I've been making end grain cutting boards for a while now and the method I use is to glue a long grain sacrificial board to the ends of the cutting board during final glue up and then run the cutting board through the thickness planner a few times on both sides. When finished I cut off the sacrificial boards from the ends on the table saw. Done.
@davefoc I agree, I was thinking the same thing as well. I wonder which is more efficient but also safer. The sacrificial board with a substantial chamfer seems like the best solution. In other words, combining the two techniques.
Yes, like someone else replied, glue scraps to the ends of board. Works great, done it many times. Still take shallow passes. Then when planed, run it through the table saw and cut off the scrap pieces, sand the edges and all is good. I learned it watching Mtmwood. In my opinion he is the master of end grain boards.
THANK YOU! The first time I tried to flatten an end grain board with my planer (same as yours) my mistake was I did too few passes and took off too much each pass. Following your tip I sanded the edges and made very small adjustments and many passes. It worked perfectly. I was really dreading having to make a sled. Thanks again.
Thank you for this video I just did the same thing and worked great for a end grain cutting board! Incrementally removing it with just smidge every pass was the key!
Thanks for this video. I've always used my drum sander for end grain boards mostly because I've been afraid to use my planer on them but based on your and many of the commenters experience I'm going to give it a try. Always hated the additional hand sanding required for a board coming out of my drum sander and know my planer will produce a much better finish. Like your chamfer idea too. Thanks again!
I use the same method with great results every time. One cavate, I use a spiral flute, carbide planer head in my Dewalt. It makes all the difference in the world. My cutter is from Elephas, but there are several manufacturers of these heads. Be sure to buy the OEM version of the cutter head to avoid having to modify the planer to accommodate the head.
Of course you can run end grain cutting boards through a planer. I've done it dozens of times. All you have to do is put sacrificial ends on the board to prevent tear-out. I take off half the amount as usual or less. Then I crosscut off those sacrificial pieces which took the tear-out and. You'll be surprised how smooth 80 grit will make end grain. I've posted this before watching the video.
Ya, I agree with you as well. I’ve just seen plenty of post claiming “you should never do this!” or pictures showing huge chunks ripped off. So that’s where in the video I mention the “controversy “ on this subject. I’d bet people that did it and tore up their board and machine probably were trying to remove way too much material at a time. Now go watch the video!😉 Thanks for commenting and watching 👍
That’s a great tip, thank you. One tip I got recently was to lift the board on the in feed and the out feed as it exiting the machine to cut down on sniping. It actually works. Thanks for the video.
Yes, I've tried that technique as well with mixed results. Can't remember if I mentioned it in this video but I've found that if I run the board or any wood several times more at the end without changing the height settings, it cuts down on the snipe a good deal more as well. Thanks for watching!
I planed my first end grain board the other day and i was doing about 1/64" per pass but it did chip out the end a lot, thankfully i knew this would happen so i had an extra piece on the end to cut off anyways. Going to try putting the chamfer on next time and see how it goes.
To combat the tear out on the edges, I would glue a piece on wood across the edges that wasn’t endgrain, then send it through. Then when all my plaining was done, I would cut those ends back off. But this technique looks promising as well. I’ll have to try it out!
A couple of comments. Marking the surface with a pencil to see where you are planning. Once one side is fairly flat, it is flatter than the opposite side, flip the board to get a smooth surface riding on the bottom Then complete surfacing both sides.
I planed a hard maple end grained and was scared to death! I got lucky, could have helped that it was a new planer so the blades were fresh. I DO like the idea of sanding a chamfer. I also heard the trick of gluing on a sacrificial piece on the end.
Yep, the sacrificial option is a great option! I just do it this way as to save a step of having to remove the sacrificial pieces. And I think the chamfers is a must if done this way. Anyway, thanks for watching!
I think this is the safest approach you can take with a planer for the best chance of success. I was thinking of trying it on my 735x, which would be much faster than using my CNC. Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford a drum sander, lol.
There is no controversy. They do them and you do you! Besides, you have clearly worked out something that is very efficient so we think it is awesome!!
I have 2 end grain boards that I need to glue up and was nervous about this next step. Even considered buying a drum sander just for this purpose. Im also considering buying a Helical head. But seeing you do this eased my mind. Ill let that wait a month after I sell these 2 boards.
I do still want a drum sander myself as ultimately it is a safer method. But with only a planer this method has been working fine. Good luck with your boards and thanks for watching 👍
Oh ya. I’ve seen some people having a bad day doing this. My opinion is I bet they were trying to take off too much wood at a time. Good luck with your future board!👍
No problem with this. Your explanation, warnings and demonstration all are clear. But what about cross-grain planning? That is, face grain up but running left to right instead of front to back. Have you tried that? I would be interested to see the results, even though I can’t see many instances where that would be necessary.
My old Belsaw wont do them!!LOL!! --- I see all of you guys have these De Walt jobbers! -- I might have to try one of them myself! Great video! Thanks!
@@LTDWoodworks Just got my De Walt 734--- It will be a few days before I can un-box it and set it up! Guess I wasnt aware that it weighs 80 pounds! looks like a great machine!
