Use of maple, soft, hard

[tonyps]

Morning all,

I would appreciate the advice of those with the experience to help me out on this...
I am building a kitchen island. The top will be subjected to pot holding, cutting, sliding things around and just good ole kitchen stuff. I plan to use the following for doing this:
White oak, Black Walnut, Brazilian Cherry and some spalted maple I have remaining..
:dontknow:How hard is the spalted maple? I realize it is not as hard as "hard or rock maple", but exactly how soft is it? Would it be suitable for this type of use? Could it be used with other woods for cutting boards as well?:eusa_thin
Thanks for your input!
Tony ...

 

[Travis Porter]

Morning all,

I would appreciate the advice of those with the experience to help me out on this...
I am building a kitchen island. The top will be subjected to pot holding, cutting, sliding things around and just good ole kitchen stuff. I plan to use the following for doing this:
White oak, Black Walnut, Brazilian Cherry and some spalted maple I have remaining..
:dontknow:How hard is the spalted maple? I realize it is not as hard as "hard or rock maple", but exactly how soft is it? Would it be suitable for this type of use? Could it be used with other woods for cutting boards as well?:eusa_thin
Thanks for your input!
Tony ...

It depends. Is it soft maple or hard maple? Spalted maple is maple that is decomposing so I don't know that I would use it for a cutting board. MTCW which may totaly be incorrect.

 

[CarvedTones]

Using spalted...

If I only get a short answer, it has to be "No."

A long answer that was other than "No" would require looking at the specific piece of wood and exact plan of use (cut to what size, adhered how to what, finished with what) and the words "epoxy" and "filler" might come up. The answer still might be "No".

 

[toolman]

I would use Hard Maple. :wsmile: I would also use the end grain for the butcher block. :saw:

 

[TV]

I am going to throw a wrench in here. I am finishing the glue up of a kitchen island top made of spalted maple. Like Jeff stated in another thread, the soft maple is quite hard. The issue I was concerned about was not the spalted part but the wormy part.

I am going to start out with sealing the top with shellac (suggested by a couple other members on this site) and then a wipe on poly. I will not be using it to cut on. It will be a surface for placing plates, pots and thinks like that. The larger worm holes (just a handful), I am going to probably fill but the rest of them, I believe, will be sealed off nicely with the shellac and 4-5 coats of poly.

The disclaimer is if I have to replace the top of the island down the road, I will live with that. It is 1-3/4" thick, I am sure my wife can find something to do with it if need be.

My $6.29, adjust for inflation.

tv

 

[Travis Porter]

Todd, the fact you are a Jayhawk fan automatically implies a lower level of intelligence, so that explains a lot. ;-)

Seriously, a countertop and cutting board are two totally different things. You can't really seal a cutting board with shellac or poly IMO, but for a counter top it will be fine. As for the worm holes, I don't see a problem with them in general. For a cutting board, do you really want decomposing wood particles in your food?

 

[DavidF]

I would tend to agree with Travis here. Spalted for a work top, great, just a little sealing as we discussed on Saturday, but for a cutting board, no, I wouldn't do it. Why not make the top of the spalted and make a large ish cutting board in end grain hard or soft maple, that would look great with just a little oil on it.

 

[tonyps]

:thumbs_upThanks for the replies this far. I understand the issues, so I suppose I could seal the top in the ways mentioned and use a separate cutting board made of the proper hardwoods. Or, I can located some hard maple and use the entire surface...
The LOML wanted a surface that she can use for placing pots, pans and preparing foods, without having to "drag out (her words, not mine)" a separate board for cutting...and I am leaning heavily towards that desire, however, clear hard maple is difficult to find around these parts....at a price that will not hurt..:help:

Thanks all, appreciate the comments..
Regards,
Tony ...

 

[Travis Porter]

How much hard maple do you need? I have some I can sell you for what I paid for it.

 

[tonyps]

Afternoon,
Thanks for the generous offer Travis. :eusa_danc I could use somewhere close to 25bdft, or a bit more, depending on the dimensions...

 

[Travis Porter]

I have 8/4 and 4/4 and will sell it to you for what I paid for it. I got it from Wall lumber. His prices are at www.walllumber.com. If you want it, send me a PM and we can work out the details.

 

[TV]

I hear you, Travis, concerning cutting board versus countertop. Which is why I stated we weren't using it for cutting.

Concerning being a Jayhawker, I can absorb the comment with a smile. Winning makes it all better. :wsmile:

tv