How did this happen?

[cyclopentadiene]

I made this large live edge cutting board about 5 years ago. It has been perfectly fine and stable for a while. All of a sudden last night, it popped and the entire board is twisted.

 

[Mike Davis]

Did you set a hot pan on it? Looks like burn marks at far edge.
High heat in a concentrated area could cause rapid expansion/shrinkage issues resulting in split.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

My wife did it all the time but not yesterday.
The good thing about being a woodworker, I can make another one.

 

[chris_goris]

Does it always live above the dishwasher? lots of steam and heat there.

 

[MTod]

After last week being pretty hot and steamy, I bet you had the heat on and the moisture change made it go pop. Chris' idea about the proximity to the dishwasher is a good one too.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

It always sat there or on the sink. It was designed with a lip to fir in the top of the sink so she could cut and move the waste into the garbage disposal. The photos did not show it but the bottom was rounded after it cracked. We were in the family room and heard it pop about 9 pm (lunch was at Noon and we ate dinner out). Dishwasher was off for hours no water anywhere.

The good thing is this was a failed design idea. It was very large and 2” thick. It was a beast and my wife did not like the weight at about 70lbs. The next one will span the sink but be thinner and smaller

 

[mkepke]

On the plus side, it proves (yet again) that the glue is stronger than wood.

Given how thick the board is and since your wife wants a lighter cutting board anyways, in your shoes I'd repair the crack and surface out the warp.

-Mark

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

About 70 pounds?!

 

[Gofor]

You don't have a big fat pussycat roaming the house, do you?

 

[Warped Woodwerks]

 

[petebucy4638]

On the plus side, it proves (yet again) that the glue is stronger than wood.

Given how thick the board is and since your wife wants a lighter cutting board anyways, in your shoes I'd repair the crack and surface out the warp.

-Mark

I had some white oak flooring in the shop and I decided to use it to make a top for a workbench. I glued all the joints together as I assembled the top - something that I would never do with a hardwood floor. On several occasions, the floor has split, not at the joints, but in the hardwood itself. Not a single glue joint has ever opened up. Every time that the top is refinished, I end up filling the cracks with wood filler. I have another workbench top that used the same hardwood flooring, installed without glue. It has not cracked in 20 years.

 

[mkepke]

I had some white oak flooring in the shop and I decided to use it to make a top for a workbench. I glued all the joints together as I assembled the top - something that I would never do with a hardwood floor. On several occasions, the floor has split, not at the joints, but in the hardwood itself. Not a single glue joint has ever opened up. Every time that the top is refinished, I end up filling the cracks with wood filler. I have another workbench top that used the same hardwood flooring, installed without glue. It has not cracked in 20 years.

OK, but I think it would be hard for Cyclop. to keep all those little wood squares together without glue.

 

[Jim Wallace]

I treat my butcher block table about once a week with Howard's butcher block conditioner. It's just mineral oil and beeswax. I oil any other cutting boards about every other time they are washed. Regular treatment really penetrates and makes a beautiful finish that improves over time. It looks like this board is very dry.

 

[mark2]

did the board have any sort of feet under it to allow air circulation? - trapped moisture under it could cause uneven expansion of the woody fibers

 

[tri4sale]

Be interesting to take a moisture meter to it and measure multiple spots around the wood and see if there is large difference.

 

[smallboat]

On the plus side, it proves (yet again) that the glue is stronger than wood.

Given how thick the board is and since your wife wants a lighter cutting board anyways, in your shoes I'd repair the crack and surface out the warp.

-Mark

I did that with a commercial made cutting board I’ve had so long I don’t know where it came from. Probably my grandmother’s kitchen. At some point one of the boards decided to warp and popped the glue joints. I ran it through the table saw along the bad joints, scrapped the warped piece and reglued it. In the process I planed it smooth. now I have a slightly smaller, slightly thinner cutting board and really like it.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

Marks suggestion may be the issue. The board sits into the sink where the bottom is exposed to water. We had family over for lunch and it sat on the counter all day.

And i coated it with beeswax/ mineral oil as I remembered, no regular schedule. I had ran out and needed more beeswax

 

[smallboat]

Marks suggestion may be the issue. The board sits into the sink where the bottom is exposed to water. We had family over for lunch and it sat on the counter all day.

And i coated it with beeswax/ mineral oil as I remembered, no regular schedule. I had ran out and needed more beeswax

Your dishwasher probably drains to the garbage disposal which puts the heated water in the sink drain where it vents up under your board. just another possibility