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I read this question: Edge jointing end grain cutting board strips with a power jointer

And someone made a suggestion, glue a side grain hardwood border, which in theory would make it safe to pass through the jointer by preventing splitting. Is this correct?

I'm in this exact situation, I'm making these small 6" x 9" cutting boards with end grain cherry and a side grain purple heart border (see image):

Cutting board

Is it safe to pass these over a jointer?

Juan Enrique Muñoz Zolotoochin
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    You're essentially asking for opinions here — some people consider end grain through a planer an absolute no-no, others don't — so I'm voting to close. I do want to say though that it is extremely dangerous to run end grain boards through a planer, no matter how many people hold opinions to the contrary. It's not just that there's a chance of the boards breaking, there's a possibility of catastrophic damage to the power tool (people have broken planers) so don't underestimate the risk here. – Graphus Dec 02 '19 at 09:11
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    There are two other issues worth noting, the first is that the 2 end boards would be going through cross-grain, their surfaces will not be planed to the same quality as the rest and the trailing edge is sure to break out. Second, you can't be assured of stability making a board like this, a solid-wood panel framed all round. Wood movement could easily pop the frame open. Even if the gap is only 1/64" 0.5mm is not acceptable. Only very small panels (coaster size or a little over) are really safe to build this way, once you pass about 4-6" in width wood movement is almost certain to be an issue. – Graphus Dec 02 '19 at 09:16
  • The comments talk about planers, but the question specifically talks about jointers. Which one are we talking about here? As for this being opinion-only, I remain unconvinced. Inasmuch as many decision one makes in the shop is a result of variously informed opinion we call "experience" this question is asking for experience about running mixed-grain items through a jointer (I think). I'd actually like to know why since this actually feels like an X-Y problem. –  Dec 02 '19 at 15:55
  • @jdv, my assumption on the tool being asked about is based on the use of the phrase pass through rather than pass over. FWIW I'd have the same reservations if the OP does mean jointer. Re. the safety aspect, opinion-based, not opinion-only. Many questions of safety are inherently subjective unfortunately, and this one is more polarising than many, so "cannot be answered objectively and definitively [or] would require extended debate" seems apt, to me. – Graphus Dec 02 '19 at 16:57
  • I updated the question to say pass over instead of pass through. Man, you guys are strict about grammar here, not super welcoming for non-native English speakers. And sorry but I completely disagree that any question on this topic may be inherently subjective. These are materials whose behavior is based on simple physics. There is no reason why there wouldn't be a serious study about its behavior, or general consensus among experts on a topic. In particular, for the question that I asked (edge grain border), I have not seen any discussion about it. – Juan Enrique Muñoz Zolotoochin Dec 02 '19 at 17:07
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    @JuanEnriqueMuñozZolotoochin yes, we are strict, and the reasons for that will be made clear in the [tour]. The idea is to build a good collection of questions and answers. Since this is not a forum, it is incumbent upon all contributors to strive to be as clear as possible, and comments are the main way to ask for that clarity from the author of a question. –  Dec 02 '19 at 17:52
  • @JuanEnriqueMuñozZolotoochin I ask again, just to be clear. What are you attempting to do? Why are you jointing already assembled pieces? It seems to me that you would just have to get close with your dimensions and then to a finishing pass, but maybe I'm not getting what you want to do. I will point out that running near finished pieces through blades to edge and flatten is not unknown, but is usually a mass production technique. Are you perhaps wanting to do 10s or hundreds of these? Of course, you'd need the equipment to do so... –  Dec 02 '19 at 17:54
  • The boards on the picture used to be part of one large block which I just sliced into these small boards using my bandsaw. The bandsaw didnt produce flat surfaces, and I want to have one side flat so I can use it as a reference to pass the boards through a drum sander. – Juan Enrique Muñoz Zolotoochin Dec 02 '19 at 17:58
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    @JuanEnriqueMuñozZolotoochin your last comment should actually be in the Question body, which you can easily change with an [edit]. But, as I thought, this question is more about production techniques, not one-offs, and the way you are going about it is a very common production technique. My answer attempts to answer at least one aspect. –  Dec 02 '19 at 19:08
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    "Man, you guys are strict about grammar here, not super welcoming for non-native English speakers." Sorry for how this might seem to you but it's important for us to get a clear picture of what's being asked, on a question of safety more than normal. And even native English speakers have sometimes (er, quite often!) used sloppy/atypical terminology or been less than clear about what it was they were asking so clarification is something we're accustomed to having to do. – Graphus Dec 03 '19 at 07:40
  • Now back to the woodworking, you've gone around this the wrong way. If you'll be doing more of this style of board you should joint the central panel first and then you can use that jointed face as a reference surface for all further steps. That way after assembly you can directly pass these through the drum sander to make the opposite face parallel and flat, before any finish sanding. – Graphus Dec 03 '19 at 07:46
  • After all is said and done, I'm not sure how https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/q/2258/5572 isn't a duplicate. Unless there is some unique aspect here I'm not seeing. But my answer is pretty much the same as the top answer over there. This does feel like a duplicate, now that I look closer at it. It's a fair question, but I think it's already answered. –  Dec 03 '19 at 15:01
  • I have never run end grain through a jointer so I cannot directly address the issue of safety. I have made end grain cutting boards and leveled the tops using a planer but advanced the depth by no more than 1/64th in each pass. To protect the ends from tear out I glued on sacrificial boards around the perimeter and then cut them off on the table saw afterwards. – Ashlar Dec 04 '19 at 00:45
  • @GraphussupportsMonica what do you mean by "central panel"? the center of the board is all end grain, so I'm unsure what you mean by "joint it first" since that is exactly what I'm trying to do. – Juan Enrique Muñoz Zolotoochin Dec 04 '19 at 00:55
  • Juan I hope I can word this clearly in a Comment. Since you're OK with the risk of jointing end grain the correct procedure to make a board like this from scratch is to joint that panel (with sacrificial pieces attached as needed) and when one face is flat remove the sacrificial pieces. Then add the framing (which again I wouldn't advise), using that jointed face as your reference surface. This way you never have to use the jointer on the assembled boards, and can exclusively use the drum sander for further steps, which is much much safer for you, your equipment and the boards themselves. – Graphus Dec 04 '19 at 08:02
  • I'm not OK with the risk of jointing end grain. Which is why I asked this question: to know if edge grain borders mitigate the risk to the point to make it safe. The best answer I can deduce from this discussion is: "Probably the edge grain border does not mitigate the risk, I would not recommend that as a solution, you cannot trust that border to stay in place" based on your comments here, #2 (that says that about planers) and #4 (that clarifies that it applies to jointers as well). The discussion then derailed into other topics. – Juan Enrique Muñoz Zolotoochin Dec 04 '19 at 19:41
  • I know this has probably been beaten to death, but.. 1) What's the manual say on your jointer? No joke - look it up and see if there's any instruction around which way the grain is supposed to go. That'll tell you if it's safe. If it says not to, it's likely not safe. Full stop. 2) I made a couple boards like this, and my sides ended up coming off or cracking within a few years. The expansion directions and tolerances are different. While I wish you luck, I fear you may have the same problem. – Stephen Dec 04 '19 at 22:45
  • Does this answer your question? Edge jointing end grain cutting board strips with a power jointer –  Dec 09 '19 at 16:11

