Questions about planing/sanding an end grain cutting board

[Doug W Swanson]

Hey all,

I'm in the process of making a couple of end grain cutting boards. I've done most of the gluing up but now that they are nearing the finishing stages, I need to either plane them or sand them (I don't have access to a drum sander but a friend has a planer I can use).

What is the best way to smooth out the cutting boards?

If I use the planer, I'm a little worried about snipe and tear out. I thought about building a sled that the cutting board butts up against to help prevent this but thought I would ask here first.

Any recommendations or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!
Doug

PS I'm going to donate one cutting board for our church fundraiser next week and keep the other for myself.

[John Loftis]

I made a bunch of cutting boards for Christmas gifts last year and faced the same issue.

I chose not to try to run them through the planer. I've heard that's a recipe for trouble with end grain. Never tried it, so I don't know that from experience.

I ultimately just used a belt sander on both sides, being careful and not applying much pressure. Then I did the drop test, leaning one end of the cutting board on the (flat table of the) table saw and holding the other end several inches up. When the board is close to flat, it creates a distinct vacuum effect. Not sure if you know what I'm talking about, but when I got that effect, it was good enough for me.

A very well-tuned hand plane would probably work just as well as a belt sander, but my hand plane skills aren't there yet.

Hope that helps,
John

[Dan Forman]

I would suggest forgetting about planing. I experimented once with running end grain over my jointer with a carbide Shelix head just to see it this would work, and the results were not good, even with a very shallow cut. With a regular planer, i believe it would be a disaster. There was tearout all over the end grain surface, so it's not just at the end of the cut you need to worry about.

I would check out your local cabinet shops, see if they would run your cutting boards through their drum or wide belt sanders. Tell them your donating one to the church, and see how much they would charge you.

Or see if there are any Creekers in your area who might be able to help you out.

Dan

[Jonathan Link]

Google end grain plaining. Third result is a QotW from The Wood Whisperer. There is a picture of someone's end grain cutting board put through the planer, along with a discussion of what happens with end grain and a jointer.

Being I have zero experience, but have a great desire to keep all of my digits and appendages I would not do what you propose.

[Doug W Swanson]

Thanks for the responses. After seeing the responses and pictures on the google search, I won't be planing my cutting boards.

I guess I'll look into finding someone who has access to a drum sander.

Any one in the Twin Cities have one?:)

Thanks!
Doug

[Mike McCann]

i have run about a dozen end grain cutting boards thru the planer with out any problems. you need to round over the trailing end of the board and take super light cuts less then a 1/64 just so the blades hit the board and you should nothave anhy problems.

Also google seach the sawmill creek will have about a dozen threads on end grain cutting boards from finishing running thru planers or just sanding.

[Tom Winship]

I have made several end grain cutting boards (working on my 4th or 5th at the moment) and have been afraid to run them through my planer. I have actually hand planed them flat and then used a scraper to remove any plane marks.
The last one I built, I had equipped my Stanley No. 4, with a Hock A-2 blade and it did a great job on the mesquite. Just takes time, which I have since I retired.
Tom

[John Michaels]

+1 on the drum sander. I live north of Seattle in a town of about 75,000. I called around to various cabinet shops with drum/belt sanders and now I have 5 different shops I can take stuff to get sanded. The most expensive shop charges $1 a minute. An end grain cutting board might take 5 or 10 minutes to sand.

[Tony Shea]

Hand plane and scraper is what I would use. A planer may work but if not than you risk all that time spent. A drum sander would be ideal but if that becomes unattainable then I wouldn't hesitate using an extremely sharp hand plane and smooth it up with a scraper and final sand. Good luck.