I recently started messing around with woodworking and like most made some cutting boards. A couple end grain boards I made came out of the drum sander with tons of small cracks. I was taking really small passes with a new piece of 80 grit paper on there. I've read it might be too much heat from the sander but I dunno it's only Happened on 2 boards.
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Cdm12
Cracks from sanding endgrain
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- walnut
I recently started messing around with woodworking and like most made some cutting boards. A couple end grain boards I made came out of the drum sander with tons of small cracks. I was taking really small passes with a new piece of 80 grit paper on there. I've read it might be too much heat from the sander but I dunno it's only Happened on 2 boards.
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Could be that those pieces came from the end of the board that you used to cut the end grain pieces from. Those look like drying checks to me.
As the wood dries, this happens. It is more of how rapid the drying process. The faster the drying, the more the cracks. Depending upon stress, this may happen anyway. Picking your wood, supplier (mill), and species carefully will dictate how much of this is going to happen.
Cdm12,
It is difficult to tell from the photo whether I am actually seeing cracks in the wood. If these lines were checking, I would think lines would not all be aligned in a uniform direction and of random lengths. These lines all radiate outward from where the pith would have been toward the sapwood and extend from one edge almost to the opposite edge of the board. Also these lines appear solid, although wood dust in the checks could make them appear solid in a photo. But if these are in fact checks that formed while using the drum sander, increasing the speed at which the work piece moves through the sander and taking multiple extremely light (1/64") passes would reduce the heat buildup that could otherwise hasten further rapid drying at the surface that could promote surface checking.
Another explanation may be that you are observing rays that are inherent in the structure of hardwoods. As I understand rays, these are tubes that run from the pith outward to the sap wood. However, I am at a loss to explain why these two cutting boards reveal rays while others you did revealed none, unless prior cutting boards were from a different species of tree. I am not sure that rays would necessarily be visible coming off the table saw since the end grain would be a pretty rough surface. If these are rays, a little extra sanding will make them disappear, although new ones could appear.
It is difficult to tell from the photo whether I am actually seeing cracks in the wood. If these lines were checking, I would think lines would not all be aligned in a uniform direction and of random lengths. These lines all radiate outward from where the pith would have been toward the sapwood and extend from one edge almost to the opposite edge of the board. Also these lines appear solid, although wood dust in the checks could make them appear solid in a photo. But if these are in fact checks that formed while using the drum sander, increasing the speed at which the work piece moves through the sander and taking multiple extremely light (1/64") passes would reduce the heat buildup that could otherwise hasten further rapid drying at the surface that could promote surface checking.
Another explanation may be that you are observing rays that are inherent in the structure of hardwoods. As I understand rays, these are tubes that run from the pith outward to the sap wood. However, I am at a loss to explain why these two cutting boards reveal rays while others you did revealed none, unless prior cutting boards were from a different species of tree. I am not sure that rays would necessarily be visible coming off the table saw since the end grain would be a pretty rough surface. If these are rays, a little extra sanding will make them disappear, although new ones could appear.
They are drying checks. End grain dies much faster than the rest of the board, creating a stress that causes the checks and cracks. The good thing is that if you fill the checks with a mixture of sanding dust and glue to form a dough that you press into the checks, the results add character to the piece.
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