end grain cutting boards, could you build up a thick blank, and cut individual boards

[cody michael]

I am assuming there is some reason you couldn't but I would like to know why, if you were making end grain cutting boards cut you glue them up in a large blank, like 12 in x 12 in by 16 in, then run it through bandsaw to produce 12x16x1.5 in cutting boards? Seems like it would be faster. Is there some reason this wouldn't work?

[Grant Wilkinson]

After "re-sawing" your blank into cutting boards, how would you flatten the slices? I'm not saying that you cannot do it, I'm just trying to learn your process.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I see no particular reason this would not work. Potential issues:


Very large / heavy thing to put through the band saw.

I do not know how well you can cut a flat surface of that size.... so you will need the ability to flatten it. Usually, when I hear about people doing this, they will run the item through the band saw, and then they have two surfaces to flatten. Assume for a moment that you make something that is two feet thick and you intend to make a few cuts. Before you start, you probably need to flatten one surface that is end grain. You make the first cut and perhaps remove two inches. You then have a two inch thick piece to flatten, probably no problem, and you have something that is almost two feet thick that you must flatten on the end grain again. I am just not sure how to do this apart from sanding since I don't expect a hand plane to work well in this environment.

[Art Mann]

The whole glued up chunk would weigh somewhere around 50 pounds. That might be kind of clumsy to work with. Otherwise, I don't see why it wouldn't work. It would be a lot of trouble to apply glue and clamp up that big of an assembly all at once. The question is whether it buys you anything to do it that way.

[Art Mann]

I do not know how well you can cut a flat surface of that size.... so you will need the ability to flatten it. Usually, when I hear about people doing this, they will run the item through the band saw, and then they have two surfaces to flatten. Assume for a moment that you make something that is two feet thick and you intend to make a few cuts. Before you start, you probably need to flatten one surface that is end grain. You make the first cut and perhaps remove two inches. You then have a two inch thick piece to flatten, probably no problem, and you have something that is almost two feet thick that you must flatten on the end grain again. I am just not sure how to do this apart from sanding since I don't expect a hand plane to work well in this environment.

I could imagine a sled type work holder that would make use of the miter slot to hold the big blank square in both directions. It is true that the two faces of the cutting board would have to be flattened but that is true even if you just glue one board up at a time. In either case, you are going to need a big drum or wide belt sander to finish the faces. In fact, a band sawed surface might be smoother to start with than one produced as the result of a single board glue up. Precision sawing from a big bandsaw would be essential.

[Ellery Becnel]

I use the band saw primarily when making my end grain cutting boards. I use cauls to clamp the strips up to minimize the end grain cleanup. The method you described will work. All of the boards will be identical, as you slice them out.
The flattening/sanding process would be the same. I do not suggest planing end grain. I know some folks have done so successfully. I do not want to take the chance of: personal injury, equipment damage, project destroyed, etc. This is
a personal choice we all must make.
Some ways to flatten/sand after band sawing: router sled (to flatten), then, belt sander, low angle bevel up hand plane, drum sander, V-drum sander, hand sand, etc. The router sled will give a consistent thickness, but there will be fuzzy
tear out to clean up. Depending on the wood used, some will tear out deeper than others which means a lot more sanding. The most tedious process i find is the sanding. What ever way you can find to speed this up will make you HAPPY!
I am no expert in this process. I have made a few boards, all end grain. Over time I have found that my V-drum sander is my best choice for end grain sanding. I start with 80 grit, then switch to 320. Final sanding is with a palm sander using
400 grit. I hope this helps in you decision.

Ellery Becnel

[Barry Richardson]

I don't think there would be much, if any time advantage to doing it that way, and trying to glue up a block like that with tight glue joints at every intersection would be very difficult I think.

[cody michael]

ok, I am not sure if i will try it I was mainly curious, maybe I will make one as an experiment to see if the bandsaw tooth marks are easier to cleanup then the glue up inaccuracies.


when I have made them in the past I did not have a good setup (not square table saw sled etc and crappy planer) I have nicer tablesaw and an accurate sled now. My previous process was after glue up hit it with the belt sand, then 7 inch sander/buffer with 80 grit, 120 grit then go to orbital sander, my wife has been trying to get me to make her a new one, and I was just considering my options.

[Steve Peterson]

I have only made one end grain cutting board, but I did it by gluing 3/4" stock into an 18" wide by 36 inch panel. This is all side grain so it can go through a jointer if you have one big enough. Then I cross cut the panel into 2" by 18" by 3/4" strips. They were really easy to glue and tip into the stack. Every other piece was alternated to give it a brick effect.

Sure, you could build a giant block and cut them later. You still need a belt sander or a router sled to flatten it. And you also need a bandsaw with 12" or greater cutting capacity.

Steve

[Dave Cav]

Here's how I would approach it.

1. Cut 144 1" x 1 3/16" (or so) x 13" pieces, plus a few extra.
2. Glue up 12 conventional cutting boards, gluing the wide faces together giving you 12 rough boards 12" x 13" by about 1 3/16" thick.
3. Thickness plane the boards to 1" thick and parallel.
4. Glue up the flattened boards into a large cubical chunk. I would probably do this in stages to minimize handling problems.
5. Bandsaw across the grain to make the cutting boards.
6. Flatten using a router sled, belt sander, drum or wide belt sander.

[glenn bradley]

I do this to make coasters and trivets. I do not have a bandsaw that will handle the dimensions on my cutting boards or I might give it a try.

323937 . 323936

[mreza Salav]

I have made identical cutting boards exactly that way. Works faster that marking individuals.

Edit: here are some old photos of a batch of 4 I made. Walnut/Cherry/Maple. I made only half the board as my bandsaw resaw was limited to 8 only at that time.

323949323951323948323950

[Ira Matheny]

I make these all the time. Usually I only make 12" thick or even thinner. Cut them on one of three different band saws and then sand them on a Lobo 37" belt sander.
Very effective.