Thread: Bent issue of end grain chopping boards

I think tite bond three is water resistant in most situations and recommend that if product is immersed in water it is not as good, if immersing board when washing will depend how long you submerged the board. I stand corrected if I have advised incorrectly

parts separating can be due to a few things, insufficient glue, improper wood preparation or excess moisture. All of which is probably too late to rectify now without serious surgery. The thickness of the board shouldn't be an issue i've made boards as thin as 30mm up to 50mm without any issues.

Given that you say it only happens after use, i'd say its a moisture issue, so letting it dry properly between uses, ie not putting it away after washing and don't submerge the board or stick in dish washer. Clean with a damp cloth only

I haven't worked with camphor laurel but in my experience if the boards are bending and cracking it is most likely a moisture issue, the wood is not completely dry. Most houses are drier than their sheds so even dry wood from the shed will still want to loose a bit of moisture when brought inside. With the board sitting on a kitchen bench it cant loose moisture out of its base so only the top and sides will dry causing cupping and cracking. An ordinary piece of wood will do the same thing.
I recently made a celery top pine cutting board which developed a couple of internal cracks but seems to have stabilised now.
My advice is to make sure that you have the grain running in the same direction for all the individual blocks. Wood shrinks at different rates at right angles to the grain (radial) and in line with the grain (tangential to the grain) and along the length of the board. Use dry wood, I sometimes even bring the timber inside for a week or so before the final glue up. Turn the board daily for the first week or two to let it dry evenly.

I have had something similar with a board made from mountain ash and jarah in a check pattern. I think it is just an expansion of the wood on the side that has been used. On mine it warps a little bit if I wipe one side with a damp cloth. It becomes raised in the middle towards the damp side It takes a few hours to happen and returns to flat over a few days. My theory is that the moisture does not penetrate far and the fibers in the middle of the board dry more slowly than those on the edges.
I don’t think it has anything to do with the adhesive but more likely to do with grain orientation as Tony suggests.
The solution would possibly be to prevent moisture getting into the wood fibers by sealing somehow. I am just living with it.

I have had success using tung oil on the back of the board and mineral oil on the work surface.

The combination guarantees the the rear stays dry and reapplying oil to the front every 3 months or so protects it even though it has received lots of knife cuts.