Squaring a glue up?

[Hans Reed]

All-

New to the forum, and still a newbie in WW, so be gentle...

I'm making an end grain butcher block cutting board that will be 18"x26"x2" when finished. I am using 4 types of wood, and each are different widths but are all the same thickness. I milled all of the pieces prior to starting any glue ups. My first round of glue will be the width of the cutting board (3 unique patterns), then I will rip them at ~2" to create the end grain, and glue them together. (Almost identical to David Marks butcher block top from DIY)

My problem has come after the first round of glue...I didn't get them perfectly flat length wise so now I have 3 pieces that are 18' at the end grain x ~10" long x 1.75" thick, but not flat.

Should I rent time on a wide belt sander to flatten the surfaces? If so, how do I get both sides parallel?

Should I look for a Jointer wide enough to handle 18"?


Obviously next time I need to spend a bit more time planning my glue up to ensure they are flat...live and learn...

Thanks for your help...

Hans
NW Houston

[John Grossi]

Wood magazine, issue 162 April/May 2005, has a cover picture of a guy using a router jig to flatten a glueup. They call it a router planing jig. Basically there are two sides to this jig set higher then your workpiece that sits between them. A rectangular box with the router mounted in the middle rides on top of the two sides. A flat bottomed cutter was used. Maybe a little time consuming but I think it would work. PM me your address if you want a copy of the article. Paul

[Pat Zabinski]

Not sure what's available in your area, but there is a local wholesale lumber yard in our area that has a 24" planer they do custom planing on. It's not dirt-cheap, but I suspect it would be $15-20 for your piece, which would save you much time on a sander.

You might check in your area at lumber yards, cabinet shops, etc. to see if they'd be willing to do a simple/quick job for you. Also, some high schools are willing to do those sorts of things if you can contact the teacher (or a student taking a class).

???