Repairing a wooden cutting board.

[Jerry1]

Easy, Peasy... my only negative is cutting the name Boos in half. I feel bad about that.

Yeah, that would hurt a bit. Maybe I should just try to get a few bucks for it and be done.

 

[Out of Steam]

What it may need is a somewhat lower surface than a standard kitchen counter to use it on.

 

[zinger1457]

From the photo it still looks in decent shape. Get a block and different grit sandpaper and go to town, won't take long to get it down to a decent surface, then apply several coats of a good mineral oil finish.

 

[MC Rider]

MSRP = $466.95

Walnut Square Chopping Block, Reversible, End Grain, 3″ Thick (CCB Series) - John Boos & Co

Give your kitchen a creative and unique look with these eye-catching end grain chopping blocks. The end grain design will compliment any kitchen with light and dark color tones. With proper care and maintenance, the durable construction means these boards are built to last and saves wear and...

www.johnboos.com

Yikes. And that price is the small one. Too rich for my blood.
But I'd think cutting it up would just diminish the value.
Sell the expensive beast and get one that works for you.

 

[5Miler]

Fair call out zinger: I misspoke. You are correct on the throat capacity, but I bought the extension piece from Powermatic and I have about a 12 1/4" resaw capacity ( just went to the shop and checked), if I took the upper roller guides off I could be 14 1/2" , but I would never do that.

I have a similar Jet 14 inch bandsaw with a 6 inch riser block giving a 12 inch depth of cut.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow $466.95 for a Boos. That’s crazy. I’ve made 20-30 cutting boards, mostly end grain boards, all from scrap pieces from other projects. All a combination of maple, cherry, walnut, and mahogany. No oak or softwoods. I’ve given all of them away.

I only plane edge grain boards, not the end grain boards. I don’t want to risk chipping the end grain. I sand all boards with a drum sander. Then spritz the boards with a mist of water to raise the grain, and then hand sand smooth. Finish is mineral oil and beeswax. I usually soak the boards overnight in a tub of mineral oil to get maximum penetration of the oil into the wood. Then let dry before rubbing in beeswax.

Lots of posts above weighing band saw vs table saw for splitting OP’s board. Yes it is possible to do it either way. And yes the band saw blade has a thinner kerf. Personally I’d use the table saw followed by hand saw method instead of a band saw. My band saw has more drift than the gains achieved by the thinner blade. I resaw boards a lot but never use my band saw for boards more than a few inches wide due to drift.

 

[Out of Steam]

If you don’t really like using it because it’s too thick, I would give it away. I notice the squares don’t line up properly either.

The offset squares may be part of the design, as they would inhibit the block from splitting at a glued seam if dropped.

Comes to mind because I repaired a much smaller cutting board that split at a glue joint after being dropped a couple of years ago. I reinforced it with a couple of dowels at a 45 degree angle to the split after gluing it up.

 

[Jerry1]

Yikes. And that price is the small one. Too rich for my blood.
But I'd think cutting it up would just diminish the value.
Sell the expensive beast and get one that works for you.

Thankfully, I purchased it quite a while ago. It was expensive then, but nothing like today. I think it was $100 or so but that was back in the 90’s.

I think I will just get rid of it.

 

[Sunset]

Thankfully, I purchased it quite a while ago. It was expensive then, but nothing like today. I think it was $100 or so but that was back in the 90’s.

I think I will just get rid of it.

I hope when you say you will get rid of it, you mean you will sell it to someone , who can refinish the top and be happy with the "deal" they got

 

[Jerry1]

I hope when you say you will get rid of it, you mean you will sell it to someone , who can refinish the top and be happy with the "deal" they got

That’s what I’ll try for but ultimately, I’m not going to put much time into it so may just give it away at some point. Certainly won’t be throwing it out.

 

[braumeister]

If you're ever near Effingham, Illinois, there is a great Boos store there.
John Boos Factory Showroom & Outlet

 

[Jerry1]

If you're ever near Effingham, Illinois, there is a great Boos store there.
John Boos Factory Showroom & Outlet

Never stopped in but seen the sign many time when I used to visit my dad.

 

[triangle]

I would probably look for some food safe epoxy and try to fill the missing spot. As the board should otherwise have a long live for someone.

Planing down end grain walnut does not sound easy. Maybe a thickness planer would work but a lot of sanding may be required if there is tear out.

 

[Jerry1]

I would probably look for some food safe epoxy and try to fill the missing spot. As the board should otherwise have a long live for someone.

