What plane to use on end grain

[Smoothjazz077]

I have been using hand planes for over 10yrs, and to me, there is nothing better when it comes to the many tasks we go through when working a project. I have a decent collection of bench planes, ranging from a #3 to #8, and a few specialty planes, such as shoulder, router plane, scraper, rabbet & scrub plane. As I go to flea markets and yard sales throughout the year, I am naturally attracted to any hand tools that are being sold, and always seem to walk away some sort of tool. As I work projects, I realize that I seem to use the same planes for just about all my projects, which includes smoothing, jointing, flattening, etc. However, the one area that I still rely on using sand paper is end grain. I make several end grain cutting boards each year, whether for my wife, gifts or for sale. I have been reading several posts, blogs and articles on how fellow woodworkers go about finishing their end grain cutting boards, and it appears that most use some sort of sanding device, such as drum or belt sanders. I have, and currently rely on a combination of hand sanding and power sanding(orbital sander) when finishing my cutting boards. Is there a hand plane that can accomplish this task without much tear out? I have read that Low Angle Jack from LV and LN is a good plane from such jobs, but I don't know anyone that has this plane that can confirm. I would like to purchase a Low Angle Jack, as I heard it is a very versatile plane aside for just end grain planing. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Scott

[Bill_Houghton]

Low angle block planes were originally optimized for planing end grain. You need a blade that's sharper than a teenage girl's tongue, and, even so, it works better on firm hardwoods than on softwoods.

[AHill]

For planing without a shooting board, a low angle block is tailor made for end grain. As mentioned, VERY sharp blade. In fact, O1 tool steel or PM-V11 blades can be made to get very sharp to tackle soft wood end grain (hardest to plane). If you are wanting to use a shooting board, and you don't want to spend a fortune, I recommend a low angle bevel up plane, like a Veritas Low Angle Jack with a low bevel angel on the plane. If you have the cash, there are dedicated shooting planes (Lie-Nielsen and Lee Valley both have them). You won't find too many low angle vintage planes that have the length necessary for a shooting board. You could use a shooting board with a low angle block plane, but the extra mass of a LAJ or a specialty shooting plane come in very handy.

[Rob Young]

The SHARPEST plane you have works the best.

The LAJ design is versatile and easy to set up but really in the end works no better (or worse) than a properly set up bevel down design.

[MikeS.]

I would use a nice sharp #4 or #5 set it fine

[MichaelMouse]

Low pitch angle, like the block planes. http://homepages.sover.net/~nichael/nlc-.../caop.html "Shooting" boards don't allow you to skew the blade, so if it's just slick you need, not matching miter angles, vise and plane away, but not off the far end unless you've got a sacrificial chip piece clamped there. The reason you want to skew is on the second page under "Skew". Just one extra reason I own these. http://www.leevalley.com/en/Wood/page.as...&cat=1,41182,56084&ap=1 Love their work.

[Wilbur Pan]

If you don’t have a low angle plane, you can take a standard bevel down plane and skew it 40-45º as you push it. That will give you an effective cutting angle of around 37º, which is what you would get with a low angle plane and a blade with a 25º angle.

[ckx707]

I used my LV low angle jack to do the major leveling but it requires so much force to push through that much end grain that I found it really tough to get the continuous even cuts needed to leave a finished surface off the plane. It did significantly reduce the amount of sanding required so I was happy to use the best of both worlds.





My experience is detailed in my blog here.

[rwe2156]

Any plane with an ultra sharp blade.

How about a scraper?

[Bibliophile 13]

The low angle planes are available in jack and smoothing plane sizes now, but I'm guessing the extra mass of the jack will be desirable for big end-grain jobs.

I've had my eye on the LN low-angle jack for years. It's purrdy!