New To Forum

[Kevin Lalonde]

Hey fellas, i'm fairly new to wood working and I made a cutting board for myself and now i'm selling them on the side. All are endgrain from dense tropical woods. i'm having trouble sanding them with my belt sander and just bought a PC 2 1/4 hp. wondering if i should purchase a 13" delta planer or could i attempt planer with the router? if router what bit to use? thanks for your help!

[John Eaton]

If you're talking about building a sled to flatten the board it's a time-consuming process. If you're talking about using a jointer/straight bit and fence to joint the wood before glue-up, then it could possibly save you some time, but you'll still end up doing some sanding. Ideally you'd have a drum sander or equivalent to really get the surface you're looking for. The planer could help or it could hurt as you might end up getting a lot of tear out.

You might want to rethink your assembly process as there are ways to minimize the amount of sanding (I'm thinking it's more glue than actual pieces that are out of alignment? If it's pieces reordering and using some jigs for clamping like cauls could help you get a flatter surface).

I'm sure you'll find more comments from those who have done these successfully.

-- John

[Kevin Lalonde]

thanks for the quick reply. It is the gluing process. i have bessey K clamps. But I still end up sanding with the sander for about 30-40 mins using 40grit to get it smooth enough to use my finish sander. i use cauls also. I had read a thread about the router sled and was wondering if it would be better for me to use (less tearout) than purchasing a plane. What bit would be the best to use for the router version?

[Mike Cutler]

Kevin

First. Welcome to Sawmill Creek, pleased to meet ya'.

There is more than one way to skin this cat.
If I was doing it with a router. I'd use a bowl bit ( This bit has a flat cutting botton and the sides are curved. It looks like a miniature bowl literally), and the router would be on a floating transom. I can't provide a picture , 'cause I'm at work, but I will if you'd like one tonite.

Second way is to find a used dual drum sander. 60 grit on the first roller and 100 on the second.

Once again though. Welcome to Sawmill Creek.

Mike

thanks for the quick reply. It is the gluing process. i have bessey K clamps. But I still end up sanding with the sander for about 30-40 mins using 40grit to get it smooth enough to use my finish sander. i use cauls also. I had read a thread about the router sled and was wondering if it would be better for me to use (less tearout) than purchasing a plane. What bit would be the best to use for the router version?