On Mon, 7 Dec 2015 07:35:52 -0800 (PST), rangerssuck
wrote:

On Monday, December 7, 2015 at 9:53:25 AM UTC-5, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Mon, 7 Dec 2015 05:30:31 -0800 (PST), stryped
wrote:

I am making my mom a rather large cutting board as she needs it. between 2ftx2ft and 3ftx3ft. (Need to measure her counter.

It will be made of hard maple. She wants it flat (no feet) so she can use both sides.

I was wondering if I could use 3/8 stainless all thread through it to decrease the likelihood of warping. Or will this just cause more problems?

If I use all thread, should I use a tap and thread the holes the all thread goes through? Should I drill and install the all thread once it is glued? Should I use glue on the all thread?

I will have to make this in "sections" then install the sections together. (My planer is not big enough to plane the entire piece.

Any advice from you experts is appreciated!

Disclaimer: Not an expert.

Opinion based on many decades of woodworking: If you're talking about
solid maple, it will warp. You can use plywood, as Jim referred to, or
you can rip it into narrow (maybe 1") strips, *reversing* the side on
each one, and edge-gluing them with something good (recorcinol is my
choice but it will leave dark-brown glue lines; epoxy will do as well
without the color). Biscuits or dowels will NOT make it stronger. They
just help to line pieces up.

That will be pretty resistant to warping. Tell mom that when she
washes it, wash *both sides* and wipe them dry before putting it away.
Use as little water on it as possible.

I don't think that allthread will do anything except compress the wood
at the washers, compressing it more each time you wet it and crushing
the wood. I have examples of French saute pans that keep compressing
their maple handles for just this reason.

BTW, with epoxy, you won't need any more clamping force than it takes
to hold the strips together. With resorcinol, you will need good bar
clamps, at least two on EACH side of the board.

Good luck! In the good woodworking resources (Fine Woodworking, etc.)
you will find lots ot helpful advice on this. Cutting boards are a
common gift item.

--
Ed Huntress

Agreed (also not an expert). A friend did the allthread thing and it still warped. Ripping strips (and planing them) is a good plan, and the one inch or so width would make sense - more or less like butcher block.

I wonder, though, for someone who had a lot of time on their hands and didn't mind sacrificing about half their wood to sawdust, whether much thinner (1/4" or even 1/8") strips might be better. That would look pretty much like the bamboo cutting boards (which are pretty indestructible). Again, flipping every other piece upside down will minimize warping. I would think that the thinner strips would contain whatever warpage does happen to a smaller area.

Just .0002 cents worth from a would-be woodworker.

Thinner probably is better. You reach a point, though, where ripping
and jointing gets to be pretty tedious.

I have flattened big, sold drafting boards that were badly stored in a
school shop -- with my hand planes and cabinet scrapers. I have no
planer, but I have a solid (and heavy) 6" jointer. I would not try to
joint 1/8" strips. They'll get sucked in and shatter.

My tools for such work is a collection of jointer hand planes, some
with iron soles and two with maple soles. I rarely use power for
something like this.

BTW, Tage Frid, a superb woodworker from Scandinavia, uses a belt
sander instead of a planer. More power to him. He gets beautiful
finishes, but he must have a really good touch with those belt
sanders.

--
Ed Huntress