On 02/21/2010 09:58 PM, dangre wrote:
Stay way from ash or red oak.

Don't know about ash, but I've made a few dozen cutting boards out of
red oak over the past 40 years and haven't had any problems whatsoever.
Well, except for that time my SIL put hers in the dishwasher and put it
on the heavy duty cycle.
There is a Northern and Southern red oak. I've been told the southern
variety is softer and maybe this is a difference whether to use or not.
I've seen the Wikipedia article claiming that red oak has large pores
and the dirt stays in, even after washing. This article also states you
should not use sandpaper on a cutting board because, those grits also
stay in the board, dulling your knife. It also claims oil prevents it
from warping. No cites on any of the info, so I assume its the author's
own thoughts. I'll go with my own experience.
I also use either white or yellow wood glue, but will try Titebond III
next time, and only mineral oil for the finish and upkeep.
Dan

Have you ever put stain on red oak? Not that I like to use stain, but sometimes the job
calls for it, and a couple of years ago I had to use it on a large round kitchen table made
of red oak. Whenever I stain an open pored wood, I like to go over it with compressed air
to get the stain out of the pores so it doesn't sit there taking forever to dry, and
constantly "weeping" out after you wipe it down and walk away. On this particular table I
remember blowing out the pores, and depending on where I aimed the blast of air you could
see stain coming out of the pores *at the other end of the board*, up to three or four feet
away. Another cute trick is to take a red oak dowel, hold it up to your mouth and blow
through one end; you can feel the air coming out the other end (kids love this trick). I
would NOT use red oak for a cutting board...

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