Beginner question on edge grain cutting board and rough lumber

[Luis Reyes]

Hi All,

I've never worked with rough wood before but I bought some 5/4 hard maple about 10 inches wide to make some edge grain cutting boards. I figure I'm going to cut about 3/4" or 1" strips of wood to the length I want, then flip them over on the edge and glue them together. Should I hand plane the maple first and then cut into strips? Or should I go ahead and cut / glue the board together and then hand plane once the glue is dry? I'm leaning towards the 2nd option of planing when everything is done since the glue may cause some of the wood strips to shift.

Luis

[Bryan Lisowski]

You need to get the board to 4S before cutting.

[Lee Schierer]

If your board is 5/4 thick, why would you want to slice it into 3/4 or 1" strips and glue it back together. Over time glue joints in cutting boards fail. If you want a cutting board wider than 10" then glue two pieces together to make the width you want. Fewer seams mean less places for failure. The face grain you see isn't going to change a lot on edge.

As far as planing goes, most planers will handle 10" wide boards. If the board is reasonably flat, you don't need a jointer to clean up the first side.

[Luis Reyes]

If your board is 5/4 thick, why would you want to slice it into 3/4 or 1" strips and glue it back together.

I thought I read that edge grain was better than face grain for cutting boards so was thinking of cutting it into strips so the edge grain would be facing up. If the face grain is good enough than I definitely won't do this and it would save me a lot of work! haha

[Dan Hahr]

Some boards look better left alone, some don't. Edge grain boards are marginally better than face sawn for knives, but the real advantage is in the ability to have the grain all running the same way. Slice them up and orient them the same way so they are balanced and kind of mirroring each other.

Dan

[Richard Coers]

End grain is far superior to face grain, edge grain is not.

[Justin Rapp]

We just had this discussion on another forum.

End grain is end grain. As Richard says, it's superior. However, edge grain and face grain is the same. There is no difference except in the discussion of a board of wood. If the log was cut up 90 degrees the fibers of the face grain would be the edge grain of the board, and of course the edge grain would be the face. The fibers of the wood are the same. Where you will have differences in the grain is if the piece of wood you have is flat, rift or quarter sawn and that has a lot to do with how much movement you will get in the board. But here is an example, what if your board is 4/4 lumber and 1 inch wide, which is the face and which is the edge?

When orientation for a cutting board, the reason a lot of cutting boards end up with having the edge of the board on the face of the cutting board is because the lumber starts as 4/4 or 5/4, and ends up being milled during flattening to 1 1/16 or 13/16. But the plan for the cutting board is to make it 1 1/4 thick, so therefore the board is ripped to 1 1/4 strips and glued up on the face, representing an 'edge grain' cutting board.

There is a chance you will have less chance of a cutting board warping if you have more strips of wood with alternating grain patters. It works like a laminate.

So now I know that will start a potential debate, let's get back to the OP's questions:


You should flaten you wood first, and have both faces parallel to each other. And at least one edge square to the face (S3S). If you are not sure, visit this web page https://thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/s2s-and-s4s-what-gives/ Note: in the S2S writeup, it says to use a planer, however you should be using a jointer or hand plane to get the first face of the board flat.

Once you have your board flat and one side square to the face. Now you can rip the board into strips and glue back together. The most important is to make sure the face and edge of each strip you make are all square or your board will not glue up flat.

[Jim Becker]

However, edge grain and face grain is the same.

This is what I originally wrote in response to this thread and unfortunately forgot to actually post. My bad! Edge and face grain may sometimes look different, but only result because of where the slice was made in the log to create the board. Both are "long grain" and strong for glue-up.

[Greg Funk]

I think the idea that end grain is easier on knives is probably an old wives tale. Tests I've seen haven't found any difference. End grain boards typically have more glue lines which would be harder on a knife edge.

http://knifegrinders.com.au/SET/Chopping_Boards.pdf

[Mel Fulks]

The sanding is what is really dulling knives the worst. Test a knife on a scrap of wood unsanded ,and test the sharpness, then sand the
scrap and test the knife again.

[Justin Rapp]

This is what I originally wrote in response to this thread and unfortunately forgot to actually post. My bad! Edge and face grain may sometimes look different, but only result because of where the slice was made in the log to create the board. Both are "long grain" and strong for glue-up.

It's all good, you can have the credit :)

[Jim Becker]

It's all good, you can have the credit :)
Wasn't looking for credit...I was kicking myself for not actually posting it. :o LOL Sometimes my brain works faster than my fingers... :eek:

[Alex Zeller]

On more than one occasion I have written a response and thought I posted it only to find the next day that I got sidetracked and never clicked on the reply button.

