press wood stuff. I'd be tempted to rip some into end grain glue up a chunk and test it out.

 

[Capn_Jackson]

Thanks for all the input. I’d love to do end-grain or edge-grain, but concerned about the adhesive of the 5 layers being exposed. Face grain is what I was thinking, even though it’ll be tougher on knives, because then the adhesive used to bind those 5 layers won’t touch food. Titebond II or III was going to be my choice for binding the boards, so thanks for that confirmation. I will try to get my hands on a chunk of that wood sometime this week, and wash it like I would after use. I’ll see how that adhesive used for the 5 layers holds up.
Thanks again, all. Great info!

 

[NCGrimbo]

A lot of off shore companies that make plywood will use a formaldehyde based glue. For this one reason, I wouldn't risk using it on a project that touches food. But that's just me.

 

[ModelMaker]

Quick Google search...
Piano soundboards...
Polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glues are widely used for bonding porous materials. They are strong, resilient, easy to work with, have a long shelf life, and are not ...

Cutting boards..
Aug 10, 2009 — Any of the exterior or water resistant PVA adhesives will work just fine. Titebond II or Titebond III are both more than water resistant

Ed

 

[airedale]

Unknown glue. Unknown moisture resistance. Material designed for soundboards, not cutting boards. I think the tail is wagging the dog here. Figure out what you want to make. Figure out what the right material and adhesives are. Make the cutting board.

 

[OSD]

I just asked a friend who works on wood instruments and he told me that what you have is not sound board. It's laminated pin board. Sound board is usually 1/4" to 5/8" thick and in bigger sheets and usually spruce. Pin boards are the size and thickness of the rock maple slabs that you have. The pin boards are cut from those slabs. Said he didn't know what glue would have been used without knowing who manufactured the boards. Different companies used different glues and depending on how old the slabs are they may not be the newer, safer type of glue.

 

[Capn_Jackson]

I just asked a friend who works on wood instruments and he told me that what you have is not sound board. It's laminated pin board.

Correct, this is not sound board material. Yes, it’s what we use to craft the pin block. Had a thought this might make a great cutting board, but after a couple days’ thought, the unknown adhesive AND unknown response to moisture turns me off. I’ll be getting my hands on some solid rock maple soon. It’ll still be cool making boards in a piano shop, though!