End grains sanding

[Milind Patil]

Is there an easier way to sand end-grain surface (like end-grain cutting board surface) ? I just finished sanding my cutting board (actually, didn't finished, just gave up half way out of frustration!), and even with 60 grit sandpaper (the lowest I can find in local stores) it sucked all the juice out of me !!!

There got to be a better way !

[Andrew Gibson]

I'm srying to think if a scraper would work... idk.
I would reach for a very sharp smoothing plane, or maybe a good sharp low angle block plane. A low angle smoother would definitely be my first choice.

[Joe Chritz]

Drum sander or wide belt. Random orbit sander and a fair amount of time.

It is the nature of the beast.

I feel your pain.

Joe

[Van Huskey]

Wide belt is the easy answer. The inexpensive solution might be a Rigid OSS/belt sander or a mounted belt sander.

[Bill Huber]

I have better luck with say 120 or 150 grit, the 80 or 60 just does not work very well on cutting boards.

I use a DeWalt ROS and it works fine, it does take a little work but the sander is doing most of it.

[Eiji Fuller]

Hand planes work the best on endgrain IMO then a few swipes with 320 and youre done.

Sharpen your iron and impress yourself with some endgrain curlies!

[Mark Woodmark]

I find sanding end grain somewhat difficult, especially where face grain butts into it. The face grain is removed faster than the end grain, so if I am not careful, I will end up with a rut where the two meet

[Dick Aubochon]

Timely post. I'm just finishing up a very large end grain cuttiing board for a customer. No matter the technique it takes time. I put some Grateful Dead on my IPod, and think of the process as the Zen of woodworking.

[Rob Woodman]

Milind Patil, you do not say what wood you are using or what preparation you had undertaken prior to starting to sand your cutting board.(tools used etc.)

A lot of good advice in the above posts, maybe I can outline the way end grain clean up is approached on my projects.

Direct from a machine made cut:-

Cabinet scraper to clean up any scorch marks if present.( often a sign the blade needs cleaning or sharpening )
Random orbit sander with 120 grit and work through 180 to 240.
Brush off dust between grit changes.
Hand sand with higher grits as required to the finish I am happy with.

Extra steps when working from hand sawn:-

Plane with freshly sharpened smoothing plane or block plane dependant on end grain area. (Can be aided by the use of a belt sander if you have one and are comfortable using it.)
Cabinet scraper to clean up planing marks if present.
On to Random orbit sander.

If all you can find locally is 60 grit paper then you need to find an online supplier or get really good with hand planes and cabinet scrapers

While working in a cabinet shop in Germany I picked up the idea of using a freshly cut piece of 6mm/¼" plate glass as a cabinet scraper, it works really well but one must use with care and it is not nearly as versatile as a steel scraper.
HTH Rob.

[Scott Velie]

I made a bunch of end grain cutting boards out of hard (sugar) Maple.
I ended up using my planer and a hand plane. After glue up of an oversize blank I used a 45 degree router bit to chamfer the outside edge of the blank on both sides. I put just sharpened blades in my planer and planed them with light cuts. The chamfer prevented any chipping on the trailing edge.I then cut the blank to size cutting off the chamfers.
All it needed was a couple passes with a very sharp hand plane. No sandpaper needed.

[Kent A Bathurst]

The one task that is absolutely, positively, 100% guaranteed to get my belt sander out of it's hidey-hole. Not so much sanding as it is grinding. 50g, 100g, then go to ROS.

If I had a drum or wide-belt sander, I'd use that of course.

[Rob Woodman]

The one task that is absolutely, positively, 100% guaranteed to get my belt sander out of it's hidey-hole. Not so much sanding as it is grinding. 50g, 100g, then go to ROS.

If I had a drum or wide-belt sander, I'd use that of course.

Surely it depends on the timber used and the way the end grain was exposed? (power tool or hand tool)
To go from a near planed finished end cut from a sharp bladed TS or SCMS to 50 grit abrasive would surely be a step backwards?
Softer/faster grown timbers will often benefit from sanding from coarse to fine grits, in order to get a more even finish due to grain structure.
More dense/harder timbers (generally slower growing) will require less work processes if the original cut is clean.
Regards Rob.

[Leo Devera]

I've had good luck with endgrain and a planer. Same with sideways grain. The tick is really really sharp blades and no deeper than 1/64" at the most per cut. Then clean it up with some 60 grit and work your way up the grits.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Surely it depends on the timber used and the way the end grain was exposed? (power tool or hand tool)
To go from a near planed finished end cut from a sharp bladed TS or SCMS to 50 grit abrasive would surely be a step backwards?
Softer/faster grown timbers will often benefit from sanding from coarse to fine grits, in order to get a more even finish due to grain structure.
More dense/harder timbers (generally slower growing) will require less work processes if the original cut is clean.
Regards Rob.

Reply was targeted at immediatley prior comment re: end-grain cutting boards out of hard maple.

[Ben Davis]

Low angle block plane is your best bet on the end grain. The bed angle for the smoothing plane (i.e. No. 4) is too high to slice through the fibers. A low angle smoother (i.e. a Veritas offering) would work just fine though. Or... a nice sharp inexpensive block plane.