[al ladd]

"When orientation for a cutting board, the reason a lot of cutting boards end up with having the edge of the board on the face of the cutting board is because the lumber starts as 4/4 or 5/4, and ends up being milled during flattening to 1 1/16 or 13/16. But the plan for the cutting board is to make it 1 1/4 thick, so therefore the board is ripped to 1 1/4 strips and glued up on the face, representing an 'edge grain' cutting board."


While this may be a factor sometimes, the reason cutting boards are often cut into strips and reglued with the strips at 90 degrees to original orientation is that typically creates a quarter sawn board, (otherwise known as an edge grain board, --assuming the original is a plain sawn board, a generally safe assumption) which will not cup as it expands and contracts in response to changing ambient moisture, an admirable quality for a cutting board.



"I think the idea that end grain is easier on knives is probably an old wives tale. Tests I've seen haven't found any difference. End grain boards typically have more glue lines which would be harder on a knife edge."

The superabundance of end grain cutting boards on Etsy and other internet venues has prompted me to stop making end grain cutting boards, after some 30 years of them being a mainstay of my livelihood (https://www.alladd.com/cutting-boards-large-square/index.html ) . Thus my knowledge of the advantages of end grain cutting boards precedes the viral spread of information and misinformation the internet has promulgated on the subject. Long before the internet spread its problematic combination of truths, half-truths, and misinformation on what one would think here to be a benign subject, knowledgeable craftsmen made thick end grain butcher blocks on which to ply their trade, and industries such as envelope making, with stamping cutters, used end grain blocks to cut on, because they in fact make their knives stay sharper longer.

[Justin Rapp]

"


While this may be a factor sometimes, the reason cutting boards are often cut into strips and reglued with the strips at 90 degrees to original orientation is that typically creates a quarter sawn board, (otherwise known as an edge grain board, --assuming the original is a plain sawn board, a generally safe assumption) which will not cup as it expands and contracts in response to changing ambient moisture, an admirable quality for a cutting board.

JR: I would semi-disagree with this. You will only get quarter sawn lumber from cuts of lumber that are in fact quarter sawn. If you take a quarter sawn piece of lumber, where the face is quarter sawn, and look at the edge of the board, you will have a grain representing flat sawn lumber, as the edge of the wood came from the flat sawn part of a log. So in fact, you need to look at each piece of wood you are using for your board in orientate it the way you want to represent the grain.

[Roger Feeley]

The sanding is what is really dulling knives the worst. Test a knife on a scrap of wood unsanded ,and test the sharpness, then sand the
scrap and test the knife again.

So you would recommend a final scraping after sanding? The few times I’ve made end grain cutting boards, I used a drum sander to even it out instead of a planer. I was worried about tear out.

[Roger Feeley]

Over time glue joints in cutting boards fail. If you want a cutting board wider than 10" then glue two pieces together to make the width you want. Fewer seams mean less places for failure.

Fail? I use titebond III and then the board spends its life covered in oil and wax. I would think that that environment is pretty safe. Now, if I put the board in the dishwasher, all warranties are null and void.

[Greg Funk]

Long before the internet spread its problematic combination of truths, half-truths, and misinformation on what one would think here to be a benign subject, knowledgeable craftsmen made thick end grain butcher blocks on which to ply their trade, and industries such as envelope making, with stamping cutters, used end grain blocks to cut on, because they in fact make their knives stay sharper longer.I can see it might be helpful if you are essentially chopping on the butcher block or stamping with a die but for those using fancy Japanese knives the main benefits now are looks. If end grain did make regular knives last longer someone should be able to demonstrate that effect.

[George Yetka]

The flatter the better to start but S2S would be fine the saw can do the rest. I would cut board down to just over your intended length. Run with your flat narrow edge against the fence smooth side against the saw and rip your strips. then flip the boards to take off the last rough side.

A planer/drum sander are good tools to have for cutting boards but if you glue in cauls then you can get away with sanding alone to flatten after glue up.

[Sam Goldsmith]

When I do edge grain cutting boards from rough lumber, I simply run one edge on the jointer, then rip the board into strips about 1/8" over what I want the finished thickness to be. Then I can send those strips through the planer (no more jointer work needed) a few passes each side to clean them up for the glue up. If you're handplaning then handplane here. The reason for that order is I can get 1" thick strips pretty easily from 4/4 lumber, if you joint or plane the board before ripping into strips you'll end up more near the 13/16" max. Mark the boards on the end for grain orientation so after you're glued up, the planing process is easier, especially if you have a straight knife planer or hand plane.
This is all assuming relatively straight rough boards, otherwise a little work is needed before taking it to the tablesaw.
Glue with titebond iii. Clamp it TIGHT and leave it at least overnight and then let the glue cure it's 24 hours at least. My butcher block here is over 16 years old, lots of use and washings (no dishwasher of course) and it's still together.
It's edge grain type, and for the sake of opinion, I wouldn't worry much on what type of wood boards dull knives faster. Just like tools, good knives ($$) have good steel and will hold their edge fine.