Often, the specialty wood sold as hobby wood comes from end cuts and unused scrap from larger projects, so it's far cheaper. Try buying a large enough plank of zebra wood to make an entire cutting board sometime and you'll get the picture pretty quick.
I had a one piece 24" wide curly maple cutting board. It was luckily an offcut, but it was not cheap. And it was a cutting board so it split in a few years.
The one time I washed it and laid it horizontal to dry, yes. Luckily I caught it fast and rewetted it and got it hot and it went back. After that it was wash/oil/stand vertical.
different woods are beautiful, and different parts of the same tree are beautiful. different trees from the same species are beautiful. Why, as a wood worker, would you limit yourself? There are times and places to showcase a beautiful flitch, or bord but you know wood workers are creative, and we want to make fun stuff. Look at the whole artistry of marquetry. Creating beautiful images and patterns from difrent wood.
And of course there are practical reasons. For instance, using a whole 2 or 3 inch slab of whatever to make a cutting bord is not a great idea it will warp and split and won't last as long as you might want it to. Using a 15" x 3/4" bord to make a cubord door will end horribly (unless you do a shaker panel, but that's a difrent story)
Lastly sustainability, why would I put a 2" wide piece maple in the trash? The tree has been felled. Sure that peace of maple can return to the earth, but there's been time,energy and fuel spent for that piece to become something by my hands. I don't throw out the Stear after I've eaten the ribe eye, why do the same to a tree?
The cost of boards increases exponentially with width above a breaking point for any species of hardwood. The various kinds of furniture that incorporate live edge slabs exacerbate this problem by inspiring hardware dealers to sell large slabs at a higher price than the normal increase for wide boards.
Laminations are more stable.
Laminations offer aesthetic opportunities that single panels cannot.
I wouldn't call it a trend so much as a function of many of the factors that impact the supply and demand of hardwood. There are a lot more hobbyists making furniture than there were, say, 30 or 50 years ago. There are also a lot fewer large old trees to make boards out of.
For what it's worth, even if the death of the live edge fad brought prices of wide boards back down, I'd prefer to laminate. I've never really preferred the look of a single large piece. Since people don't do heavy carving on the sides of pieces as much anymore, a single-board top can make these more minimalist styles of furniture look too rustic for my taste.
Boards that are to be used for actual cutting should be either end or edge grain. Even if you could find a giant edge grain piece; it would be 6 inches wide at most.
I mean I paid $0 for a some piece of wood on the side of the road in China, so maybe it's even worse?
Amazingly, you can actually find Chinese Honey Locust on the side of the road in America too because someone decided to import invasive species.
In China it's one of the main choices for chopping blocks. They are pretty cheap on TaoBao as well, like maybe $25 for something the size of mine. Sometimes they have feet on them even.
Like 25 years ago when I was at college, I tried to collect tree stumps and sell them but apparently in America we only see big flat pretty boards as chopping boards.
I made a cutting board 18”x30”from a single piece of figured hard maple 15+ years ago from a cutoff from an entertainment console I made for a client and use it almost everyday it’s still flat and no cracks or checks but it is taken care of from day one. A lot of people make cutting boards to sell and people want something cool colorful but it’s not recommended to use porous wood like oak , black walnut etc… because food can get trapped in the loose grain and rot, bacteria will grow in the porous wood and also use of exotic wood is not recommended because they can cause allergic reactions and some are considered not safe for direct food contact. Rant over I’ll see myself out I have to oil my cutting board anyway :)
https://www.woodcuttingboardstore.com/worst-woods-cutting-boards/#:~:text=Highly%20Porous%20Woods%3A%20Woods%20with,issues%20and%20potential%20food%20contamination.
I'd say it depends on a few factors. As other users mentioned, lumber is expensive. But I think the bigger factors is that you can control the fiberdirection over the width of the board with which you can control how the board moves with moisture changes. And you can combine pieces with differing colours to make a cool board like above.
I did a cutting board in the 7th grade in woodshop. Was really proud of it. Now, it's something that I do when other stuff is drying and don't take particular pride in, it's like a mechanic bragging about changing oil. Not sure why people go so crazy coming up with cutting board patterns that look like 1980's Atari Q-Bert
Well, technically it’s not a fully custom piece if you cannot customize it and specify the wood you want. So if you’re truly looking for something custom made, you should go talk to the woodworker and they will probably be able to figure it out for you and give you a quote, or at least give you a reason why they can’t and why they are using this kind of wood only. (But other people here gave you the most likely answer already, it’s cheaper this way. My point still stands, if you are willing to pay for it, you’ll probably find someone to make it for you)
New lumber is lil Wide boards are spensive Glue small boards together cheap
Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?
Thank
r/talesfromcavesupport
That she said
Screw up wide board 2x spensive
Screw up the glue up
Scoop the goop
Woodworker Haiku
Monkee see. Monkee doo. Monkee profit.
Stability
I’m surprised to find this so low down. Wide boards can warp more dramatically, is what I’ve always heard.
Cutting boards are what you use your scraps for.
Often, the specialty wood sold as hobby wood comes from end cuts and unused scrap from larger projects, so it's far cheaper. Try buying a large enough plank of zebra wood to make an entire cutting board sometime and you'll get the picture pretty quick.
I had a one piece 24" wide curly maple cutting board. It was luckily an offcut, but it was not cheap. And it was a cutting board so it split in a few years.
