the issue with end grain and planers is not the tear out, but the blow out risk of the grain which can shatter the board if half and getting the cutterhead jammed, this results in several major issues:
1. board is shattered into pieces that could fly all over the place - safety issue
2. cutterhead + planer could get jammed, and given the torque of the planer could potentially destroy the planer all together (lunchbox planers more than 3hp machines - but still) and could very likely put an end to your new 'only used once' planer

how bad do you need that end grain flat using a planer? worth the risk?

the 'correct' form for end grain would be a thickness sander. or a router sled:
http://lumberjocks.com/PurpLev/blog/17193

you can also use hand planes, but of personal experience, for end grain I find it to be a tedious process and hard on your tools.

there's always the option of using a ROS whch I've never done but read others do.

 

i've done it several times. The problem comes when people try to take too much off with each pass. i never take more that 1/32" of an inch. usually i try to do it at 1/64th. just enought that the knives are barely touching it with each pass. it takes a while but it's worth it.

If you don't want to though, get some good handplanes, they work good too and you'll get a good workout using them.

 

I do it as well, but take even lighter cuts. My planer lowers 0.1 inches with one revoution of the crank and I take 12 passes to get one revolution completed. That works out 1/120th of an inch or about 0.008 inches.

Addtionally, I put a 1/2 inch radius on the edges before I put it through the planer.

Finally, to make sure the first pass is not too deep, I start with the cutter head so high that there is no contact. It can take me several passes before there is any contact.

Even with all those steps, there is still some risk, but it is significantly reduced. More agressive cuts increase that risk.

I plan to set up my router so I can use the method PurpLev refers to. It is a better way to go - just need to make the fixture.

 

A safer tool would be a sander, they are made in the same size as most planers and are much more reliable than a planer (Tho a little slower) for end grain and high figure woods.

 

Drum Sander, belt sander, bevel up plane with a steep blade (and muscle), or sandpaper if you do not use the planer.

 

Until I get a drum sander I've been using a belt sander.

Need to give the router sled method a try - sounds like it would work splendidly.

 

You will wear out your blades very fast using the planer.

Even a drum sander takes a while to flatten everything up.

I like the router method. You can either make a sled or just glue scrap boards around the edges and run it upside down on the router table. Just don't run it all the way through your scrap pieces. Then just run it through the table saw and cut off the scraps.

 

I also have sent end grain cutting boards through my planer but it is a Powermatic 15HH with the Byrd cutter head. I also take very light cuts and the tearout was minimal and was easily removed when I squared the finished cutting board up. You can actually see that happen in the video and photos in the story on making the cutting boards at the link below.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/bldendgrncutbrds.html

 

Guys thanks for all the great feedback and for the video (Tom). I'm thinking I see a belt sander in my future because I'm still an intermediate here and my work takes me too long to be taking chances with it. ALTHOUGH, I'm tempted to try the slow and light process described, forbidden fruit!

 

I have built a couple of them. I do the same as Joey said, take about 1/64" off with each pass. It takes a few passes, but it is worth it. Especially if a planer is all you have now to flatten it. But beware the tearout on the end coming through the planer last is really hard to avoid. Running a scrap piece of wood behind the cutting board will help with that (make sure it is the same thickness as the cutting board.)

 

I made a sanding board like Andy showed in his box tutorial to flatten the box bottoms.It works much faster than I imagined.I used 100 grit heavy cloth paper [the drive belt for a drum sander] which is 18" wide x 36" long .Contact cement spray to a piece of masonite and clamp it to your bench.Try it you will like it.Andy is a genius! Clean it with rubber block and vac and it lasts a long time.
gfadvm

 

I now have a drum sander and they definitely work well for end grain jobs. When I built my first end grain board, I used a small belt sander and a ROS. Just kept setting a flat steel edge down on the board at different areas untilI got it close. Not sure I'd go that method again, although it worked fairly well. There was a lot of stopping and starting… a lot.

If I hadn't gotten the drum sander, I'd probably have built a router sled and gone that route. May end up going that route anyway if/when I ever build more of a butcher block station, although for the occasional end grain project, you might want to visit a local cabinet shop and pay them a few bucks to run it through their drum sander. I might also go that route for something that won't fit into my Performax 16-32.

 

Good advice here so far. A planer with very sharp knives, light passes, backer board. A belt sander and a flat surface or straight edge. Just mark the high spots, wobble points. Sand and repeat. It's a cutting board and doesn't need thousands of an inch flatness tolerances.

 

Follow SRAS's method, it is exactly the way I have done it for many years but with only a 1/4" radius. It is also best to use new blades.

 

I love this guys video's makes some of the wildest vids.

 

This thread is over 7 years old! I made a router sled specifically so that I could flatten end grain wood projects without running it through the planer. Just needs sanding afterwards. This would be for things wider than my planer (12") or sander (10") can handle. The sled can handle up to nearly 4 feet long and 2 feet wide.

 

Use a hand held power plane to get it close to flat. Then a belt sander and finish with a ROS. Faster than a drum sander and safer than a planer.

 

I use my DeWalt DW735 all the time. SUPER LIGHT passes and I usually glue extra boards on the end, almost like a frame, to keep the blade from tearing the ends off too badly.

Here are a few, post planer.

Roger

 

I have just finished making four 12" sq. cutting boards just the same as my first project post. They all went thru the thickness planer. No problems and no chipping, Radius all edges a 1/4" first, When done re-radius edges. YOU WILL BE VERY HAPPY