Recently started woodworking. I was wondering how to avoid the chipping at the end. I tried this method and it worked wonderfully! Only gotcha is you really have to make sure the back edge is lower than what depth you're cutting to. Did it with walnut + maple.
Yes. defiantly make sure the back edge is lower. Often times I'll run the board thru the machine, watch it get low, and then re-chamfer the edge to get it lower. Glad it worked out well for you and thanks for watching!
Exact same method I use until I can finally get a nice drum sander. Only had one EG cutting board chip out really bad but was still usable in the end. Good video!
I got a Super Max 19/38 sander for doing these boards. What I’ve found is the end grain is just too hard for this machine. Have to make extremely thin passes and the paper wears out fast. I have a DeWalt planer with the spiral head but have been too scared to try this method, I’ll be trying it out today.
I have done it many many times as well. I just glue some sacrificial pieces of scrap wood around the perimeter so it doesn't turn the cutting board into toothpicks at the end of it. I use my woodmaster 718 due to the ability to be able to adjust the feed rate.
Yep, sacrificial pieces of wood is definitely a great option to do. If people are not comfortable with my method they should definitely use the extra wood method! Thanks for watching👍
Great video. Like most, I’ve heard this a million times NOT to do it and it seems from all the comments everyone has success. Would love to know what exactly would happen if it didn’t work. I mean is the planer going to explode or something? What is the worst case scenario?
Thank you. Ya, I’ve never actually seen a case of something bad happening. So, I can only speculate that a large chunk of wood could break off and jam itself somewhere around the spinning blade. I don’t see the planer exploding but could possibly see some damage. So, I guess I to would like to see what actually happens.
All I do is glue a piece of edge grain to the front and back of the board, a sacrificial piece if you will. And of course, as you said take very small amounts off each pass. Once finished just cut the sacrificial pieces off with the table saw. Wa-la, no damage to the end grain pices of the board.
Great video. I learned a lot. Curious as to what type of cutter head you have in your planer? Traditional blades? Spiral? Would spiral be a safer option when planing end grain in your experience? Thanks. I subscribed to your channel.
This totally worked for me. Today I ran 13 end grain cutting boards of various sizes through my 13” Dewalt planer and had absolutely no problems. Made sure I monitored the chamfer and made very shallow cut runs.
Agree with all you said. Seems one could also glue a strip of wood on the trailing edge in a non endgrain orientation. Have not tried it. But then it would have to be cut off.
Are there any negatives to just gluing a sacrificial row of wood (even a solid strip) on both ends and then trim it off on the table saw? I have zero experience here so please take my question with a grain of salt
I have a 735 but I'm not going to try this. I use a 5.5 LN hand plane to joint the face grain before the first glue up (edge grain cutting board) and after that I clean up and flatten one side with the hand plane and then run it though the 735 before cross cutting into strips before the final glue up. After that it's hand plane only. Was going with LAJ planes, but I discovered that the 5.5 LN works fine on end grain planing--just a little more work with the RA sander after I have everything flat. I've made about 30 end grain boards this year and have experienced no tear out with using hand planes--I guess the wood is too dense for that--just superficial scratch marks easily sanded out. I figure I've put in a lot of work to get to the point of flattening the end grain board and using the hand plane provides some decent exercise that I need. Besides, it really doesn't take all that long. I learned this from watching Tom Mc Laughlin at Epic and suggest trying it before taking the risk of putting an end grain board through the electric planer.
I have not tried this. I use a belt sander to get it flat. Question why don't you chamfer both edges and then go back and forth, one side then the other? I fairly near at woodworking and just wondering. great video.
It's generally best to run one side at a time. This insures you get one side perfectly flat to which the next side will end up parallel the the first flat side. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for watching!
wonder if this would work with the carbide square insert chip blades? I trust it with the straight blades of the planer used, but would love to see how this could work with the carbide cutter head planers.
Lol I have no idea if I'm for or against it yet, but I'm definitely gonna give it a shot later this week. Maybe I'll pop back in to share my results. Looks like it'll work okay to me an I don't have a drum sander so it's my only option really. No way I'm sanding all that
I attempted this with some acacia (former countertop) but the knives pulled fibers from the boards. This ‘tear out’ was in some of rhe center blocks, not the edges.
Yes, I can picture that happening. Are the blades good and sharp? What about depth of the cut? Too deep can cause tear out faster than a very thin cut. Just thoughts.
Great video! I haven’t made an end grain board yet, but you inspire me to give it a shot. One question - I assume the blades on your planer are spinning clockwise - correct?
Thank you! Definitely give it a try. I think I'm about in the mood to make another large walnut board. The best way I can describe the blade rotation and hopefully I'm correct is the blade as it it in contact with the wood is spinning towards you as you are pushing the wood into the blade. Hope that made sense.👍 Thanks for watching!
Just got the same brand you got. My first project was to plane an 8” cross section of an ash tree about 1” thick. I see your turns were about a quarter circle, is that right? I was turning about a half turn and it didn’t end well. I think ash is harder than most woods. I will try again with a smaller turn. You said about 1/64 I think.
