Cutting Board Options

[Gary Mannesto]

What are the main things to take into consideration on whether to go with end grain or plain grain for the main cutting surface? If end grain are there any problems using a planer on this surface?

[Jim Becker]

End-grain boards need to be worked by hand...you cannot put them through the planer. End-grain boards are best for actual cutting or chopping, however, as the marks disappear since they are always "with" the grain.

[Greg Cuetara]

End-grain boards need to be worked by hand...you cannot put them through the planer. End-grain boards are best for actual cutting or chopping, however, as the marks disappear since they are always "with" the grain.

Jim, I must disagree with you that you cannot put an end grain board through the planer. A thickness sander is definately the best way to go but it can be done with a planer. I made a few cutting boards for christmas and put them through my planer and it worked quite well. My first go-round was a bit scary as the board shot back at me but once I followed some advice from the creek it all worked out just fine. My approach was to add runner strips to each side of my cutting board, to give the infeed and outfeed rollers something to grab onto. You do need to make sure that you take very very light passes with the planer as it is not the best tool for the job but not all of us can afford everything. There was just a thread recently on end grain cutting boards and there were a lot of different methods to flatten the board.

If you do a search for end grain cutting boards I am sure you will come up with a lot of threads which might answer your questions. There are a lot of threads out there discussing finishes and methods of construction. Don't hesitate to ask any more questions.

BTW Jim is correct that an end grain board will hide the knife marks better but either way a handmade cutting board is something special in the house. I made a handful of them for christmas but have yet to make one for my family...maybe that would be a good mothers day gift...hmm...

anywho good luck and let us know how you make out.
Greg

[Joe Chritz]

You can plane them. It really isn't a great idea because they may "shoot" out at you at some point. Extremely light passes and very sharp knives are the key if that is something you were thinking about trying.

Better option is to make 2 or 3 and when they are ready for the final smoothing run them to a shop with a wide belt. Probably will cost $10 bucks to do a few of them.

I know when I used to have a shop do my cab doors (pre drum sander) it was 10-15 bucks for a whole kitchen of doors, usually 2 passes per side.

I would go router sled and ROS before I tried a planer.

There is no comparison in function from a long grain board and end grain.

Joe

[Randy Davidson]

Yep, I run them through my drum sander making very very light passes, sometimes 1/64 or less. Never have had a problem and always come out flat and smooth.

[Jim Becker]

To clarify my recommendation not to use a planer (other posters are correct that you "can"), in addition to the "shooting board" potentiality, there is also great risk of tearout. The lightest of light passes is pretty much a must...and very sharp knives.

[Mac Cambra]

There ae a lot of things that can be done, but the question is should you? I don't think the planer option is a good one, dangerous and probably very hard on the tool.

I do mine on a drum sander works very well and in my opinion much safer. Light passes here as well.

[Bill Huber]

I made about 30 of them this year at Xmas and I did use the planer.
The key is very light passes, in fact some times they are so light that I had to use a cheater board to push them all the way out.

The tear out problem is fixed by sanding a small bevel on the edges of the board, I routered the edges anyway so it did not make a difference.

You also need to watch the blades and make sure you clean them, the glue will get on them and needs to be cleaned to make sure you don't leave marks.

[Greg Cuetara]

Mac you are correct that this should be done on a drum sander but since most of us don't have access to a drum sander a planer is a second option....not the best option but an option non the less.

Bill I do agree with you that you should either bevel over the leading and trailing edges or router over the edges. I routered over my edges so that it was not an issue.

[Peter Quinn]

Can't speak to the planer issue but I have a fair amount of experience using cutting boards as a former professional chef.

We used to call any end grain board a chopping block. Typically these were in the neighborhood of 500# hunks of maple with stout legs, iron bands, and the nicest one I have seen had each piece dovetailed into the next on all sides using sliding dovetails. There are portable versions but they are still typically 4"-6" thick with at least 4sf of work surface. They are used by butchers where the durability of the end grain is essential for absorbing blows from a cleaver. They are difficult to maintain as the end grain work surface is more porous, but butchery doesn't generally involve lots of water. Butchers don't require a perfectly flat work surface either, which is good because end grain is very difficult to flatten. Most well used chopping blocks develop a pronounced concavity in time.

Edge grain boards were much more prevalent as work surfaces as they can easily be made to cover more square footage than end grain. The edge grain of maple (and most hard woods) is more than durable enough to stand up to years of slicing and cutting. Edge grain boards also make excellent surfaces for needing dough, making pasta, and most other general kitchen tasks. While they may scratch a bit easier than end grain, they are also infinitely easier to repair and maintain in actual use. Do you know any woodworkers with an end grain joiners bench? Ever wonder why not?

Admittedly for the home craftsman looking to design something interesting to look at none of this may mean much. But consider this; I think an end grain cutting board is one of the few enterprises where you will see otherwise sensible wood workers gluing blocks of dissimilar wood with different rates of movement together in a geometric pattern which holds these pieces captive. It allows you to create an interesting visual experience if you enjoy preparing food on a chess board, but I worry about the longevity. You will also find people willing to use mildly toxic woods, finishes and glues with the caveat that "Not much will wind up in the food anyway!" or "Its all inert once its dried". Leaves me scratching my head.

I prefer edge grain boards to end grain chopping blocks for most tasks. They can be visually interesting using accent strips, edge treatments, juice wells, non rectangular shapes, etc. You can also make a very interesting checkerboard pattern using edge grain as the work surface a la James Krenov. I suggest if your boards are intended for actual use you think about food preparation and don't allow logic to escape from the design process.