[zxcvbob]

Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.

I've wet it on both sides and put it on the countertop with about 60
pounds of dumbbells on top. That almost takes the warp out, and I'm
hoping it will sag overnight and flatten completely. No idea how much
it will spring back when I take the weight off. I took the weights off
after about an hour to see if it was doing anything and it was
definitely straighter -- but not anywhere near enough.

Anybody have a better idea? I think I'm on the right track but might
need to run it thru the dishwasher again and weigh it down while it's
still hot. Sort of like steaming it.

Bob

[Jeßus[_3_]]

On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:14:30 -0500, zxcvbob >
wrote:

>Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
>cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
>sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
>it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.
>
>I've wet it on both sides and put it on the countertop with about 60
>pounds of dumbbells on top. That almost takes the warp out, and I'm
>hoping it will sag overnight and flatten completely. No idea how much
>it will spring back when I take the weight off. I took the weights off
>after about an hour to see if it was doing anything and it was
>definitely straighter -- but not anywhere near enough.
>
>Anybody have a better idea? I think I'm on the right track but might
>need to run it thru the dishwasher again and weigh it down while it's
>still hot. Sort of like steaming it.

If you put the board curved side down outdoors in direct sunshine, it
might straighten it out. If you do this though, keep an eye on it as
it may curve too far. I've straightened plenty of planks of wood this
way, not too sure how it'll work on a bamboo board... but it might
work.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:14:30 -0500, zxcvbob >
wrote:

>Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
>cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
>sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
>it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.
>
>I've wet it on both sides and put it on the countertop with about 60
>pounds of dumbbells on top. That almost takes the warp out, and I'm
>hoping it will sag overnight and flatten completely. No idea how much
>it will spring back when I take the weight off. I took the weights off
>after about an hour to see if it was doing anything and it was
>definitely straighter -- but not anywhere near enough.
>
>Anybody have a better idea? I think I'm on the right track but might
>need to run it thru the dishwasher again and weigh it down while it's
>still hot. Sort of like steaming it.
>
>Bob

While you are on the right track, it will never be perfect. My better
idea is to buy a new one. Better is the have the dish loader buy it
for you.

[notbob]

On 2013-06-25, zxcvbob > wrote:
> Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
> cutting board in the dishwasher

Someone at yer house is a moron. Get a poly board and you can toss
that sucker in the dishwasher all day long.

I used to be reluctant about poly boards, suspecting they withheld
germs and dulled blades. Not true. After wearing out two good maple
boards over 20 yrs, I now have two poly boards. They have not dulled
my blades and are easily sanitized. I don't have a dishwasher, but
like my knives, I immediately clean with soap and hot water. If
cutting meat, I add bleach. Don't be misled by color coded poly
boards. It's jes a gimmick to get you to buy more boards.

nb

[George Leppla]

On 6/25/2013 12:14 AM, zxcvbob wrote:
> Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
> cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
> sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
> it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.
>
> I've wet it on both sides and put it on the countertop with about 60
> pounds of dumbbells on top. That almost takes the warp out, and I'm
> hoping it will sag overnight and flatten completely. No idea how much
> it will spring back when I take the weight off. I took the weights off
> after about an hour to see if it was doing anything and it was
> definitely straighter -- but not anywhere near enough.
>
> Anybody have a better idea? I think I'm on the right track but might
> need to run it thru the dishwasher again and weigh it down while it's
> still hot. Sort of like steaming it.


Yo have the right idea but 60 pounds may not be enough weight. Soak the
board really well in very hot water (at least an hour) then sandwich it
between two pieces of plywood... then put it in front of the front wheel
of your car and roll on top of it and let it sit overnight or for a day.

And that seems like a lot of trouble for a cheap board, but it could be
fun to try, assuming you have some scrap plywood lying around.

George L

[Dave Smith[_1_]]

On 25/06/2013 1:14 AM, zxcvbob wrote:
> Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
> cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
> sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
> it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.
>
> I've wet it on both sides and put it on the countertop with about 60
> pounds of dumbbells on top. That almost takes the warp out, and I'm
> hoping it will sag overnight and flatten completely. No idea how much
> it will spring back when I take the weight off. I took the weights off
> after about an hour to see if it was doing anything and it was
> definitely straighter -- but not anywhere near enough.
>
> Anybody have a better idea? I think I'm on the right track but might
> need to run it thru the dishwasher again and weigh it down while it's
> still hot. Sort of like steaming it.
>



Steaming is the way they warp wood to fit curves. If it was cheap, it
might be easier to simply replace it. It is pretty frustrating try to
cut on warped cutting board.

[Drew Lawson]

In article >
zxcvbob > writes:
>Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
>cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
>sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
>it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.

Get a coping saw. Cut one end of the cutting board into the curve
of a handle (like a ping-pong paddle), then use it to give a memorable
beating to whoever put it in the dishwasher.

Other posters are correct in that you are unlikely to ever get it
flat. The process may be a fun experiment, but most woods (to my
understanding) only steam bend well once, and hot water bending is
even more detrimental to the wood fibers. A typical result might
be almost flat, followed by milling off the high points. I doubt
your board has that much thickness to spare.