@@LTDWoodworks that didn’t work. I was turning about 1/8 of a turn. Went through about 10 times and then chewed it up, made a bad noise. I think I need to change my blades. I also think maybe ash is too hard. Bummer.
@@rabydna Ya, bummer! I've never worked with Ash before but would think it would be the same as hard maple?? I always thought hard maple was well.. pretty dang hard. But yes, check your blades as that's a pretty important part of the equation. Guess we both need to invest in a drum sander!;)
Hi great video, I use the same machine here, and I make a lot of end grain cutting boards, but due to all the controversy of using planes on end grain I never had enough courage to try it out. One question: why you did not use the locking mechanism after lowering the cutter head for each pass? Regards from Brazil
To be honest I've never really used the locking mechanism. Been doing that for years with no noticeable issues. And trust me, I've run 1000's of board feet thru the machine. Anyway, thanks for watching all the way from Brazil!
I have seen on other channels, can't remember the names, but have a push board behind it the same thickness and you won't get chunks coming out of your main board.
Yep, it seems that having a sacrificial piece of wood attached to the board is another popular method that works just great. Maybe I'll try that way and see what the advantages and disadvantages are. Thanks for watching👍
Dale, if someone comments on my videos in a different language, I use google translate to see what they are saying and respond using google translate as well. English is the only language I speak so using that service helps me to respond to anyone in the world. In the case of the one you just responded to, it was Portuguese as they are from Brazil. I could tell that from the flag emojis they left after their comment. Anyway, just a great way to talk to everyone. Thanks for checking out my video.👍
I’ve never made an end grain board. I have hundreds of scraps so I made one. It looked so dope. I was gonna keep it for myself. I put it in my planer and it explodes out, crushes my hand destroys two blades and now my hand feels like I just did a bell flop. I am super bummed.
Wow, kinda wish I could have been there to see exactly what you were dealing with and what kind of wood, settings, etc, you were using. Hate to hear yours didn't work out. But don't give up. I've had a few things not work out for several reasons. I usually take a day or more to step back, think about what happened, and start fresh again with a new plan. Mainly, stay save with power tools. If you ever have any questions just let me know.
15 maybe 20 maybe 25 years ago I did an end grain checkerboard out of Maple and Southern yellow pine and ran it through the planer I didn't chamfer the edges but I took real small passes and then the sucker blew up flew back hit my hand my hand couldn't feel my hand for 3 days all I felt was throbbing pain. destroyed the checkerboard. but I guess the hand hurting only lasted like 3 days could have been worse. still got all my fingers. if I do it again I think I'm going to use a push stick when I push it into the planer just in case. lol
@@LTDWoodworks that southern yellow is way too hard started chipping out on the back end I'm making a router sled if it was something softer I was working with I think it could be done but this stuff's way too brittle thanks
I've done it and got away with it. I have also had trouble for sure. I've only made 20 or so of them. The board gets shorter. Lol. I had one that took a big chunk out. 15 inch Jet planer made a big loud noise.
Yes, they are very popular planers as they hold up very well after taking tons of abuse. I personally don't know anything about the Grizzly planers but I'm sure they would work just fine as Grizzly is a great name brand.
Nice 👍🏻 However, I don’t think my cutting results will be good if I try to plane then end grain off. I would prefer to use a Router Flattening Jig instead.
Ya, makes me think that one day I would love to get a larger planer with a helical head in it. Like around a 15" would be nice. Just having the helical head would be nice as they leave a nicer surface. One day! Guess I have to get back making that money! Thanks for watching!
Tried it on walnut earlier this year and it chipped the edges so I had to cut them off (yes even with sacrificial boards on the ends). It's one of those try at your own risk things.
I sent end grain through my crafstman planer and it destroyed the ends I started just making the boards longer. Helps account for snipe and the tear out
That would work too. Makes me think that as for as snipe goes, on my boards it's been very little. I usually just spend a bit more time sanding with a heavy grit in between the snipe to help even things out a bit. Final product you can not even tell.
"If" the planer causes chunks of wood to separate from the cutting board, those pieces "could" get jammed between the spinning blades and the board causing damage to the planer. Or, those same pieces could get ejected at high speed towards any part of your body in the way. Of course I do my best to stand to the side of the planer at all times during operation. This reduces the chances of injury. Hope this helps and thanks for watching!
It’s kinda funny, I’m fairly new to wood working but when I first started I was making end grain cutting boards because it seem like all I had was small pieces of hard wood anyway when I didn’t know any better I never had a problem with running my work threw but now I know better I’ve had had some bad luck
I attempted this with an end grain cutting board, and took a bit too much off, needless to say it was a mistake I will never make again. I will defiantly go with very shallow passes.
Interesting. What kind of wood did you make your board out of? Did you start by passing the board through with out the blades even touching and work your way down from there with very small adjustments? Just curious, thanks.
Pine is the problem. Pine is a "soft" wood. It is not recommended for cutting boards due to it's open grain compared to a "hard" wood like hard maple, walnut, etc. It would allow food to seep down into the pores of the wood and spoil more easily. So, also due to it being a soft wood, it is more prone to coming apart in the circumstances of an end grain board through a power planer. Try some hard maple (not soft maple because there is such a thing) and you will have much better luck. It cost more but it is what you need for a quality product. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Ok, but still built as an end grain right? If so, pine will definitely have a much higher risk of taring apart unfortunately. I'd still try some hard maple.
