Planer Problem

[ntermini]

I thought that for Christmas I would make a nice big butcher's block for my wife.

After gluing my initial pieces together, (strips of oak and maple) I realized that the largest machine planer I have access to will only fit boards up to 15 inches wide. My piece is 18 inches wide.

I plan on cross cutting the sections to expose the end grain of the wood, as well as create a checkerboard pattern. This means I need to plane the faces evenly flat so that I can glue them together perfectly. I thought about cutting down the middle between two strips, but I'm worried that it would make one strip not fully square. Also, I'm uncertain of my skill with a hand planer to get the surface perfectly flat.

Ideally, I'd like to find access to a large machine planer, but any other advice on how to finish my butcher block would be greatly appreciated.

[Saddlestrum]

Seems like a timely post, especially with the discussion in another forum about building a workbench. The consensus among posters there is to go to IKEA and buy one of their wood countertops. They seem to be dead flat and would save you a bunch of time, frustration, and money. Just a thot.

[harmsdph]

Hi Nick, you may need to plane two section glue them up sand / plan the glue line. after cross cutting you can edge joint each piece prior to glue up.

just an option... as to the finish I can't say what the best is as I haven't completed a food safe project yet, General Finishes makes a product called 'salad bowl finish' that I have seen good review for.

[Vic]

I'm not really sure what you have or are planning. Definitely, don't try to run end grain through a planer. That's a recipe for an explosion. If you're not making an end grain butcher block, simply cut where it would make the best match and the largest piece will still fit through the planer. Plane both to the thickness you want to end with. When jointing for the glue up, fold up the up the two pieces like they are opposite pages of a books and your going to plane them with the same side of the book against the fence of your jointer. That way if your jointer is the least bit out of square, they will still glue up perfectly. I like to lightly tap a couple of small brads into the joint and clip them, like DJ Marks did on DIY Woodworks. It really helps hold things still while you glue up. Just be sure you're not putting the brad where you might cut, if you plan more cuts. Push the boards together dry to make sure you have everything lined up. That way when you go to glue up, they'll slip right into place and leave you minimal clean up.

Let me know if you're plan is different than my perception of it. Otherwise, let us know how it comes out.

[Rgraham888]

I've just finished up an end-grain cutting board and I used the salad bowl finish with some decent success. It's very thin, so it soaks in pretty well, but with purple hart and hard maple, the absorption's uneven. I loaded 4 coats of finish on, then sanded the end grain surfaces of the board to remove excess finish. Then, I wiped on a very thin layer to bring the grain back out again.

Also, I sent my board threough the planer several time. I got a little tear out on the ends, but it was fine. I don't stand too close though.