Urethane coatings on new boards?

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SeattleBen

SeattleBen

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I hadn't seen this, but that's true of lots of things. My quick understanding is that if it's dried/cured for the appropriate amount of time that it's fine.

Given that-

Does it change the ability of the board to absorb oil and if so for how long?

Thanks and happy new years.
 
I suppose that depends on how many and how thick the urethane coats are? I recently purchased an end grain board from ebay that was listed as having food safe urethane on it. I had some trepidation as well, but figured it was cheap enough to give it a shot and I could always sand it down if necessary. I was surprised when I got it that it readily soaked up mineral oil consistently across the surfaces. I applied probably 10 liberal coats of mineral oil equating to around 4oz or so and it soaked up every drop. So I guess, it totally depends on how sealed the board actually is. Which board are you looking at purchasing?
 
Indeed, same guy. It's a damn nice board if you ask me. Granted, I have no experience with the likes of boardsmith, Jones, cotton and dust, etc, so maybe I have no concept of "quality" when it comes to butcher blocks. Regardless, I am happy with the money I spent on the board and very impressed with it.
 
Not sure I understand the purpose of the urethane coating. To make it more "food safe"? Is that actually accurate?
 
podzap said:
Obviously if I was able to send a message via ebay then I would have done it.
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That's the only way to message an eBay seller. eBay discourages contacting via email.
The seller's email isn't even displayed in the PayPal transaction.
No idea how you'd contact him if you can't figure out how to message in eBay.
 
doomtop said:
Not sure I understand the purpose of the urethane coating. To make it more "food safe"? Is that actually accurate?
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My best guess is to stabilize the moisture content of wood,
so it doesn't crack while in inventory and/or transport...
 
parbaked said:
That's the only way to message an eBay seller. eBay discourages contacting via email.
The seller's email isn't even displayed in the PayPal transaction.
No idea how you'd contact him if you can't figure out how to message in eBay.
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OK, thanks for the information. I find that to be quite controlling behavior, especially since I tried to message the seller via ebay and it said that "something went wrong, try again later" which is obviously a ******** scenario.
 
podzap said:
OK, thanks for the information. I find that to be quite controlling behavior, especially since I tried to message the seller via ebay and it said that "something went wrong, try again later" which is obviously a ******** scenario.
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From eBay's perspective, allowing users to communicate directly means they will work out a deal outside of eBay, which means eBay doesn't get its cut. Definitely controlling, but it makes sense why they do it.
 
podzap said:
OK, thanks for the information. I find that to be quite controlling behavior, especially since I tried to message the seller via ebay and it said that "something went wrong, try again later" which is obviously a ******** scenario.
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Try to click on one of his items for sale and then click on "contact seller".
It might work if your message in regard to a specific item instead of just a message to a seller.
 
Thanks, tried that, too. I simply will not deal with an anoymous person. This guy is in a forum somewhere.
 
podzap said:
Thanks, tried that, too. I simply will not deal with an anoymous person. This guy is in a forum somewhere.
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This is not how ebay works, the sellers are non anonymous to ebay...that's the whole point.
 
There should be no problem at all buying via ebay. It's a well-known seller, so this should be totally easy. Still - shipping of large cutting boards from the US to Finland should be costly. If I were you, I'd look for a board maker who is closer to you.

The Urethane stuff is quite unusual. I'd suspect that the wood is saturated with the Urethane, so it won't go as dry as it normally would, because the U is more stable than oil. Might work, but is certainly unusual. But why not? As long as the U. is IN the wood - a layer on top would of course end up in your food, which can't be ideal.
 
miggus said:
As long as the U. is IN the wood - a layer on top would of course end up in your food, which can't be ideal.
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Here is the material safety data sheet for polyurethane varnish:

http://www.duralexpaints.com.au/Media/Documents/PU Varnish-Gloss and Satin SDS.pdf

Section 11, "Toxologial Information" says:
"Ingestion
This material is classified non-hazardous. No known adverse effects expected however ingestion of large amounts may cause vomiting and nausea."
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my question is "why choose urethane instead of mineral oil or min oil/ beeswax combo?"
my guess as to the answer is aesthetics with less work. it will look nice, but it doesnt sound like the right choice to me. seems bad for the health of the board and bad for the health of the knife.
 
If the board is absorbing mineral oil, then I question how the ureathane coating is applied.

Go put water or oil on your hardwood floors, it doesn’t absorb. My issue with a cured finish on a cutting board is two fold. 1) you cut into the cured finish all the time that’s ugly. 2) a cured finish would be like a plastic coating, poly boards need to be sanitized differently than wood.

All I am saying it something doesn’t add up.
 
I have my doubts about the urethane, too. I don't think it would penetrate into the wood more than a millimetre or so, so I don't see the point: it probably doesn't achieve much, other than improve the cosmetics.

But, from the SDS, it looks like the urethane is not going to be harmful if you end up with tiny quantities from the board getting into the food.
 
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miggus said:
There should be no problem at all buying via ebay. It's a well-known seller, so this should be totally easy. Still - shipping of large cutting boards from the US to Finland should be costly. If I were you, I'd look for a board maker who is closer to you.
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You can't even buy walnut in Europe and that's what I want. I also want a board from him, as he has such a good reputation, but I need a custom size so that it fits into the place I have available to store it. That means that I want to have an actual conversation.
 
So, I have been able to write a ebay-message to the seller and received a friendly response very swiftly. I really don't understand why you're having problems.
Also, I found a dozen walnut boards from EU sellers - for example, if you use german shops, they usually go by "Nussbaum" ("Nut Tree").

You should really easily be able to get what you want, from 227wood or from an EU-based vendor.
 
miggus said:
So, I have been able to write a ebay-message to the seller and received a friendly response very swiftly. I really don't understand why you're having problems.
Also, I found a dozen walnut boards from EU sellers - for example, if you use german shops, they usually go by "Nussbaum" ("Nut Tree").

You should really easily be able to get what you want, from 227wood or from an EU-based vendor.
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I think ebay blocked my messages and now is not anymore giving me the option to send a message.

Googling for "nussbaum hackblock stirnholz" gives a few options, but most of them are tiny in size. Quite many of the results are actually European companies importing and selling Boos blocks from the USA.

In any case, I need a custom size.
 
Ended up purchasing the 16" x 20" at 3" thick walnut end-grain board from 227wood. Even with shipping and customs, turned out cheaper than the equivalent Russian boards. Should be arriving by the end of this week.
 
podzap said:
Ended up purchasing the 16" x 20" at 3" thick walnut end-grain board from 227wood. Even with shipping and customs, turned out cheaper than the equivalent Russian boards. Should be arriving by the end of this week.
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What was the price before shipping and customs? I was looking for a board around those dimensions, maybe 2" tall since my kitchen island is pretty tall.
 
His shop is right down the road from me. FYI, you can contact via eBay I think. Ask seller a question about item. Unless that’s changed, which seeing how bad ebay is now would not surprise me. I’ll see if I can dig up the shop number in barrington Illinois.
 
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