I have been using this planer for many many years now. 1000's of feet run thru it. At first I did lock it. Then I would find that I would forget a time or two and found no ill effects. So, now I pretty much never lock it.
For other great woodworking videos be sure to check out this playlist👍th-cam.com/play/PLN-3C9WA_8MZ_t0NcIB-oJIdqTCgh0C3i.html
"A quarter of a millimeter" was cool to hear but no so much, if at all, hearing "we live in a free world" because that simply isn't true.
I've been making end grain cutting boards for a while now and the method I use is to glue a long grain sacrificial board to the ends of the cutting board during final glue up and then run the cutting board through the thickness planner a few times on both sides. When finished I cut off the sacrificial boards from the ends on the table saw. Done.
This was exactly the idea I had and I thought that this was where the video was going to go. I wondered which approach was more efficient.
@davefoc I agree, I was thinking the same thing as well. I wonder which is more efficient but also safer. The sacrificial board with a substantial chamfer seems like the best solution. In other words, combining the two techniques.
The chamfer is all you need and is much easier to do. Throw a router head on and add a detail before planing if you want to save time
@Hootnhowl Yep, good idea 👍
Works for me, too.
Yes, like someone else replied, glue scraps to the ends of board. Works great, done it many times. Still take shallow passes. Then when planed, run it through the table saw and cut off the scrap pieces, sand the edges and all is good. I learned it watching Mtmwood. In my opinion he is the master of end grain boards.
Yep, I’ve seen his videos as well. Very nice boards! Been awhile so I forgot about the scrap wood method. Thanks for watching!
THANK YOU! The first time I tried to flatten an end grain board with my planer (same as yours) my mistake was I did too few passes and took off too much each pass. Following your tip I sanded the edges and made very small adjustments and many passes. It worked perfectly. I was really dreading having to make a sled. Thanks again.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for this, about to make my first end grain cutting and a friend warned me about running it through the planer, now I know what to expect.
Thank you for this video I just did the same thing and worked great for a end grain cutting board! Incrementally removing it with just smidge every pass was the key!
Thanks for this video. I've always used my drum sander for end grain boards mostly because I've been afraid to use my planer on them but based on your and many of the commenters experience I'm going to give it a try. Always hated the additional hand sanding required for a board coming out of my drum sander and know my planer will produce a much better finish. Like your chamfer idea too. Thanks again!
Yep, it's definitely worth a try. As you said, it leaves a good finish to start sanding on. Let me know how it goes for you. Thanks for watching!
Im about 1 full year into my charcuterie/cutting board buisness. This is a great tip for end grain. Thanks!
You’re welcome and thanks for watching!
Artist.
Do you have a website?
@@PCPAyLOAD keep me posted 👌
You are a freaking genius. So fortunate to have found this video. Trick works wonders! FIRST end grain board and chamfer worked!
Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!
Very interesting method. I will have to try it. Thanks for what you do and for sharing it withus.
Thank you and thanks for watching 👍
I use the same method with great results every time. One cavate, I use a spiral flute, carbide planer head in my Dewalt. It makes all the difference in the world. My cutter is from Elephas, but there are several manufacturers of these heads. Be sure to buy the OEM version of the cutter head to avoid having to modify the planer to accommodate the head.
Yep, one of those cutters has been on my list for a long time. I just need to pull the trigger and buy one! Thanks for watching!
Of course you can run end grain cutting boards through a planer. I've done it dozens of times. All you have to do is put sacrificial ends on the board to prevent tear-out. I take off half the amount as usual or less. Then I crosscut off those sacrificial pieces which took the tear-out and. You'll be surprised how smooth 80 grit will make end grain. I've posted this before watching the video.
Ya, I agree with you as well. I’ve just seen plenty of post claiming “you should never do this!” or pictures showing huge chunks ripped off. So that’s where in the video I mention the “controversy “ on this subject. I’d bet people that did it and tore up their board and machine probably were trying to remove way too much material at a time. Now go watch the video!😉 Thanks for commenting and watching 👍
That’s what I was going to say.
Does a spiral cutter head reduce tear out?
I personally have no experience with spiral blades. I would like to think that they would cut better.
@@LTDWoodworks I tested it yesterday and did have some tear out on edges but ran those through joiner a few times and it smoothed it out
That’s a great tip, thank you. One tip I got recently was to lift the board on the in feed and the out feed as it exiting the machine to cut down on sniping. It actually works. Thanks for the video.
Yes, I've tried that technique as well with mixed results. Can't remember if I mentioned it in this video but I've found that if I run the board or any wood several times more at the end without changing the height settings, it cuts down on the snipe a good deal more as well.
Thanks for watching!
I gave it a try worked perfectly. Thanks
Great to hear! Thanks for watching!
I planed my first end grain board the other day and i was doing about 1/64" per pass but it did chip out the end a lot, thankfully i knew this would happen so i had an extra piece on the end to cut off anyways. Going to try putting the chamfer on next time and see how it goes.