--
Drew Lawson I had planned to be dead by now, but
the schedule slipped, they do that.
-- Casady

[zxcvbob]

Drew Lawson wrote:
> In article >
> zxcvbob > writes:
>> Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
>> cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
>> sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
>> it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.
>
> Get a coping saw. Cut one end of the cutting board into the curve
> of a handle (like a ping-pong paddle), then use it to give a memorable
> beating to whoever put it in the dishwasher.
>
> Other posters are correct in that you are unlikely to ever get it
> flat. The process may be a fun experiment, but most woods (to my
> understanding) only steam bend well once, and hot water bending is
> even more detrimental to the wood fibers. A typical result might
> be almost flat, followed by milling off the high points. I doubt
> your board has that much thickness to spare.
>
>


Well, it sort of worked. The cutting board is almost flat now. (And I
*thought* about driving the truck onto it for more weight. Haven't
totally dismissed the idea yet) To actually get it flat, I probably
need to press or clamp it to a slightly convex form to overbend it just
a little -- so when it springs back it will be flat.

It is probably usable now, and it really wasn't before. And I don't use
this one very often, I use the polyethylene board or one of the small
wooden ones.

It will make good kindling this winter, meanwhile I am having fun with
my little science experiment.

Bob

[Nancy2[_2_]]

I think you need to soak it, not just wet both sides.

Then put it outside on flat concrete with some cement blocks on top of it until it dries. This worked on some oak table leaves I had.

N.

[casa bona]

On 6/25/2013 5:27 AM, notbob wrote:
> On 2013-06-25, zxcvbob > wrote:
>> Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
>> cutting board in the dishwasher
>
> Someone at yer house is a moron. Get a poly board and you can toss
> that sucker in the dishwasher all day long.
>
> I used to be reluctant about poly boards, suspecting they withheld
> germs and dulled blades. Not true. After wearing out two good maple
> boards over 20 yrs, I now have two poly boards. They have not dulled
> my blades and are easily sanitized. I don't have a dishwasher, but
> like my knives, I immediately clean with soap and hot water. If
> cutting meat, I add bleach. Don't be misled by color coded poly
> boards. It's jes a gimmick to get you to buy more boards.
>
> nb
>
There's nothing wrong with distinguishing between the veg and meat prep
boards based on color.

[Gary]

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> While you are on the right track, it will never be perfect. My better
> idea is to buy a new one. Better is the have the dish loader buy it
> for you.

I somewhat agree with Ed. You probably won't get it back to perfect but you
could maybe get it close enough where a folded up paper towel on one corner
might stabilize it. I do that now with my larger cutting board.

G.

[sf[_9_]]

On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 09:46:51 -0600, casa bona > wrote:

> On 6/25/2013 5:27 AM, notbob wrote:
> > On 2013-06-25, zxcvbob > wrote:
> >> Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
> >> cutting board in the dishwasher
> >
> > Someone at yer house is a moron. Get a poly board and you can toss
> > that sucker in the dishwasher all day long.
> >
> > I used to be reluctant about poly boards, suspecting they withheld
> > germs and dulled blades. Not true. After wearing out two good maple
> > boards over 20 yrs, I now have two poly boards. They have not dulled
> > my blades and are easily sanitized. I don't have a dishwasher, but
> > like my knives, I immediately clean with soap and hot water. If
> > cutting meat, I add bleach. Don't be misled by color coded poly
> > boards. It's jes a gimmick to get you to buy more boards.
> >
> > nb
> >
> There's nothing wrong with distinguishing between the veg and meat prep
> boards based on color.

I have two 1-inch thick poly boards, but always use those mats - even
on top of the boards, mainly because they're so easy to pick up and
move to the sink (my poly boards are huge). I've even come up with an
alternative use for the mats... use in place of saran when flattening
chicken breasts for piccata.

The biggest problem I have is with my husband. I clean the mats with
soap and hot water, but I also like to run them through the dishwasher
every now and then, especially after preparing chicken. It never
fails that hubby removes them under the pretext that the DW will "ruin
them" saying he can clean them just as well (without bleach) and we
end up in a "discussion" which is basically me banging my head against
the wall of denial. I don't care if anything is ruined because
they're so inexpensive to buy. So far, they've come out of the DW in
good shape when I've managed to sneak them in unnoticed and we've
survived years of hand washings when I haven't.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

[sf[_9_]]

On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 06:59:52 -0500, George Leppla
> wrote:

> And that seems like a lot of trouble for a cheap board,
<snip>

Agreed. Put that effort into buying a new one.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

[brooklyn1]

On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:14:30 -0500, zxcvbob >
wrote:

>Someone at my house put a nice-looking but inexpensive (Walmart) bamboo
>cutting board in the dishwasher -- on the "potscrubber" cycle with the
>sanitizer water heater selected, and also heat-dry. As you can imagine,
>it warped badly and is almost unusable. I'm trying to straighten it out.
>
>I've wet it on both sides and put it on the countertop with about 60
>pounds of dumbbells on top. That almost takes the warp out, and I'm
>hoping it will sag overnight and flatten completely. No idea how much
>it will spring back when I take the weight off. I took the weights off
>after about an hour to see if it was doing anything and it was
>definitely straighter -- but not anywhere near enough.
>
>Anybody have a better idea?

Stick it in the ground and grow a bamboo bush.

[Nancy2[_2_]]

What I KNOW is that it successfully flattened two solid oak table leaves from my great-granny's dining room table. Now the leaves are in the table all the time so they don't warp again by being stored upright in the wrong place. ;-)

N.

[Melba's Jammin']

In article >,
zxcvbob > wrote:

> Anybody have a better idea? I think I'm on the right track but might
> need to run it thru the dishwasher again and weigh it down while it's
> still hot. Sort of like steaming it.
>
> Bob

That's what I'd do.

--
Barb,
http://www.barbschaller.com, as of April 8, 2013.