Knot in cutting board
#8
I've been working on making a few cutting boards, and after I started planing them down I ran into a few different knots.  One is decent sized (say, tip of pinky).  There are also a few others that are much tinier (practically pinhole size).  My thought was to fill these with epoxy, but I don't know if that will cause any problems for the knife itself.  Any ideas?

If this isn't a good idea I can cut around the larger one and make a smaller board, but this isn't my first choice.

I'd attach photos but I'm getting a "The file upload failed.  Please choose a valid file and try again." error (not the first time).  

Mark

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#9
Mark,  do you have a tapered plug cutter -   this is just an example, not one that I have  https://www.amazon.com/Snappy-16-Tapered...ial&sr=1-3  If you have one, and a drill press, you can make a plug that is great for dealing with knots.   While you can use epoxy, it will be harder for the user to refresh the board in the future ,  since the epoxy will sand at a different rate than the wood.
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#10
I might make a dowel for the larger one. If you have a dowel making plate you could use the same species as the rest of it.

I would be afraid of epoxy chipping off into the food. I wouldn't do that at all.
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#11
Epoxy won't dull knives.  

John
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#12
No tapered plug cutter. And the piece of wood that came out of the knot was at a pretty good angle, so I'd be looking at a 3/4" hole, and I don't think tapered plugs go that large (though I could be wrong).

Just thought of one solution. If I put a groove on the other side and mainly use the board for meat then I'm probably not going to use the side of the board with the big knot. Though I would need to farm out the cutting of the groove to someone/CNC shop (I'm not willing to try cutting that by hand with a gouge, and I don't have a router).

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#13
I put feet on my cutting boards. There are many reasons for this. I usually make my boards from cutoffs whenever possible, so they are sometimes thin. While never thinner than 5/8", the thinner they are, the more they like to warp. Just the nature of wood and moisture. I use feet and when I fix them I just add washers to the high feet. Usually neoprene, but sometimes stainless if the amount it's off is a lot less. The second is that there's usually a much better side than the other - if you're lucky and you're making a board with butt joints, there are no gaps. Sometimes there are gaps on one side, or more on one side than the other. That one becomes the feet (bottom) side. Same with knots.

I have filled really small gaps with cyanoacrylate, small gaps with glue or filler, and bigger gaps with epoxy. Never had a problem with any of them.
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#14
I have filled those defects with sawdust from the species, then added CA glue.  Build it up slowly in layers until it's slightly proud, then sand it flush.  Or, use a darker wood sawdust to make an accent.  Has worked well for me.  No issues, even after hard use.... Or a resanding and treatment with mineral oil and beeswax.


Big Grin
Jim in Okie
You can tell a lot about the character of a man -
By the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
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