Yep, I’m sure that chamfer will definitely help👍 Still good info to have though. Thanks!
You convinced me. I'm trying it! wish me luck!
You got this!👍
To combat the tear out on the edges, I would glue a piece on wood across the edges that wasn’t endgrain, then send it through. Then when all my plaining was done, I would cut those ends back off. But this technique looks promising as well. I’ll have to try it out!
Yep, your way is very popular 👍 I guess I just do mine as it’s less steps. But whatever gets the job done works! Thanks for watching 👍
A couple of comments. Marking the surface with a pencil to see where you are planning. Once one side is fairly flat, it is flatter than the opposite side, flip the board to get a smooth surface riding on the bottom Then complete surfacing both sides.
Thank you, always thought there was a way to use a thickness planer.
I have made 1 endgrain board. Was a pain to sand down. I will be giving this a shot! Thanks for great vid!!
Good luck and thanks for watching 👍
I tried this method and it worked great with my Wen 13" 3 blade planer. I didn't get any tare out. Thanks for the tip and the video.
Awesome, glad it worked for ya👍 Thanks for watching 👍
Este seu método é simples e muito prático. Obrigado
I planed a hard maple end grained and was scared to death! I got lucky, could have helped that it was a new planer so the blades were fresh. I DO like the idea of sanding a chamfer. I also heard the trick of gluing on a sacrificial piece on the end.
Yep, the sacrificial option is a great option! I just do it this way as to save a step of having to remove the sacrificial pieces. And I think the chamfers is a must if done this way. Anyway, thanks for watching!
Have never used your method but it certainly makes sense. End result is proof enough! Thanks !
Yep, it works great! Thanks for watching!
Thanks. I'll try it-very slowly!
Good luck! Let me know how it goes 👍
i have the exact same planer, just switched the blades around so they are brand new. will be trying this tomorrow
Cool, good luck! Let me know how it goes 👍 Thanks for watching!
I think this is the safest approach you can take with a planer for the best chance of success. I was thinking of trying it on my 735x, which would be much faster than using my CNC. Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford a drum sander, lol.
Yep, so far it's been working great for me. And, yes, I too want a drum sander. I would be willing to bet it will be my next big purchase😃
Same method I use on "all" boards, as sometimes... "less is more." Thumbs Up !!
So true! Thanks for watching!👍
Yes, I do it with success all of the time.
Awesome, thanks for watching!
There is no controversy. They do them and you do you! Besides, you have clearly worked out something that is very efficient so we think it is awesome!!
Thank you and we’ll said!👍
I have 2 end grain boards that I need to glue up and was nervous about this next step. Even considered buying a drum sander just for this purpose. Im also considering buying a Helical head. But seeing you do this eased my mind. Ill let that wait a month after I sell these 2 boards.
I do still want a drum sander myself as ultimately it is a safer method. But with only a planer this method has been working fine. Good luck with your boards and thanks for watching 👍
Great info
Thanks for watching!
Huh. I never even thought about end grain being and issue with the blades. Glad I watched this before I made a board!
Oh ya. I’ve seen some people having a bad day doing this. My opinion is I bet they were trying to take off too much wood at a time. Good luck with your future board!👍
Awesome tip, dude! Thanks a lot! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
No problem! Same to you and yours! Thanks for watching!
Great. Thanks.
You're welcome!
Thanks for the tip, I will have to give it a try.
You're welcome, good luck and thanks for watching!
No problem with this. Your explanation, warnings and demonstration all are clear. But what about cross-grain planning? That is, face grain up but running left to right instead of front to back. Have you tried that? I would be interested to see the results, even though I can’t see many instances where that would be necessary.
I've tried this with thin boards. The boards exploded. I think drum sander is the only way?
My old Belsaw wont do them!!LOL!! --- I see all of you guys have these De Walt jobbers! -- I might have to try one of them myself! Great video! Thanks!
You’re welcome and thanks for watching!
@@LTDWoodworks Just got my De Walt 734--- It will be a few days before I can un-box it and set it up! Guess I wasnt aware that it weighs 80 pounds! looks like a great machine!
It is! It’s the work horse of my shop. Use it all the time 👍
Recently started woodworking. I was wondering how to avoid the chipping at the end. I tried this method and it worked wonderfully! Only gotcha is you really have to make sure the back edge is lower than what depth you're cutting to. Did it with walnut + maple.
Yes. defiantly make sure the back edge is lower. Often times I'll run the board thru the machine, watch it get low, and then re-chamfer the edge to get it lower. Glad it worked out well for you and thanks for watching!
Free country, not a free world, lol. Nice video.
Great
What kind of blades are on your planer? Helical? Knives?
Everything he's said is what I do, never had a problem
Yep! Thanks for watching!
Exact same method I use until I can finally get a nice drum sander. Only had one EG cutting board chip out really bad but was still usable in the end. Good video!
Ya, I would like to get a drum sander as well. Thank you and thanks for watching!
Scott, you’ll love your drum sander!
I got a Super Max 19/38 sander for doing these boards. What I’ve found is the end grain is just too hard for this machine. Have to make extremely thin passes and the paper wears out fast. I have a DeWalt planer with the spiral head but have been too scared to try this method, I’ll be trying it out today.
