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Need help - warped cutting board!

2K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  lumberjuniorvarsity 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So i just finished a walnut and purple heart end grain cutting board, and I had read that leaving the board in the sun will bring back some of the purple in the purple heart. So I left the house this morning with the sanded but unfinished board in the sunlight, and I just returned to find the board severely warped.

There was no moisture on the board and no finish applied yet. The side of the board that was being hit by the sun is now concave.

So my options are

1) Flip the board over and see if it warps back.

2) Remove it from the sunlight and see if it warps back.

3) Something else?

Please help!
 
#8 ·
I had one warp from setting in water- not what happened to yours- but I put it in the oven at the lowest possible setting for several hours. It flattened back out.
 
#10 ·
I wouldn't start with the oven. The side towards the sun is no concave. So, either that side dried out some from the heat of the sun or the other side absorbed moisture from whatever it was sitting on. I would let it re-acclimate to the humidity of your shop to see what happens before doing any heat treatment. The cauls should help.

Good luck It is a pretty board. Nice grain patterns.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. Chalk this one up to stupidity/ignorance. I should have thought more about the effect of leaving the board in the sun for 4 hours - especially since that side of our house gets a lot of heat from the sun. Lesson learned (the hard way).

I just checked it, and fortunately it went from having a 1/8" crown to having a 1/32" crown. So now I'm thinking I may just leave it alone. I'm a little nervous about putting it in cauls or the oven after everything I've done to it. Plus, it's a gift for my wife who won't mind at all that it has a little crown. If I was selling it - it might be a different story.

She wants to use these when she's cutting on it:

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/158830/chobs-cutting-board-feet-4pc-red-green.aspx

So I don't think a slight crown will really make a difference.

Once I finish it and put some handles on I'll post it as a 'project', so if anyone cares you'll see how it turns out.

Thanks again for your advice, I really appreciate it!
 
#16 ·
One thing about Purpleheart….it will darken on it's own as time goes along. And when you finally use mineral oil, or salad bowl dressing, etc., you'll really see the difference in the Walnut and Purpleheart, also….Talk about grain "popping"....
 
#17 ·
One thing about Purpleheart….it will darken on it s own as time goes along. And when you finally use mineral oil, or salad bowl dressing, etc., you ll really see the difference in the Walnut and Purpleheart, also….Talk about grain "popping"....

- Rick Dennington
A great signature!!! Reminds me of another one, wife ask hubby "what are going to do today?" He sez "nothing" , she sez, "thats what you did yesterday", he sez, "ya it is, but I am not finished yet"!!!
 
#18 ·
it got concave as it dried and shrunk on that side
anytime I leave purpleheart scraps outside in the hot sun they quickly develop
check cracks from the drying

the purple color is activated by uv so you dont really need direct sunlight, just has to be outdoors.
it wont stay bright though, get a little darker but still nice with the oiled finish.
 
#19 ·
" So now I'm thinking I may just leave it alone."

Wise ^^

Sealed it up and put those red and green feet on your CB and your done.

Good job lumberjuniorvarsity!

- waho6o9
I really wish I would have actually left it alone. But after thinking about it a while I worked up the courage to put it in the oven. BIG MISTAKE. I put it in the oven for 2.5 hours at 170F (the lowest it would go) which did not only not fix the warping, but managed to crack the board in 4 places. Two are along glue joints at the edge of the board, and two are right in the middle of purple heart sections.

I've been awake all night just sick over this. I wanted to make this board back in April for my wife as an anniversary gift, but other house renovations got in the way. I finally got to it and it came out great - then I destroyed it. I'm not sure what to do now. I just got up (3:30am) and looked at it and the cracks have closed up to where I can just barely see them. I'm thinking that will actually make any kind of repair even harder - I was thinking about getting some epoxy to fill the cracks and re-clamp. Now I don't know.

The 'lesson' continues…
 
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