Easiest way to trim length of wide boards

[Allen Read]

How thick are these boards. I seem to have missed it above. The procedure for 1/2" thick would be different than for 2" thick. For 3/4", which seems to be the assumption above, most of the methods would work. It depends on what tools you have and what you feel comfortable doing. I'd probably run a chisel on both faces then use a LA block plane to clean it up. But the other solutions would work too.

Allen

[Brian Hale]

Glue a piece of scrap to the end of the long board, mark/scribe and cut

[Andrey Kharitonkin]

Mark the cut line on both sides of the board. This is where a panel gauge is helpful.


Use a scrub or jack plane with strong camber to take it down close to the lines.


Finish with a jointer plane.


Regards from Perth


Derek

Prashun, Even if they’re longer, why couldn’t you simply clamp them on the bench faces together and use the end of the shorter board to effectively be the fence for shooting (e.g. the edge of the plane rides against shorter board) and end up with perfectly matched boards? Sort of like using a modern router bit with a pattern.


As far as sawing goes, I share in the OPs condition of sawing that fine with my current crosscut saws.


That said, why bother when you can quickly plane the stock (from both ends) and reach the same objective. I would use my 5 1/2 or even No.5 without hesitation. Assuming that they’re very sharp...which they are. I was always under the assumption that many people used a BD plane to shoot with. My No.7 works beautifully. I used it because of the extra mass that would plow through end grain.


Historically speaking, we’ve only had readily available low angle BU planes for a relatively short time. The vintage versions were pretty scarce.

Did recently just that - planed end-grain with BD plane with heavy camber. The board is 3/4" thick, about 8" wide:

pic1.jpg

Had to remove about 2.5mm (1/10"). First I chamfered the end and then clamped it in the vice:

pic2.jpg

About a dozen strokes and it was already close to the line:

pic3.jpg

This requires some power stance and some muscles but the work goes very fast too. Like with other rough tools (draw knife or axe, for example), always hit the corners. Cambered blade allows to make cuts narrower than board thickness, that makes it easier to push:

cuts.png

End grain shavings are about 0.20mm (1/128") thick, beech wood:

pic4.jpg

Used Veritas Custom #5-1/2 for this, with PM-V11 blade. With nearly 35 degree bevel it is almost indestructible edge in roughing tool:

pic5.jpg

[steven c newman]

They do make these about any length needed...
Trim bit,.JPG
This one a 1/4" shank....they do make 1/2" shank ones, too
Bearing rides against the shorter plank....cutter trims the longer plank to match...

[Jim Koepke]

They do make these about any length needed...
Trim bit,.JPG
This one a 1/4" shank....they do make 1/2" shank ones, too
Bearing rides against the shorter plank....cutter trims the longer plank to match...

An easy solution unless the OP doesn't have an electric router.

This post is long enough now that it would likely be quicker to take it down carefully with a plane, even if the blade had to be sharpened first, than it takes to read all the posts above.

jtk

[Steven Mikes]

Update: I just planed it down with a BU Jack, set the blade out a little farther than usual when planing end grain and put a lot of force into each stroke. Planed from both ends in to avoid splintering. Didn't take long at all. Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone!

[Kevin Hampshire]

Steven, FWIW, If I were using power tools, I think your belt sander is a pretty good suggestion.

But I don’t think a pattern bit is a good suggestion for end grain. It’s pretty hard not to blow out the ends when doing end grain.

Additionally, I have seen end grain shatter, splinter and even seen end grain fibers completely separate (like the bristles on a paint brush) when routed.

Not saying it absolutely cannot be done, but there is a higher probability of issues in end grain. I lost count of the number of components I’ve seen destroyed while routing end grain.

[Jim Koepke]

Update: I just planed it down with a BU Jack, set the blade out a little farther than usual when planing end grain and put a lot of force into each stroke. Planed from both ends in to avoid splintering. Didn't take long at all. Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone!

Getting it done!

By now doing it likely took less time than it takes to read this thread.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

I also use a speed square and a skill saw.