I was wondering if this has happened to anyone. I just did a 3 tiered wedding cake, 14" 10"6", and my husband was carrying it to the frig, just as he was about to set it down on the rack the board snapped into. I got the 1" pine board from home depot, never would have thought a board that thick would snap into. If it had happened on the way the cake would have crashed to the floor and been destroyed. I did have repairs to the bottom tier, but it could have been so much worse, just thought I would warn everyone. It was a 18" pine round, over 1" thick. 

wow that is freaky -- musta had a flaw in it or something?? had you used it before? had it been soaked in water or anything like that -- that would soften it?

I'm thinking that there may have been a hairline crack in the board that  you may not have noticed and the weight of the cake just caused it to split.  Most likely a freak accident, but going to a thicker board may help, or even gluing two 1" or 1/2" boards together with liquid nail may help with stability in the future.

Pine is a soft wood.   It must have been defective :( 

I had something similar happen using a Wilton plastic cake 'board' - that you use when putting a tier up on pillars w/the protrusions.  I had finished the cake the night before at the shop and when we came in the next a.m. to deliver it found  plastic tier plate had split in 2.  I did have the cake on a cardboard/cake board so it didn't fall - what luck! 

I've never used a purchased pine board, but I cut bases for my large cakes from left over partical board or plywood and have never had a bobble.

wood adds so much weight -- I used masonite sometimes but foamcore board most of the time -- very secure and light weight

It was a new board, looked beautiful and strong, that is why it surprised me. Made me think about those guys that can break a board with a karate chop, maybe the grain was going a certain direction and my hubby holding it just right for it to happen, not sure, but it snapped. He cut some plywood and we slipped it under the broken board, couldn't tell anything happened, but gave me nightmares!

ok -- so he was holding it by the sides -- the edges -- rather than balancing it in the middle -- yeah -- the grain was just the right direction and I can see it snapping now -- although a very rare occurrence -- have to kinda hold it underneath -- more so than just on the sides -- 

if he had his hands on the opposing sides it probably would not have broken -- I have seen that happen before -- but not with a wood board -- so I guess the moral of the story is don't use a grained wood --

wow -- freak accident but i'd switch from the pine --

best to you and great save!

It sounds like it broke on the grain. Which is why I use the thicker drums from my local cake shop for tier cakes and for extra large cakes I use ply wood. It's very strong and will not flex/break. I have not had a problem. I've even used masonite.

Yes, live and learn.  My husband is a woodworker and said plywood wouldn't have done that, it would flex if not thick enough, but not break, so from now on, will be using a thick piece of plywood, that is if I do any more large cakes. lol. Had other problems too. I did a bunch of sugarlace, and wrapped it up,  checking to see if it was still flexible, on cake day, for some reason it became really brittle, would shatter every time I tried to pick it up. So had to change my plans last minute. It was just a very stressful day, will take a while to forget. 

cathyscakes, you can soften your cake lace by laying it on a slightly damp paper towel.  Since yours was breaking as you picked it up, probably laying the paper towels over the top would have been best.

I did try that on some of them, and it stuck to plastic wrap I had it in.  Did I have the towel to damp, I didn't think so, but maybe left it on there too long? thanks

I always store my cake lace between sheets of wax paper, not sealed in an air tight container.  Don't know if that makes a difference.

Depends on the lace. Some will set hard over time, like Sugar Veil. Others will stay flexible, like Sugar Dress. My prob is I was lead to believe the Sugar Dress can be stored for months, stored in plastic wrap inside ziploc freezer bag. Stayed flexible but yellowed.