Kentwood Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 First posting here. I'll get right to the point. I've made a few end grain cutting boards for gifting and am having trouble keeping them flat. The boards are made of maple, cherry, and/or walnut. They range in size from roughly 8x8 to 12x20 and are 1.25 to 2 inches thick. The strips were milled from 8/4 and 5/4 kiln-dried lumber, allowed to rest for a few days, and glued up (I used titebond II at first, then switched to polyurethane). A day after cleaning and planing the glued up pieces I recut them and glued the strips of endgrain together. Cleaned up and ran through the planer. Sanding though 400 grit. Next came a couple of days applying mineral oil/beeswax and drying. I began to notice a wobble in the boards at this time and now have several in various stages from just planed to sanded to oiled all with bowing or twisting. Despite apparently succesful replaning, both hand and machine, the problem comes back. Usually I enjoy solving a problem like this but I seem to have only discovered my frustration limit. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Your wood is probably not truely dry and never run end grain glue ups through a planer. Bring the blanks into the house before flattening and lean agianst the wall for a few days or even weeks. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentwood Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Thanks for the quick reply. My lignometer read at a consistent 6 - 8% so I don't think wet wood was the issue. As for using the planer on endgrain, I find that beveling the trailing edge and taking very light passes eliminates (or minimizes) tearout; is there another issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Its moving because the moisture level is changing. Never plain end grain. The panel can come apart in your planer destroying it or launch planer parts at you. A sander is the safest tool for the job. Are you laying the freshly milled cutting boards on your bench or table flat? Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentwood Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Yes,Don, yes I am. Or I was until a couple of hours ago. Since we began this discussion I tried an experiment; wiped down one side of the board with a damp rag and let it sit for 45 minutes or so. Sure enough, it twisted a bit! Didn't realize how quickly the endgrain sucks up whatever available moisture. I rigged a rack so they can stand on end and , hopefully, they'll suck up or spit out equal amounts. I'm sure it'll still move a bit since my milling isn't perfect (pretty darn close though). So, if I let them stand awhile, use my handplane (thanks for the reminder) to shave the high spots, sand and finish, do I dare hope they stay flat(ish)? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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