Jypres raises some good questions about wood stability. Questions that we have given a lot of thought. We have done a lot to minimize the risks but wood stability is a tricky thing. The bottom line is there will always be at least some risk no matter what we do.
We rely on a number of techniques for stabilization of the platters. Each technique by itself would probably be inadequate but combined we believe the risk to be very low.
Our primary vapor barrier is formed when the core of the platter is assembled. Many small pieces of wood are saturated in epoxy and then joined under light pressure, leaving an effective vapor barrier between each piece. This is a much more effective barrier than can be obtained with a relatively thin finish. Once the core of the platter has been formed it is completely encased with a layer of cocbolo. The veneer is attached with epoxy to form an additional vapor barrier. We top this off with an epoxy coating. The exterior epoxy coating is fairly effective, but by itself would be inadequate.
Even with the above techniques, some limited moisture exchange is inevitable. Using many small pieces of wood with strong epoxy bonds minimizes movement. The dimensional changes in small piece of wood are small enough that the force can usually be contained by a strong bond. It's what we see with plywood. The bond between thin layers is sufficient to stabilize wood even with significant moisture exchange.
In addition to using a lot of small pieces of wood we construct the platter to expand and contract gracefully. The grain of the core of the platter is oriented such that the inevitable microscopic dimensional changes will be uniform around the platters circumference. This way even if there is some change the platter will retain it's concentricity.
Last of all well selected Jatoba for construction of the platter core because it has a very low moisture/dimension coefficient.
Chris
We rely on a number of techniques for stabilization of the platters. Each technique by itself would probably be inadequate but combined we believe the risk to be very low.
Our primary vapor barrier is formed when the core of the platter is assembled. Many small pieces of wood are saturated in epoxy and then joined under light pressure, leaving an effective vapor barrier between each piece. This is a much more effective barrier than can be obtained with a relatively thin finish. Once the core of the platter has been formed it is completely encased with a layer of cocbolo. The veneer is attached with epoxy to form an additional vapor barrier. We top this off with an epoxy coating. The exterior epoxy coating is fairly effective, but by itself would be inadequate.
Even with the above techniques, some limited moisture exchange is inevitable. Using many small pieces of wood with strong epoxy bonds minimizes movement. The dimensional changes in small piece of wood are small enough that the force can usually be contained by a strong bond. It's what we see with plywood. The bond between thin layers is sufficient to stabilize wood even with significant moisture exchange.
In addition to using a lot of small pieces of wood we construct the platter to expand and contract gracefully. The grain of the core of the platter is oriented such that the inevitable microscopic dimensional changes will be uniform around the platters circumference. This way even if there is some change the platter will retain it's concentricity.
Last of all well selected Jatoba for construction of the platter core because it has a very low moisture/dimension coefficient.
Chris