Re: Cutting boards made of UHMW???

[Igor]

Anyone know if cutting boards are made of UHMW plastic sheeting?

They can be. Typically, they are made from HDPE -- high-density polyethylene.

[JackD]

Here is some 3/4" thick stuff for $4 a square foot. That would make a lot of jigs...

[Roy Smith]

I get 100 bf of the stuff, or $4/bf. That's cheaper than a lot of wood people make cutting boards out of.

[JackD]

Actually

600' x 2" = 100 sf 100sf x 3/4" = 75 bf.

$5.33 / bf + shipping

I think that hdpe which is softer makes a better cutting board. They also texture it so that the food doesn't slide off!

-Jack

[Roy Smith]

I figured 3/4" finished counted as 1" rough for the bf calculation, just like it would for hardwood :-)

[Paul]

yes..and yes

[Phil]

Lew,

Are you using this in salt water? If so, how has it held up?

I'm considering getting a couple of pieces of UHMW polyethylene to machine outhaul line guides for my for my kayaks and dinghy's. The surface of bronze and stainless steel guides gets too rough after a couple of years.

Phil

Lew Hodgett wrote:

[Tom]

Back when I was selling UHMW we put a couple of pieces in salt water to see if barnacles would adhere (they didn't) and there was no ill effect - actually there is hardly any chemical that will affect it. If exposed to sunlight be sure to get black repro or UV stabilized if you want white.

[Andy Dingley]

You might be better with HDPE. HDPE isn't just low-weight UHMW, it's also processed differently (I don't know the details) to give better mechanical properties. UHMW is a bit soft, and repeated use of a line across the same spot will cause wear grooves pretty rapidly.

[Tom]

Andy - I think you may have that backwards - HDPE is much lower on the scale (some variations are used for milk bottles etc.) although there can be some overlapping at the high end HDPE/low end UHMW. UHMW is much better for wear - we used it to make sprockets, wear strips and a variety of products because of its wear resistant properties. Ever seen a canning or bottling plant? All of the white wear strips you see on the bottling line are UHMW to eliminate wear as the cans/bottles turn corners etc.. HDPE is better suited for cutting boards, chicken deboner cones etc.

[Tom]

Are you questioning what they are?? In a kill plant one process uses a conveyor with plastic cones mounted on stainless threaded rods. They stick the chicken on the cones (kinda like "beer butt chicken" on the grill) and workers cut off the various parts of the chicken as it moves down the line. As the cones become nicked from the knives they must be replaced. HDPE works well but is being replaced by other harder materials.