I had two cutting boards blow up....

[julian abram]

You certainly got a very nice bowl out of the ordeal, very nice!

[Bill Adamsen]

Those are mind boggling ... very impressive and creative! It took me awhile to figure out how you did it. Very nice.

I would agree with Prashun's observation about grain orientation. When I build boards I am very careful to make sure the grain is all oriented as close to the same as possible. Cutting boards that are meant to be used cannot be moisture encapsulated so expansion (and contraction) must be accommodated by using wood with similar movement and movement aligned. This means expansion similar species and same grain orientation.

[Larry Gipson]

This is a fascinating discussion for me since I'm finishing my first cutting board at the moment. The board is hard maple (16x22) with a 3/4 in "border" of padauk. The entire board, including the border is end grain. I'm worried about the different coefficients of expansion for the two species. I may have problems too.

I'm just now routing a juice ring on one side, then I'll coat it with a beeswax and mineral oil solution. I have some Boos boards mystery oil to maintain it, though some say to use walnut oil. It's all trial and error on the first board.

Wood expands in width and not in length for the most part. I wouldn't try to mix grain directions in a glue up. I'd mess it up for sure

[Jebediah Eckert]

Larry-

There are a bunch of end grain threads on here, if you read them all you will see some "general consensus" on methods. One of them being how to finish them. Plain old mineral oil seems to be the most popular, also mixing in some beeswax as well. Some people soak them in the mineral oil and some just keep flooding it on til it won't take it anymore. I flood but I'm thinking soaking would be better, I just never have enough mineral oil to submerge them. Also when your done you have to rebottle the remaining oil.

Now on grain direction. I'm sure the "right" way to do it is have all the grain running in the same direction. But......I never do. I have made a few dozen of them over the years and use mostly scrap. I mix species and grain direction. The boards have all been finished with mineral oil, the newer ones I started mixing in some beeswax. The bees were mad at first but they got over it. Also I put small rubber feet on the boards. The oldest are years old and I have yet to have one crack, break, or pop yet. Most are with friends and family and get heavy use. They are careful to wash and dry after use and oil gets added when they seem to need it, although some take better care then others.

I use scraps and I'm not even sure how I could align grain direction, it goes all over the place. Even if I tried and skipped the diagonal grain, I would enviably mess it up either on the first glue up, or for sure on the second.

Again, I'm sure aligning the grain is the best way to do it. But if you are already glued up I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe I have just been lucky so far?

[Cody Colston]

Did you once play quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings?

[Jebediah Eckert]

Did you once play quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings?

+1, I threw a "go Vikings" in my first post but nobody bit. If so I wonder if he is more disappointed in the cutting board incident, or Blair Walsh............

[Tom Sontag]

Solid wood will always want to move as moisture levels change, so I am not sure I get the epoxy suggestions unless it is lathered on so thick moisture never gets through it. Yes you can stabilize wood but that is beyond most hobbyist woodworker's tool kit.

So count me in the "no frame" group, but there could be another way to make this (or chess boards, or similar): resaw the crazy quilt block into thin veneers and glue to a stable substrate such as plywood. I would recommend a slice no more than 1/4" thick so that the glue and substrate can hold back the wood's tendencies. Perhaps not the best way to make a cutting board, but if you insist on a frame it will work.