Ya, I still want to get a drum sander for other uses. One day. Hope yours turns out well 👍
I have done it many many times as well. I just glue some sacrificial pieces of scrap wood around the perimeter so it doesn't turn the cutting board into toothpicks at the end of it. I use my woodmaster 718 due to the ability to be able to adjust the feed rate.
Yep, sacrificial pieces of wood is definitely a great option to do. If people are not comfortable with my method they should definitely use the extra wood method! Thanks for watching👍
Great video. Like most, I’ve heard this a million times NOT to do it and it seems from all the comments everyone has success. Would love to know what exactly would happen if it didn’t work. I mean is the planer going to explode or something? What is the worst case scenario?
Thank you. Ya, I’ve never actually seen a case of something bad happening. So, I can only speculate that a large chunk of wood could break off and jam itself somewhere around the spinning blade. I don’t see the planer exploding but could possibly see some damage. So, I guess I to would like to see what actually happens.
All I do is glue a piece of edge grain to the front and back of the board, a sacrificial piece if you will. And of course, as you said take very small amounts off each pass. Once finished just cut the sacrificial pieces off with the table saw. Wa-la, no damage to the end grain pices of the board.
Would it be easier to make the chamfered edge with a router instead?
Yep, that option should work just fine 👍 I just use the sander as it’s quicker to get ready and making the chamfer itself is pretty quick as well.
@@LTDWoodworks yeah my thought was that I’ll do it later anyway so might as well be now.
Great video thanks
Thanks brother
Great video. I learned a lot. Curious as to what type of cutter head you have in your planer? Traditional blades? Spiral? Would spiral be a safer option when planing end grain in your experience?
Thanks. I subscribed to your channel.
Thanks! I use a standard straight blade. I have yet to use a spiral blade but I feel it would do a better job and potentially safer. Thanks again!
I grew up a scrap piece on each end and send it through the planer that way when top is done and then cut the strap piece off works for me
That is also a great idea. Thanks for sharing and watching👍
Hi Bud,..Wondering if you still have straight blades on your thicknesser or those fancy helical cutters?
Regards,
Allyn Hansen
New Zealand.
Yep, sure do. Never got around to getting spiral blades and for what I do the straight blades work just fine 👍 Thanks for watching!
This totally worked for me. Today I ran 13 end grain cutting boards of various sizes through my 13” Dewalt planer and had absolutely no problems. Made sure I monitored the chamfer and made very shallow cut runs.
Awesome! Glad it worked out well for you 👍
Will your method also work with olive wood?
I don’t see why not. I’m not sure how olive wood measures up against hard maple but would imagine olive wood is softer so shouldn’t be an issue 👍
gluing on sacrificial boards will also minimize tear out. I also believe that the head lock should be engaged while making a pass.
Yep, that’s a very popular second option 👍 And yes, I should lock it. Always forget but for years now I’ve never had an issue 🤷♂️
Agree with all you said. Seems one could also glue a strip of wood on the trailing edge in a non endgrain orientation. Have not tried it. But then it would have to be cut off.
Ya, that’s probably a good idea as well 👍
Are there any negatives to just gluing a sacrificial row of wood (even a solid strip) on both ends and then trim it off on the table saw? I have zero experience here so please take my question with a grain of salt
That's what I do. Also flip the board to take some off each side as you go.
I have a 735 but I'm not going to try this. I use a 5.5 LN hand plane to joint the face grain before the first glue up (edge grain cutting board) and after that I clean up and flatten one side with the hand plane and then run it though the 735 before cross cutting into strips before the final glue up. After that it's hand plane only. Was going with LAJ planes, but I discovered that the 5.5 LN works fine on end grain planing--just a little more work with the RA sander after I have everything flat. I've made about 30 end grain boards this year and have experienced no tear out with using hand planes--I guess the wood is too dense for that--just superficial scratch marks easily sanded out. I figure I've put in a lot of work to get to the point of flattening the end grain board and using the hand plane provides some decent exercise that I need. Besides, it really doesn't take all that long. I learned this from watching Tom Mc Laughlin at Epic and suggest trying it before taking the risk of putting an end grain board through the electric planer.
I’m all for more hand tools in my shop. Once I get the correct hand plane like yours I’ll try that method. I too need the exercise 👍
I have not tried this. I use a belt sander to get it flat. Question why don't you chamfer both edges and then go back and forth, one side then the other? I fairly near at woodworking and just wondering. great video.
It's generally best to run one side at a time. This insures you get one side perfectly flat to which the next side will end up parallel the the first flat side. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for watching!
wonder if this would work with the carbide square insert chip blades? I trust it with the straight blades of the planer used, but would love to see how this could work with the carbide cutter head planers.
My initial reaction would be yes, should work just fine. Maybe even better. But me too, would love to test that out. 👍
Да именно так, я в конце брусок клею.
Здоровья и денек.
Lol I have no idea if I'm for or against it yet, but I'm definitely gonna give it a shot later this week. Maybe I'll pop back in to share my results. Looks like it'll work okay to me an I don't have a drum sander so it's my only option really. No way I'm sanding all that
Ya, let me know how it goes 👍 Thanks for watching!👍
How often would someone need to put in such boards that have end grain facing upwards, in a project?
