# Planing glued boards



## Warnock (Apr 4, 2011)

Good Evening

I glued numerous boards together this fine day in the process of making a cutting board. Alas all is not completely flat, that is a couple of the boards were a shade over my intended dimension.

Question - is it okay to plane a series of boards that have been glued - will it affect the planer?

Thanks


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I do this all the time. Scrape as much of the squeeze out off with a scraper and run them through very shallow passes. Just don't try and do an end grain board.


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## TGRANT (Jan 25, 2011)

Another tid-bit to consider. A planer’s job is to make one side of a board parallel to the other. If there is any winding or a blob of glue protrudes significantly, say on the left front edge, this will lift the board canting it up, making that side thinner after it comes out of the planer. You can end up with a board that is thinner on one side than the other. When you flip the board over to do the other side, you can end up with winding in the board that will just get thinner, but does not improve with each pass through the planer. 

To avoid this, it may be necessary to plane one side of the board flat (without any winding) by hand, then run that side *down* for the first pass. This may or not be necessary depending on how uneven the board is to start with. 

For small boards (like a cutting board) I place the board on my jointer or table saw using that dead flat surface as a reference and make sure the board does not rock. If it does, I fix the rock, then plane it.

Also, glue does take a toll on the sharpness of the planer blades (or any sharp tool for tht matter), so I always scrape as much glue off as I can before I plane the wood. At least in theory, I have to sharpen the planer blades less. It’s a time vs hassle thing so this may not be appropriate for you to spend your time that way.


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## Mr Mac (May 31, 2010)

I am with the first two respondents in that yes, it can be done and is done all the time. As TG said, just be sure to get all the glue off and send it through taking small bites each pass.


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## Warnock (Apr 4, 2011)

The cutting board is not working out for this old man. Therefore I need to ask - - 

What are the ramifications of planing the cutting board in the end grain configuration?

Alas, hard to teach old dog anything these days.


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## Adillo303 (Dec 20, 2010)

If you are asking about running the board through a powered planer, I would advise against it. I was told that it would ruin the board, the planer or both.

My suggestions would be, in no particular order.

Look up a local cabinet shop and see if you can convince them to run it through the belt sander.

Handleld belt sander, start out with something like 60 grit belts.

I am thinking of trying to make a frame that would lay around the board on the bench. Then making a fixture to attach a router to with a one in straight bit. If I cleverly set the depth, I could use the router to flatten the top of the board and finish with a random orbital sander. I saw something like this made in an issue of Wood magazine.

Hope this helps.

Andy


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## Adillo303 (Dec 20, 2010)

I always joint the individual strips on two adjacent sides and plane square before the first glue up. That gives me a pretty good blank to work with. The glue could be scraped and the long grain board planed is necessary. After you cut it again to make end grains, it is all the sander.


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

The problem with planing end grain is that it will tearout at the end of the cut. If you glue a sacraficial piece on the end, you can then plane and rip the piece of when done. :smile:


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## TGRANT (Jan 25, 2011)

My advice was based on planing radial or tangential grain. I’d be hesitant to run end grain through a planer. I don’t think it’ll hurt the planer, though there is always the possibility of a big chunk coming off and messing with the spinning planer heads. Planning end grain is tough as a rule, and there will be plenty of tear out as it exits the planer. If you do it, take very small passes. Personally, I’d sand end grain and would not run it through the planer. Too uncertain of a process.


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