Cutting Boards - Part 11

I did manage to perform the announced test, so today I will write shortly about how it went.

Initially, I was not particularly meticulous about it. I simply cut and drilled one piece of black locust wood into the rough curve of the handle. I only bent the 6 mm steel rods, I did not make the notches into the end – I just degreased them with denatured alcohol. After that, I drilled 10 mm deep holes into another piece of black locust and I glued everything together with PU wood glue.

The result was not particularly aesthetically pleasing, but it was sufficient for testing the strength of the glued joints. I took it into my garden shed and I fixed it to the beam across the entrance with two clamps. That way I could simply pull on the handle with both hands to estimate the force at which the glue gives up.

It did not give up, it was strong enough to effectively do a pull-up. So the simplest glued joint possible was stronger than 72 kg. That is more than sufficient for a kitchen board.

Because the glued joint exceeded expectations, I rounded off all rough edges on the handle to make it comfortable in the hand.

And on the opposite side of the board, I attached an offcut of velcro for attaching abrasive papers.

The test results are thus better than good, they are excellent. I will save money because PU glue is significantly cheaper than epoxy. I will save time because I do not need to mix two-component glue together and I do not need to make notches into the steel. As an added bonus, I now have a flat, strong sanding board on which I can change abrasives easily and quickly.