Sorry, not sure I understand your question.
when ever you make an end grain cutting board the end grain is always facing upwards.
Are you using helical blades?
Nope, still using regular straight blades. Thanks for watching 👍
@@LTDWoodworks interesting...thanks for the reply
I attempted this with some acacia (former countertop) but the knives pulled fibers from the boards. This ‘tear out’ was in some of rhe center blocks, not the edges.
Yes, I can picture that happening. Are the blades good and sharp? What about depth of the cut? Too deep can cause tear out faster than a very thin cut. Just thoughts.
I’m a little fearful, my first end grain board with Walnut and Maple. Looking forward to weekends of sanding … yay 😢
Hope all goes well! Thanks for watching!
Great video! I haven’t made an end grain board yet, but you inspire me to give it a shot. One question - I assume the blades on your planer are spinning clockwise - correct?
Thank you! Definitely give it a try. I think I'm about in the mood to make another large walnut board. The best way I can describe the blade rotation and hopefully I'm correct is the blade as it it in contact with the wood is spinning towards you as you are pushing the wood into the blade. Hope that made sense.👍 Thanks for watching!
Glue the straight grain wood in same thickness at the both ends of the cutting board. After planning cut them off.
Yep, definitely a popular option!👍
Just got the same brand you got. My first project was to plane an 8” cross section of an ash tree about 1” thick. I see your turns were about a quarter circle, is that right? I was turning about a half turn and it didn’t end well. I think ash is harder than most woods. I will try again with a smaller turn. You said about 1/64 I think.
Ya, I think it was a quarter turn. Maybe even less. Just as long as you're inn that 1/64 range you should be good. Thanks for watching!
@@LTDWoodworks that didn’t work. I was turning about 1/8 of a turn. Went through about 10 times and then chewed it up, made a bad noise. I think I need to change my blades. I also think maybe ash is too hard. Bummer.
@@rabydna Ya, bummer! I've never worked with Ash before but would think it would be the same as hard maple?? I always thought hard maple was well.. pretty dang hard. But yes, check your blades as that's a pretty important part of the equation. Guess we both need to invest in a drum sander!;)
You to are great
I don't know if you have a drum sander, but if you do, do you still prefer using the planer over the drum sander?
Nope, I do not have one yet. Would love to though. That would be interesting to test out the differences though.
Used a friend’s drum sander with 120 grit and took a long time to sand scratches out! Planer works better for me!
Hi great video, I use the same machine here, and I make a lot of end grain cutting boards, but due to all the controversy of using planes on end grain I never had enough courage to try it out. One question: why you did not use the locking mechanism after lowering the cutter head for each pass?
Regards from Brazil
To be honest I've never really used the locking mechanism. Been doing that for years with no noticeable issues. And trust me, I've run 1000's of board feet thru the machine. Anyway, thanks for watching all the way from Brazil!
I have seen on other channels, can't remember the names, but have a push board behind it the same thickness and you won't get chunks coming out of your main board.
Yep, it seems that having a sacrificial piece of wood attached to the board is another popular method that works just great. Maybe I'll try that way and see what the advantages and disadvantages are. Thanks for watching👍
Parabéns pelo seu trabalho 🇧🇷👍👏👊🤝🇧🇷💯
Obrigada! E obrigado por assistir!
Muchas personas aqui no puedan hablar espanol.
Dale, if someone comments on my videos in a different language, I use google translate to see what they are saying and respond using google translate as well. English is the only language I speak so using that service helps me to respond to anyone in the world. In the case of the one you just responded to, it was Portuguese as they are from Brazil. I could tell that from the flag emojis they left after their comment. Anyway, just a great way to talk to everyone. Thanks for checking out my video.👍
I’ve never made an end grain board. I have hundreds of scraps so I made one. It looked so dope. I was gonna keep it for myself. I put it in my planer and it explodes out, crushes my hand destroys two blades and now my hand feels like I just did a bell flop. I am super bummed.
Wow, kinda wish I could have been there to see exactly what you were dealing with and what kind of wood, settings, etc, you were using. Hate to hear yours didn't work out. But don't give up. I've had a few things not work out for several reasons. I usually take a day or more to step back, think about what happened, and start fresh again with a new plan.
Mainly, stay save with power tools. If you ever have any questions just let me know.
15 maybe 20 maybe 25 years ago I did an end grain checkerboard out of Maple and Southern yellow pine and ran it through the planer I didn't chamfer the edges but I took real small passes and then the sucker blew up flew back hit my hand my hand couldn't feel my hand for 3 days all I felt was throbbing pain. destroyed the checkerboard. but I guess the hand hurting only lasted like 3 days could have been worse. still got all my fingers. if I do it again I think I'm going to use a push stick when I push it into the planer just in case. lol
Yep, any means necessary to be safe is always a good thing. Hope it works out well in the future!
