I finally tried a block plane on end grain and I was wrong to doubt it

I always thought my buddy was wasting money when he bought a $60 block plane to clean up end grain instead of just sanding it. Last Saturday I was building a white oak bench for my sister in my garage and the end grain on the legs was tearing out no matter what I did with my sander. He handed me his plane, I took three light passes, and the cut came out glass smooth in about 20 seconds. I still think some guys go overboard buying every hand tool they see, but I was flat wrong that the plane was pointless. Any of you use one on end grain, or do you just sand and move on?

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grant7284d ago

Got to call this one like I see it, I've been sanding end grain on oak for years and never once felt like I was losing sleep over it. Three light passes sounds great until you hit a piece with reversing grain or a knot and that plane wants to tear out worse than any sander ever would. A block plane is a nice trick for sure but people act like its some magic fix and its just not, you still gotta sharpen it right and set the blade shallow or you get chatter and a worse mess. Sanding is slower but its dumb proof and most of us are just building benches for our sisters, not furniture for a museum. Happy it worked out for you but I wouldnt run out and tell every beginner they need one.

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