Planing end grain on a long panel

[alan west]

How do you plane the end grain of a long panel? I have a panel 30" wide and 60" long. I am 5'9" tall. I have been clamping it in my vise and standing on a step stool. Is there a better way?

[steven c newman]

Lay two 1x4 s on the bench top. Offset them by half, and screw them together. Clamp this to the bench so it won't move. Then clamp you panel on top of your new shooting board. You can also add a double thickness 1x at the other end, to keep the panel level. And as a clamping point to keep the panel from getting "squirrelly"...

[Prashun Patel]

I agree. Make a shooting board in your bench.

[Jim Koepke]

The shooting board may be the easiest.

It will also depend on what plane(s) you have to do the work. A low angle jack or jointer would be ideal.

You might consider working half and then flipping the panel to finish from the other side. This is one of the ways to prevent break out at the far end as the plane finishes the cut.

jtk

[Prashun Patel]

He's BACK!!! Good to see u, Jim. I like your new avatar.

[Normand Leblanc]

How do you plane the end grain of a long panel? I have a panel 30" wide and 60" long. I am 5'9" tall. I have been clamping it in my vise and standing on a step stool. Is there a better way?

That's exactly what I did in the past. Works fine for me.
You could also clamp your board at an angle. The other day, for a 72" long panel, that's what I did.

Normand

[lowell holmes]

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, you might moisten the end grain as well prior to planing.

[Reinis Kanders]

It would depend on how precise the planing has to be. Panel of this size probably just has to look good so I would do it in whatever way was the easiest and for me it would be clamping the panel vertically and just using a sharp plane. Plane end grain before the long grain so that any chipping can be fixed.

[Jim Koepke]

He's BACK!!! Good to see u, Jim. I like your new avatar.

Thanks Prashun, That is Candy, my wife, and me on the access road across the front of our property.

Same place as the old avatar.

jtk

[Bill Houghton]

Thanks Prashun, That is Candy, my wife, and me on the access road across the front of our property.

Same place as the old avatar.

jtk
And I thought I had some height (a foot) on my wife! Your height difference must be closer to two feet!

[Normand Leblanc]

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, you might moisten the end grain as well prior to planing.


What do you gain by doing that? It seems to me that the "straws" will just bend more easily.

Normand

[Jim Koepke]

What do you gain by doing that? It seems to me that the "straws" will just bend more easily.

Normand

It is like the difference of shaving with a wet beard and soap or a dry beard.

I do not know the physics of the situation and besides, I have always planed end grain dry.

For sanding moistening raises some of the grain to produce a smoother surface.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Try it on a piece of scrap and see if it works.

[Normand Leblanc]

Try it on a piece of scrap and see if it works.

I did it and I have to say that it's quite a bit easier. I'm going to let this maple board dry and see if the finish is any better. In any case, seems a good trick. Thanks for that Lowell.

Normand

[Stewie Simpson]

A coat of shellac applied to the end grain is another fine idea. It hardens up the outer surface of the wood fibres to initiate a much cleaner cut.

[Normand Leblanc]

Stewie,
In my area me have a whole lot of maple syrup, would it work :)
After water, now shellac. Next time I use shellac I'll try it.

Normand

[James Waldron]

I normally use alcohol on end grain; it works nicely, then dries quickly and leaves the piece clean and free of water spots. Finish is great if the blade is sharp. None of that grain raising messiness.

Made up a dedicated dispenser of alcohol for the purpose. It's a four ounce hot sauce bottle with a plastic "restrictor" that controls the rate of flow that comes out when the bottle is tilted. Good screw top prevents evaporation losses between uses. I've got it labelled with a skull and cross bones and cautionary poison label, of course, since it's "denatured alcohol."