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I'll assume that you are asking about this because you are actually making several of these at the same time, and want to stack up the steps. This is often done when when mass producing things like cutting boards. They are often sliced, planed, and jointed from larger chunks. [And I see from your last comment that this is exactly what you are doing.] Of course, these sorts of shops (factories, really) probably also have power feeders and other conveniences.

In this case, the edges will often not be actually run through a jointer. To handle complicated grain patterns, most high production shops will use a higher RPM tool, along with with multiple carbide cutters. They treat the wood more like soft metal, trying to throw off tiny chips. In most cases this will be some sort of routing tool, probably with variable speed and a pretty high top speed. The profile will be cut into the edges with and across the grain reasonably well, though there is often a finish sanding step required because of tear-out.

You also have to accept some number of items that have to be discarded because of tear-out or whatever.

If you do need to use a jointer, I suspect a much higher RPM unit with higher numbers of carbide cutters is what you want. My advice would be try with fresh cutters, taking very light passes.

To answer your main question: is this safe? Well, you are risking a variety of kickback situations, especially at higher speeds. I'd wear a full faceshield and stand well away from the line that the tangent to the cutters makes with the material. And, as I mention earlier, take light passes. Remember that the primary job of any router or jointer is to remove the meat from the unwary operator. Make sure you use feather boards and so on to keep yourself safe.

I bet you could even rig up a jointing or routing jig to make things safer. Since you are doing large numbers of these, a jig might save you time in the long run.

  • Out of curiosity have you ever run a piece cross-grain over your jointer or through a planer? – Graphus Dec 03 '19 at 07:48
  • @GraphussupportsMonica maybe years ago. I no longer own a jointer. I recall the trick was super light passes. If I were to do this, I'd likely set up the tool I do have (a router) as a jointer and try that. –  Dec 03 '19 at 14:55