Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/woodworking/comments/1vpqyuo/afraid_to_donate_an_endgrain_cutting_board_for/

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The original was posted on /r/woodworking by /u/EmynMuilTrailGuide on 2026-08-16 07:51:21+00:00.

I've been making cutting boards for a short while now. My oldest one is six months old, given to a family member. All walnut, from 1.5" square sticks. So far, I haven't had any negative reports regarding that one or the half dozen other boards I've made, including two in my own kitchen.

My wife has asked me to donate an end-grain board for my daughter's school's yearly gala, which is a large part of how the school obtains funding for their operating budget. I'd feel bad enough if I gave one as a gift and it went bad. I'd feel worse selling one for profit. But, giving one for auction to a non-profit school that serves an underserved community, where people purposefully overpay for gala auction items, and it starts splitting, warping or cracking? I'd feel terrible.

As one way to combat the fear of this happening, I thought I would not only include a bottle of mineral oil, and care instructions, but contact information with a promise to fix or replace the board if it began to experience problems. Of course, that also opens me up to potentially fixing or replacing a board they didn't care for properly.

So, I feel a bit stuck here. How might you handle this? How long is a reasonable amount of time to get an honest sense of how well I'm making boards? Is the sustained health of that 6 month old, smallish 14x8x1.75 board enough proof? Would you include contact information?