Tips for making a chopping block/cutting board from cut log disc?

I don’t have much experience with a hand-held electric planers, but I don’t think it is the correct tool.. Can potentially be dangerous when it catches the end grain. You are better off sanding

Is the disk dry? When it dries a disk like that will likely develop cracks. Almost impossible to prevent. Need to coat to slow down drying process. Could take a year or two.

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Any tips or guidance?

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Don't actually chop stuff on it. Itll split.

No matter how nice and smooth you get them now they won’t stay that way if the wood isn’t dry. Discs or “cookies” will almost certainly crack and split on you as they dry. I’d let them dry for a year or so, let the cracks happen, then surface them, then you can do some bow tie inlays or other decorative inlay to stabilize the cracks. Look up a router sled, that’ll probably be your best option to get them flat, unless you know someone with a drum sander or CNC router.

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Don't actually chop stuff on it. Itll split.

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meant more of as a kitchen cutting board, maybe like a butcher block sort of thing.

I may be using wrong or ambiguous terms. This is what I'm trying to do.

I’m doing the exact same thing. Tree from Ida that I have some nice size pieces of the trunk from that I’ve kept out of the weather for the most part, and in my garage that’s got AC.

I wanted one since the 90s when I watched Iron Chef and would see Ken Kenichi eviscerate the competition regularly, and chop stuff on one like you want. I ended up just quitting my search for them because nobody sold them around New Orleans or Baton Rouge.

I didn’t realize they needed that long to dry, but I figured by the looks of them they would need a while. So I haven’t touched them yet. I’ve been thinking about the challenge to create level services which are parallel, or really close to it, to one another for placing on the counter and cutting on comfortably. Thanks for starting this thread.

Ya know, Chen’s checked pretty good. But, he didn’t GAF.

Put it in your attic for 4-5 months then make a router with an end cut bit on a jig to flatten it out. After that coat it with 1/2 beeswax and 1/2 mineral oil.