End grain cutting board all Neanderthal?

[Mike Cherry]

One of the projects I wanted to build when I first started woodworking. After I found out how hard it is to plane end grain, I have neglected it. Anyone have tips for doing this? I imagine the more you can do to get your pieces cut accurately, the better. What's the best way to flatten the board? Maybe a toothed blade in a low angle plane?

[Mike Null]

Don't tell anybody but I use a RO sander.

[David Turner]

Mike:

I make end grain hard maple cutting boards regularly as the scraps seem to grow in the wood pile. I have never been able to glue up a board that was close to being level on the top so I just gave up on that goal. I now take it/them to the local cabinet shop that has a big thickness sander (I take a number of cutting boards at a time as the minimum charge is $20).

Last group I made I took to a friends shop that has a thickness planer with a carbide insert head. Escapes me at the moment as to what they are called. It did a really nice job!

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.

[Pat Barry]

I think there is a reason that you won't find any old end grain cutting boards. Too much work for hand tools. If you insist, then I think its important to pick a wood that will behave for you (maple , cherry, walnut). Get a nice low angle plane. Work from the outside toward the middle from all directions. Be prepared for a lot of blood sweat and tears.

[Robert Engel]

What ^Pat said.
It will be a workout but if you keep the shavings thin that will help.

[Warren Mickley]

I think that if you are having trouble planing end grain something is wrong with your plane. Not sharp, too heavy a cut, dinky block plane or something.

What is a lot of work is gluing a bunch of pieces together to make an end grain board. I can't imagine anyone doing that before the machine age. It is not like a single board will not hold up to everyday use. I have a hickory cutting board that has been in constant use since 1973 and my son has a white oak board that had been in constant use since about 1965.

[Mike Cherry]

So, in a nut shell. It can be done, but probably shouldn't.
Warren, I wasn't sure if your comment about sharpness was aimed at me or the task of planing an end grain cutting board in general. Either way, I have no doubt my blades would cut the end grain. I just wasn't sure if such a feat should even be attempted.

Pat, you mentioned that you don't see old cutting boards in this style. That's all I really needed to hear.

So my next question would be if you were going to build an end grain cutting board, what type of material would you use and how would you build it only using handtools? Breadboard ends? Some kind of miter trim?

[Mark AJ Allen]

I made one by hand only and yes it was pretty time consuming. I choose to not assemble and glue up the whole thing in one time at the end; I would just glue one block on at a time, resulting in one 'strip' of the cutting board; I used all kinds of different woods in the project. After each individual block was dried to the strip, I would use my shooting board and plane to make the strip square. I still needed to even our the top and bottom after all the strips were assembled to the final board, but I think it was much easier than if I hadn't leveled the strips.

[Jim Koepke]

So my next question would be if you were going to build an end grain cutting board, what type of material would you use and how would you build it only using handtools?

Many years ago free standing butcher blocks were made from bundles of wood. The cutting surface was the end grain of the bundle.

It probably wasn't until there was a nontoxic water resistant glue available that end grain cutting boards were made for home use.

I like maple. Any wood to be used with food should be checked for toxicity. There are a few sites on the internet that list this by species.

My method would be to edge glue pieces together to make a panel. Start with pieces the same thickness to make it easy to flatten the faces. Then I would shoot the end grain and crosscut off a piece a bit thicker than you want the board's finished size. Shoot the main stock again. Also carefully clean the face of the cut piece. Repeat this until enough stock is cut to make your cutting board. It is possible to make patterns with this method.

Google > cutting board patterns < to find a lot of examples.

jtk

[Mike Cherry]

Thanks for the replies guys. I misspoke in my earlier question. If you were to build a cutting board how would you do it. Not an end grain board. Just a regular old board.

[Tom Vanzant]

Mike, I make kitchen-size (8"x14"x7/8") cutting boards from maple. I rip to 15/16", turn the strips on edge, arranged for appearance and grain direction, then glue with Titebond III. I leave the clamps on overnight, then let the board "season" for a couple of days. I flatten and thickness with handplanes, nip the corners at 45*x1", and break edges about 1/16". Finish is mineral oil.

[Mike Cherry]

Thanks Tom, any chance you got a picture of one?

[Tom Vanzant]

No pix and no boards either.

[Karl Andersson]

Mike,
I made half a dozen smaller cutting boards (cutting surface is 9" square) for Christmas gifts last year, based on one I made for my wife. All were made from 5/4 hard maple, plain sawn and planed down to a full 1" thick. The handles are all different shapes and decorative styles and are about 3/4 " thick to make them easier to grasp. The boards all had a slight cup to them on one side from the kiln drying - after planing, I scraped them from the center out to dish them about 1/32 in the center to keep them from spinning during use. Finish was food-grade flax oil to add some amber color, followed by Watco "salad bowl finish" which is a bit too glossy for my taste, but it holds up well to washing and keeps food from sticking, plus some were painted and it helps protect the paint. I'll see if I can find pictures of that group, but here is the original one. This one is 4 years old and sees daily use; it has held up well to the knives and I just wipe it down in the worn areas with flax oil about twice a year. Maple end grain cuts easily with sharp tools - I used a spokeshave for the curved areas, a Stanley #3 for the straights, and a chip carving knife for the really tight areas, all followed by a fresh scraper appropriately curved. The only caution I'd give is that these are pretty heavy, so a larger one might need two hands or be a bit thinner.
Karl
100_4660.jpg100_4661.jpg100_4662.jpg

[Mike Cherry]

That's awesome Karl, thanks for the pics!