hello i have a question about maintenance of wooden cutting board

[boblob]

i have tried previously to use regular sandpaper and it clogs with the wood (probably because the board is oiled...) very fast.
i seen that there is an option of wet sanding wood with waterproof sandpaper and water when doing it by hand ....
will it work better ?
should i try it ?

 

[Benuser]

Search here for 'scraper'.
Problem with sandpaper, wet or dry, is in leaving abrasive particles in the wood.

 

[boblob]

Search here for 'scraper'.
Problem with sandpaper, wet or dry, is in leaving abrasive particles in the wood.

i have seen the scraper method i am not sure its the right method for me because the boards needs some heavy work because the family has been using bread knife on it some deep cuts, also i do not think i will be able to make it perfectly flat ....
also i am almost sure that when they manufacture those nice end grain wooden cutting boards they use sandpaper on it ....

 

[JASinIL2006]

When sanding away oiled wood, I've never found any thing but a rough grit to work until you get past the oiliest wood. Just be prepared to use lots of sandpaper...

After that, you progress to finer grits like normal.

Are you hand sanding or using some sort of power sander?

 

[coxhaus]

i have seen the scraper method i am not sure its the right method for me because the boards needs some heavy work because the family has been using bread knife on it some deep cuts, also i do not think i will be able to make it perfectly flat ....
also i am almost sure that when they manufacture those nice end grain wooden cutting boards they use sandpaper on it ....

For end grain cutting boards they recommend not to run them through a planner. Use a sanding machine.

 

[boblob]

When sanding away oiled wood, I've never found any thing but a rough grit to work until you get past the oiliest wood. Just be prepared to use lots of sandpaper...

After that, you progress to finer grits like normal.

Are you hand sanding or using some sort of power sander?

i want to hand sand but do so wet with water and waterproof sanpaper

 

[Michael J.R.]

Oil, water and wood don't go together. How to maintain your board depends very much on the oil that was used. Most oils are not suitable for oiling wood because they don't get hard, stay sticky and will never protect the wood. If a non hardening oil was used, it must first be washed off with a suitable dilution like denatured alcohol. Best protection for a cutting board is hardwax oil for stairs and wooden floors. And it should be suitable for food contact. Osmo has some suitable products, but I don't know in which countries it's distributed.

 

[MowgFace]

I second @coxhaus on the planer. If no access to a planer, RO sander. If no RO, elbow grease/tears and frustration.

 

[JASinIL2006]

If the board is edge grain, a planer is great. End grain boards in a thickness planer are likely to fracture dramatically.

@coxhaus is right: if it's end grain, you need to sand it. If the board has been really saturated with something like mineral oil, you are in for a slog...

 

[Jovidah]

It's a bit late now, but after you flattened out this one, just get a cheap secondary board for bread cutting. The serrated knives really tear up the board in a way no other knife does. My bread board already looked like it got attacked with a chainsaw after 5 years, while my end-grain board I used for cooking daily still looked brand new after 10.

 

[TB_London]

A cabinet scraper with a good edge will be massively quicker than sanding. I recently cleaned up my >10 yr old maple Boardsmith that’s been regularly oiled and waxed. Sharp scraper produced fluffy shavings off the end grain that quickly cleaned up all the cut marks. Sanding endgrain is slow, oil and wax soaked endgrain no fun.

If you’re set on sanding, start coarse at most 80g if not coarser. The challenge with power sanders and coarse grits will be keeping it flat, a wonky top will concertina every slice. Start with crosshatching with pencil and remove evenly then hatch again- like flatting a stone. Then work up to about 240 (80-120-180-240)

Another option would be a finely set block plane, but if you already had one and could tune it well enough to shave endgrain then you wouldn’t be asking about sanding so unless you want a fun few weeks learning may not be an option.

Good luck, post pics as you go, everyone likes seeing pictures

 

[boblob]

A cabinet scraper with a good edge will be massively quicker than sanding. I recently cleaned up my >10 yr old maple Boardsmith that’s been regularly oiled and waxed. Sharp scraper produced fluffy shavings off the end grain that quickly cleaned up all the cut marks. Sanding endgrain is slow, oil and wax soaked endgrain no fun.

If you’re set on sanding, start coarse at most 80g if not coarser. The challenge with power sanders and coarse grits will be keeping it flat, a wonky top will concertina every slice. Start with crosshatching with pencil and remove evenly then hatch again- like flatting a stone. Then work up to about 240 (80-120-180-240)

Another option would be a finely set block plane, but if you already had one and could tune it well enough to shave endgrain then you wouldn’t be asking about sanding so unless you want a fun few weeks learning may not be an option.

Good luck, post pics as you go, everyone likes seeing pictures

my power sander is wracked
i want to use the waterproof sandpaper by hand with water

 

[TB_London]

my power sander is wracked
i want to use the waterproof sandpaper by hand with water

Give it a go, will be slow and arduous. After an hour you’ll think there must be an easier way. That easier way is a sharp Stanley 80.

 

[JASinIL2006]

After two hours, you'll be pricing a new cutting board...

 

[boblob]

Give it a go, will be slow and arduous. After an hour you’ll think there must be an easier way. That easier way is a sharp Stanley 80.

is a burnisher rod a must ?
or i only need the stanley 80
if you have tips it would be helpfull @TB_London

 

[coxhaus]

If I was going to hand plane I would use a block plane set shallow for end grain. I use a spoke shave more for round things than flat. I feel like you would have better control with a block plane.

PS
I am not sure about the Stanley 80. I thought was a spoke shave.

 

[stringer]

is a burnisher rod a must ?
or i only need the stanley 80
if you have tips it would be helpfull @TB_London

You can use a knife steel or a screwdriver or something. The scraper isn't super hardened steel

 

[TB_London]

Here’s a vid on sharpening and using scraper. (He talks slowly so 1.25 speed is your friend)



A Stanley 80 is a scraper - but they’re sharpened a bit differently ( 45 degree bevel and hook on one edge). While it looks like a spokeshave it isn’t as you use it with the blade pointing towards you rather than away from you.

I PM’d you some more links that hopefully help.

 

[TB_London]

A burnisher is what draws the hook- you can use other things but newer scrapers are around HRC 55 so do better with something intended for the job. If you make your own from saw plate steel then screwdrivers or gouges can work. But a burnisher should be cheap enough and is one less variable to worry about.