Replies

1. 
   BrentS | Aug 25, 2005 07:04am | #1

   The concave side should be down

2. 
   forestgirl | Aug 25, 2005 07:56am | #2

   As Brent said, concave side down.  Why? you might ask.  To obtain the best support you can, and also to waste less wood.  Safety is first, though.

   The feed technique for cupped boards takes some practice in my limited experience.  You want to find the two highest corners and make them the first candidates for "shaving."  I think that's usually diagonal corners, so you end up transferring your pressure quite differently than when jointing a relatively flat board.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

3. 
   luther | Aug 25, 2005 02:40pm | #3

   The first two answers are very correct----but---I very often/usually---joint the cupped side using shims & 2 sided tape to keep it aligned.

   I often joint a flat on about 3/4 of the cup & then run it thru the planer with shallow cuts.

   I almost always gain about 1/8" to 3/16" over the cup up jointing.

   woody/LUTHER

1. 
   forestgirl | Aug 25, 2005 07:06pm | #4

   Luther, interesting alternative.  Could  you restate, using the terms "concave" and "convex"??  It'd be a clearer statement.  And maybe give more detail about the planing.  It sounds like you've had excellent success with your approach, but it could be a recipe for disaster should a reader not understand exactly what you do and how you do it.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

4. 
   CajunDan | Aug 25, 2005 08:20pm | #5

   "Cup up" or "cup down" is a little simplistic. The main thing is that you don't want the board to rock any as you are flattening it. If you can find a stable position either way - use it. If you can't (and many times you can't); then do as Luther suggests and use shims.

   The biggest nightmare is when a board is longer than the infeed table and has a twist. Yikes, time to bring out the hand planes.

   Good luck,

   Dan

1. 
   KathleenFasanella | Aug 25, 2005 08:56pm | #6

   I seldom buy other than rough sawed lumber. I rough cut for length and width,the detail parts for a particular project. Now I have smaller pieces to work with and thus can get the maximum thickness from each piece.If I flatten and surface the whole board before cutting it up.I release strains in the wood that effects the quality of the individual pieces.As a wood patternmaker for the foundry trade,I was taught the importance of accuracy in all stages of the project. It would be a disaster for a small error to show up after hundreds of castings were made from the original pattern. This was minimized by the inspection of sample castings from the original.I worked in the trade for 60 years before retirement. Now I build the things that I want to build,however old work habits seem to not want to go away. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

1. 
   dukeone | Aug 26, 2005 06:05pm | #7

   Patternmaker: Just to make sure I understand what your saying: Cut rough lumber to approximate size of individual parts before jointing or planing? This will minimize any movement in the parts? I worry about putting so much time into milling a part and then having it warp or something afterwards, especially after assembly. Also, if you will, what can you tell me about ''reading'' the wood to find the most stable sections?

   Thanks, KDMKenneth Duke Masters
   The Bill of Rights
   December 15 1791
   NRA Endowment Member
   LEAA Life Member
   CRPA Member

1. 
   KathleenFasanella | Aug 29, 2005 12:18am | #8

   Ken. Sorry for the delay. I buy all my lumber rough sawed from the mill.As a rule,I can read the grain details in the rough state.If not,I will plane just enough surface to let me make this evalutation.
   As you know,when a board is cut into parts,the internal stresses inherent in it are released causing croking and twisting to some degree. I find it better if this occurs in the rough sawed piece. as an illusrtation,a chair rocker from a rough piece of 6/4 stock,might easily finish to a thickness of 1-3/8 inches. The same part from a piece pre finished to the final thickness,might need to be flattened and planed again,and would finish to a lesser diminsion. Work safely¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬PAT¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

1. 
   dukeone | Aug 29, 2005 02:31am | #9

   Thanks, Pat: I'll try that on my next project, rough cut the parts to approximate size and then let them sit for a while. I'm learning from reading and doing so all these bits of help from all the people at Knots are a big resource. Tell me if you will a bit about reading the grain, what kind of patterns to look for that will likely warp. I know a bit out of my books and videos but details are still lacking.

   Thanks again, Duke

   Kenneth Duke MastersThe Bill of Rights December 15 1791NRA Endowment MemberLEAA Life MemberCRPA Member

   Edited 8/28/2005 10:59 pm ET by dukeone