Using a hand plane on the ends of boards can be tricky. One way to keep from splitting a board at the edges is to push the hand plane so the blade goes only to the middle of the board. Then repeat the process from the other direction. To avoid dipping, try to put slightly more pressure on the front of the plane at the beginning of each stroke, and keep slightly more pressure on the back of the plane at the end of the stroke.
Plane Technique
