Maple end grain butcher block

[Duane N]

I had some maple table legs that were supposed to be part of a set of maple tables for my home but after screwing the table finish up I decided to re-purpose the maple for cutting boards.  The legs are going to become my first attempt at making an end grain cutting board.  After doing a lot of research on the subject I've made some progress on the board this weekend despite the rain.  It ended up measuring 18" X 12" X 2" thick. 

[jasfrank]

I had some maple table legs that were supposed to be part of a set of maple tables for my home but after screwing the table finish up I decided to re-purpose the maple for cutting boards.  The legs are going to become my first attempt at making an end grain cutting board.  After doing a lot of research on the subject I've made some progress on the board this weekend despite the rain.  It ended up measuring 18" X 12" X 2" thick. 












That will make a great cutting board Duane, but why not just give the original project a new finsh? Sure couldn't be the end of the world.

[Stwood_]

  Lookin good!

[GlenS]

Thats a nice one for sure Duane!!

[wood-chips]

Very nice cutting board!

[Duane N]

Thanks everyone.  Working on the end grain getting it planed down was easier than I thought because I read a lot about how difficult it can be on planer knives.




I decided after applying the first coat of mineral oil that I want to put a juice groove in the board.  I held off doing it Sunday because I was tired and need to make a router jig to do this.

[OneStaple]

Thanks everyone. Working on the end grain getting it planed down was easier than I thought because I read a lot about how difficult it can be on planer knives.

Great looking board! Can you share what your technique was? Does your planer have straight knives or something else (helical, etc.)?

Tyler

[Duane N]

Great looking board!  Can you share what your technique was?  Does your planer have straight knives or something else (helical, etc.)?

Tyler

Not sure what technique you're asking about but if it's assembly I made 8- 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" blanks and one 3/4" blank and glued them together and let it set overnight.  I then ran it through the surface planer then ripped the glued up piece into 2" thick sections.  I offset the 3/4" ends because I didn't want the glued joints in the same line.



You can see the offset of the 3/4" ends better in this picture.




As far as my planer I use a Dewalt 13" planer.  It has 3 straight knives on it.  I installed new knives on the planer before planning the end grain of the board.  I made multiple passes taking a little bit off each time.  I had sacrificial pine boards glued on the end of the end grain board to prevent tear out then cut them off after everything was even.

Lots of sanding followed this process.


I hope this answered your question.

[OneStaple]

As far as my planer I use a Dewalt 13" planer. It has 3 straight knives on it. I installed new knives on the planer before planning the end grain of the board. I made multiple passes taking a little bit off each time. I had sacrificial pine boards glued on the end of the end grain board to prevent tear out then cut them off after everything was even.

Lots of sanding followed this process.

Yup, that part. Thank you. I know planing end grain is a bit sketchy and rough on the planer. My understanding is that it's more "doable" with a helical/spiral cutter head than straight blades. But it seems like most people who are doing end grain boards just use a drum sander.

I'm on the verge of making a handful of endgrain cutting boards and only have available a (big) planer with straight blades. I've been contemplating my approach. Certainly the sacrificial boards on the ends to prevent ripping chunks off the back end of the board are critical, as are light passes. But it's good to have a first-hand account of someone successfully using this approach on a straight-bladed planer.

Previous cutting boards that I did were just finished with a hand-held belt sander, which I find to be a bit of a pain.

Thanks!
Tyler

[Duane N]

Yup, that part.  Thank you.  I know planing end grain is a bit sketchy and rough on the planer.  My understanding is that it's more "doable" with a helical/spiral cutter head than straight blades.  But it seems like most people who are doing end grain boards just use a drum sander.

I'm on the verge of making a handful of endgrain cutting boards and only have available a (big) planer with straight blades.  I've been contemplating my approach.  Certainly the sacrificial boards on the ends to prevent ripping chunks off the back end of the board are critical, as are light passes.  But it's good to have a first-hand account of someone successfully using this approach on a straight-bladed planer.

Previous cutting boards that I did were just finished with a hand-held belt sander, which I find to be a bit of a pain.

Thanks!
Tyler

Good luck with your boards.  I was a bit hesitant after reading how bad it could go planning end grain and seeing how this was my first attempt I wasn't sure what to expect or to happen as it passed through the planer so I gave it a wide berth as it went under the knives (I was worried about kickback).  It was actually a lot easier and cleaner than I thought it would be and when I do more of these I'll still take my time with that step.