On May 4, 11:18*am, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , (Derek Lyons) wrote:
(Doug Miller) wrote:

Make sure the wood is thoroughly dry, straight, and flat. Then use a
waterproof glue -- not merely water *resistant*. A urea-formaldehyde glue,
such as DAP Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue, would be the best choice IMHO.

No, the first consideration for cutting board glues is whether or not
it is safe to use in contact with food. *I can find no cite that the
glue above is FDA approved.

I guess you should have looked a little harder. The technical bulletin listed
at the manufacturer's web site specifically recommends it for use in cutting
boards.

http://www.dap.com/docs/tech/00030201.pdf

The glue most often reccomened is Titebond -II or -III.

Depends on who's doing the recommending...

As the guy who would be building the board, and my family and friends
the one eating off of it, I'd be less than thrilled to read these
words in the DAP Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue MSDS:

EFFECTS OF OVEREXPOSURE - INGESTION: May cause stomach and intestinal
irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, weakness, and headache.
Ingestion of over 1 gram/day of barium chloride (25 grams/day of
product) may raise blood pressure and affect heart action.

The amount is someone would ingest from a cutting board would be
minimal, but still, let's look for a safer alternative.

Gorilla Glue:
Ingestion Product is not intended to be ingested or eaten.If this
product is ingested,severe irritation of the gastrointestinal tract
may occur,and should be treated symptomatically. Do not induce the
patient or animal to vomit.Call a doctor,ambulance or seek
veterinarian assistance immediately.

The word severe scares me. Keep looking.

Titebond II:
INGESTION: No hazard expected in normal industrial use. Ingestion is
not a likely route of exposure.

Hmmm. I guess Titebond is weaseling around on this one. I cook meals
for small groups and the use of the product in a cutting board does
make the exposure route much more likely. Keep looking.

Maybe the new and improved Titebond III?
Nope. The most weaselly MSDS of them all. It states that ingestion
is a route of entry, and that you should contact a poison control
center immediately, but it has no information about the effects. It's
also interesting to see that they put NO to skin contact as a route of
entry, but it says it can cause skin irritation. From their promo
literature we have this gem: "FDA approved for indirect food contact"
What does that mean

Franklin's Hide Glue:
INGESTION: Single dose oral toxicity is considered to be extremely
low. No hazards expected from swallowing small amounts incidental to
normal handling operations. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal
irritation.

If this is starting to make you nervous, take heart, the cutting board
you are using now probably came from China where they're using the new
lead-based glue-extender.

And there's hope:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1014193722.htm

I ran across a number of places where a particular glue was listed as
either non-toxic...or maybe not. This site
http://askville.amazon.com/wood-glue...questId=790353
gave the plastic resin glue (urea formaldehyde) a non-toxic in its
cured state rating. I think I'll take that and call it good and worry
about some other stuff that will kill me.

R