@@LTDWoodworks that southern yellow is way too hard started chipping out on the back end I'm making a router sled if it was something softer I was working with I think it could be done but this stuff's way too brittle thanks
I've done it and got away with it. I have also had trouble for sure. I've only made 20 or so of them. The board gets shorter. Lol. I had one that took a big chunk out. 15 inch Jet planer made a big loud noise.
Yep, fingers crossed it never happens to me. Wish I had a 15" planer. One day! Thanks for watching!
Why don't you glue a sacrificial edge on both ends or make the 2 end a bits longer to be trimmed off later?
That is a popular option that does work well. I’ve had great luck so far with this method so for now I guess I’ll continue as it saves a few steps👍
What kind of blades do you have in your planner?
Just regular straight blades.
i see all these Dewalt planers. grizzly 1037z?
Yes, they are very popular planers as they hold up very well after taking tons of abuse. I personally don't know anything about the Grizzly planers but I'm sure they would work just fine as Grizzly is a great name brand.
Nice 👍🏻
However, I don’t think my cutting results will be good if I try to plane then end grain off. I would prefer to use a Router Flattening Jig instead.
hello, nice content, nice video useful 👍🏻
Thank you so much 🙂
I use that method all the time with my 735 planer with a shelix head. Never any chip out
Ya, makes me think that one day I would love to get a larger planer with a helical head in it. Like around a 15" would be nice. Just having the helical head would be nice as they leave a nicer surface. One day! Guess I have to get back making that money! Thanks for watching!
Tried it on walnut earlier this year and it chipped the edges so I had to cut them off (yes even with sacrificial boards on the ends). It's one of those try at your own risk things.
Yep, it is. Interesting though that you had sacrificial boards on an it still chipped. Do you recall how deep a cut you were doing?
Helical blades make it less worrisome?
I would say just a bit, yes. But would still be very careful no matter what blade being used👍
I sent end grain through my crafstman planer and it destroyed the ends I started just making the boards longer. Helps account for snipe and the tear out
That would work too. Makes me think that as for as snipe goes, on my boards it's been very little. I usually just spend a bit more time sanding with a heavy grit in between the snipe to help even things out a bit. Final product you can not even tell.
I guess when you round the edges with router and then run through the planer, the result should be ok.
I am not going to try, but your trick is greate
That's crazy by drum sander
This is for the people who may not have a drum sander yet or maybe the budget for one.
I usually just glue a piece of timber at the end of the board. Works every time.
Yep, that's a great option that I should have mentioned in the video. Thanks for watching!
I never have tried it but I will
Sounds good and good luck 👍
My dewalt planer is smaller than yours and works great. Sharp blades and patience
I tried running one through today before researching. Had the whole cutting board flying back out at me 😬
i joined the extra wood at the end and after take that out or just keep it as is.
You don't drop the bat at all?
But wait! U said it could do damage 2 both u & ur planer. Like what? Plz clarify.
"If" the planer causes chunks of wood to separate from the cutting board, those pieces "could" get jammed between the spinning blades and the board causing damage to the planer. Or, those same pieces could get ejected at high speed towards any part of your body in the way.
Of course I do my best to stand to the side of the planer at all times during operation. This reduces the chances of injury.
Hope this helps and thanks for watching!
It’s kinda funny, I’m fairly new to wood working but when I first started I was making end grain cutting boards because it seem like all I had was small pieces of hard wood anyway when I didn’t know any better I never had a problem with running my work threw but now I know better I’ve had had some bad luck
As long as we are all careful with this method we should be good to go. Still be careful though 👍 Thanks for watching!
I attempted this with an end grain cutting board, and took a bit too much off, needless to say it was a mistake I will never make again. I will defiantly go with very shallow passes.
Ya, in my opinion I think that’s definitely the culprit of taking too much off at one time. Good luck on the next try👍
Digital depth gauge on the planer would help dial in the exact amount you can take off before chip out. 🤷🏼♂️
I can’t even get it through one pass. The second the wood touches the blade it just shatters the wood. Even when set at small increments.
Interesting. What kind of wood did you make your board out of? Did you start by passing the board through with out the blades even touching and work your way down from there with very small adjustments? Just curious, thanks.
@@LTDWoodworks it’s pine. I think I’m going to try and see what I can do by hand.
Pine is the problem. Pine is a "soft" wood. It is not recommended for cutting boards due to it's open grain compared to a "hard" wood like hard maple, walnut, etc. It would allow food to seep down into the pores of the wood and spoil more easily. So, also due to it being a soft wood, it is more prone to coming apart in the circumstances of an end grain board through a power planer.
Try some hard maple (not soft maple because there is such a thing) and you will have much better luck. It cost more but it is what you need for a quality product.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
@@LTDWoodworks well it’s no so much a cutting board. More of a cover to lay over the glass cook top in my camper to create more counter space.
Ok, but still built as an end grain right? If so, pine will definitely have a much higher risk of taring apart unfortunately. I'd still try some hard maple.
Why don't you lock the cutter head?
I have been using this planer for many many years now. 1000's of feet run thru it. At first I did lock it. Then I would find that I would forget a time or two and found no ill effects. So, now I pretty much never lock it.
@@LTDWoodworks I think I will try that to see what happens. Locking and unlocking is a pain when doing a small depth change.