Planing down end grain walnut does not sound easy. Maybe a thickness planer would work but a lot of sanding may be required if there is tear out.

I thought it could be easily planed but as indicated above and in a couple other posts, the board being end grain makes that a more difficult proposition. Additionally, splitting it in half ruins a Boos board and I struggled with that. So, I put it up for sale on a local board for $50. Hoping I can find someone who will use it or maybe a wood worker to take the time to refurbish it.

 

[target2019]

My trestle work desk actually started life as a trestle dining table, about 50 years old, and made entirely of some maple species. The top is butcher block, 1-3/4" thick. Since the size is 3' x 6', I always wondered if splits would occur due to drying out, poor construction, and so on. But it's remained in perfect condition, I don't think a knife or much water has touched the surface.

Our coffee mess sits on a butcher block counter top that is just as old. But years of actual use by the previous owners did a job on it. Once or twice a year I rub oil into it. Amazing how much dirt finds its way into small cuts and grain. It was never sealed properly, so the wood is very dry and showing construction imperfections.

 

[triangle]

I thought it could be easily planed but as indicated above and in a couple other posts, the board being end grain makes that a more difficult proposition. Additionally, splitting it in half ruins a Boos board and I struggled with that. So, I put it up for sale on a local board for $50. Hoping I can find someone who will use it or maybe a wood worker to take the time to refurbish it.

That is great, I think someone will enjoy using it. Maybe they will even enjoy trying to repair it. Too bad that it became damaged as that does make it hard to keep clean. it may have been from some original defect in wood that was too close to the surface, and/or somehow absorbed water in that spot causing it split.

In the past couple of years I have watched a few youtubers make cutting boards with interesting design patterns. I came away with a new appreciation for how much time and effort is involved in making them.

 

[Tetto]

You could bring it to a good wood shop and have it planed down. As long as a follow on piece of wood the same thickness is used when planing, this will greatly diminish or eliminate chip out. It’s my go to way to plane singular stuff in my planer. That’s a nice board and should be saved, not chopped up!

 

[Surewhitey]

You could bring it to a good wood shop and have it planed down. As long as a follow on piece of wood the same thickness is used when planing, this will greatly diminish or eliminate chip out. It’s my go to way to plane singular stuff in my planer. That’s a nice board and should be saved, not chopped up!

Running through a thickness planer can be done & if you don't want blowout, put a round over first and then run it through. I finally tried this and after lots of puckering, it worked. Used stock blades and a Dewalt planer. I used some leftover butcher block counter slab for this one. End grain is the best for boards imo.

Jerry,
I'd give it a whirl if you want to ship it to/back... Just curious of doing it with success and not falling apart in the process.

 

[BoldPelikan]

if you just wanted to lose some thickness you could also have someone take a router to it. Here is a sample video with a trim router but a plunge router would be even easier.

 

[tizod]

I would get a planer (machine, not hand block!) and take some off the top and the bottom: leaves Boos logo if you desire. Then refinish from there. The planer would give pristine refinish to both exposed surfaces with really no rework (maybe sanding a bit). If you do not have a wide enough planer closeby any bigger shop can do it, and maybe a good project to bring into a tech school locally.

 

[Jerry1]

Ended up selling it for $50. Person didn’t seem to care about the blemishes that I pointed out. Asked if he was a woodworker. He said no, just going to use it as is. He got a good deal and I got something we weren’t using out of the house. Win/win.

 

[gutterman]

I cut a cutting board a bit thicker in half about 10 years ago for a friend. I didn't have a table saw and my band saw wasn't big enough so I used what I had, a hand saw. I took a few breaks but I don't remember it as being that hard. A few passes thru my Dewalt planer to clean off the saw marks then I smoothed it with a hand plane. I was done at that point as my friend finished it himself.

 

[RetMD21]

Ebay has a 12 x 12 x 3 Boos maple cutting board listed at $125. I'd try selling

 

[Retired Expat]

This is how I would do it also. Then belt sand it down and finish sanding it with fine grade paper and oil.

I would route out a groove around the top edge with a reservoir for meat juices and blood and stuff. Even at 1.5” thick you would have plenty of depots for that!

 

[Larrystauf]

A surface planer will do it. Most carpenter shops would have one. It will easily remove 1/16" per pass, just take as many passes as necessary to clean up the surface and get to the desired overall thickness. Afterwards use food safe oil to finish.