Yep. Specialty hardwood is getting expensive.
I got lucky as pops had rented a sawmill and we did some logging. We sold a bunch to the hardwood mill and it was a decent check.
I was going to say, I bet you could also do skateboard tricks on it by the end
The one time I washed it and laid it horizontal to dry, yes. Luckily I caught it fast and rewetted it and got it hot and it went back. After that it was wash/oil/stand vertical.
This is why I put feet on my cutting boards.
Also smaller pieces of wood glued together is more stable than 1 wide piece.
different woods are beautiful, and different parts of the same tree are beautiful. different trees from the same species are beautiful. Why, as a wood worker, would you limit yourself? There are times and places to showcase a beautiful flitch, or bord but you know wood workers are creative, and we want to make fun stuff. Look at the whole artistry of marquetry. Creating beautiful images and patterns from difrent wood. And of course there are practical reasons. For instance, using a whole 2 or 3 inch slab of whatever to make a cutting bord is not a great idea it will warp and split and won't last as long as you might want it to. Using a 15" x 3/4" bord to make a cubord door will end horribly (unless you do a shaker panel, but that's a difrent story) Lastly sustainability, why would I put a 2" wide piece maple in the trash? The tree has been felled. Sure that peace of maple can return to the earth, but there's been time,energy and fuel spent for that piece to become something by my hands. I don't throw out the Stear after I've eaten the ribe eye, why do the same to a tree?
Big wood hard find, little wood less money. Glue cheap. Money hard find.
The cost of boards increases exponentially with width above a breaking point for any species of hardwood. The various kinds of furniture that incorporate live edge slabs exacerbate this problem by inspiring hardware dealers to sell large slabs at a higher price than the normal increase for wide boards. Laminations are more stable. Laminations offer aesthetic opportunities that single panels cannot. I wouldn't call it a trend so much as a function of many of the factors that impact the supply and demand of hardwood. There are a lot more hobbyists making furniture than there were, say, 30 or 50 years ago. There are also a lot fewer large old trees to make boards out of. For what it's worth, even if the death of the live edge fad brought prices of wide boards back down, I'd prefer to laminate. I've never really preferred the look of a single large piece. Since people don't do heavy carving on the sides of pieces as much anymore, a single-board top can make these more minimalist styles of furniture look too rustic for my taste.
Boards that are to be used for actual cutting should be either end or edge grain. Even if you could find a giant edge grain piece; it would be 6 inches wide at most.
My actual cutting board is a 24”diameter x 18” thick round of Chinese honey locust. Will last a couple 100 years at least.
#humblebrag
I mean I paid $0 for a some piece of wood on the side of the road in China, so maybe it's even worse? Amazingly, you can actually find Chinese Honey Locust on the side of the road in America too because someone decided to import invasive species. In China it's one of the main choices for chopping blocks. They are pretty cheap on TaoBao as well, like maybe $25 for something the size of mine. Sometimes they have feet on them even. Like 25 years ago when I was at college, I tried to collect tree stumps and sell them but apparently in America we only see big flat pretty boards as chopping boards.
Do you think trees only get 6” thick?
I made a cutting board 18”x30”from a single piece of figured hard maple 15+ years ago from a cutoff from an entertainment console I made for a client and use it almost everyday it’s still flat and no cracks or checks but it is taken care of from day one. A lot of people make cutting boards to sell and people want something cool colorful but it’s not recommended to use porous wood like oak , black walnut etc… because food can get trapped in the loose grain and rot, bacteria will grow in the porous wood and also use of exotic wood is not recommended because they can cause allergic reactions and some are considered not safe for direct food contact. Rant over I’ll see myself out I have to oil my cutting board anyway :) https://www.woodcuttingboardstore.com/worst-woods-cutting-boards/#:~:text=Highly%20Porous%20Woods%3A%20Woods%20with,issues%20and%20potential%20food%20contamination.
It's the adult version of gluing popsicle sticks together.
Arts and crafts with deadly machines
As with most everything else, it's all about the cost.
Trees are small young thin.
I'd say it depends on a few factors. As other users mentioned, lumber is expensive. But I think the bigger factors is that you can control the fiberdirection over the width of the board with which you can control how the board moves with moisture changes. And you can combine pieces with differing colours to make a cool board like above.
Lamination is like large-grain plywood. The combination of glue and different wood, grain direction stabilizes the end product.
Popular because ... wood expensive and ... people have offcuts to use.
You never laminate a cutting board. It’s toxic . Instead use tight grain maple, Purple Heart or Walnut
Where did you get that photo? I swear that looks like something I made
because its pretty
I did a cutting board in the 7th grade in woodshop. Was really proud of it. Now, it's something that I do when other stuff is drying and don't take particular pride in, it's like a mechanic bragging about changing oil. Not sure why people go so crazy coming up with cutting board patterns that look like 1980's Atari Q-Bert
My buddy makes clean cutting boards, and includes their own mineral oil wax with em.
Well, technically it’s not a fully custom piece if you cannot customize it and specify the wood you want. So if you’re truly looking for something custom made, you should go talk to the woodworker and they will probably be able to figure it out for you and give you a quote, or at least give you a reason why they can’t and why they are using this kind of wood only. (But other people here gave you the most likely answer already, it’s cheaper this way. My point still stands, if you are willing to pay for it, you’ll probably find someone to make it for you)
I mis-read that as lamentation, and was like; “Have you looked outside?”
Bad taste.