I have some big leaf maple that bowed as I re-sawed it.
After some investigation I have learned that the wood was case hardened during drying and I probably will not be able to straighten the wood but rather I will have to joint it again.
The boards are 4′ long and about 7/8″ thick and I will be lucky to arrive at 1/2″ thick after planing.
My intent was to use this wood to make a dining table. I am not too worried about appearance as I had planned on edging it in a contrasting wood (breadboard ends etc) which can be thicker, but I am concerned about the strength of the top as well as resistance to further warping.
I am currently imagining building a support structure by adding a sort of framework to the apron. I would then attach the table top throughout just as one would attach to the apron itself.
Any thoughts?
Bob
Replies
Bob,
Have a look at the other thread running just next to yours, concerning bowed boards for a table top.
If the bow can be hand-pressed flat (ie it needs but little force) then don't plane them flat and lose all the thickness - just make your construction such that it will pull the top flat.
Lataxe.
Edited 12/13/2007 4:21 pm ET by Lataxe
B, depending on the width of your boards, I'd rip them again and then joint. You just need to decide a happy medium between final thickness and #boards
Has anyone ever tried resawing 7/8ths boards like this with a bandsaw so that the kerf is thin and you are left with two boards in the 3/8ths range once jointed - then face glue the 38ths sheets as a lamination in a way that removes or counteracts the bow?
More info: The boards are between 9 and 11-1/2 inches wide. They still need to be surfaced and need various edges ripped straight. They can be pressed flat by hand but it's definitely not like an ideal bow. The boards are warped in different areas and I see a little twist too on some of them. Plus I can't get my head around working with warped wood.What I want is someone to tell me they have a way to straighten them!
I thought about wetting one side and stickering with weight etc but I'm afraid i'll create more problems than I already have.It was suggested that I try to slice it down to a veneer but that kinda goes against what I wanted to do which was build with solid wood.It's pretty sad actually, I started with 2" thick by 8' long timber, cut it in half (the table is to be ~ 4' wide), and then built a sled so as to use a planer to "joint" the surfaces flat.
The first thing I noticed was a bunch of checks in the surface which put me off the project for a couple years. Then I decided that I wasn't going to let a couple "stretch marks" get in the way and re-sawed the boards, back to square one!
I would have probably been farther ahead to buy 1" stock but I really wanted to try the book-matching thing.Live and learn...
Kind of frustrating ain't it, BHosch. It's not just case hardening that causes the lumber to go bananas. It can happen with any lumber. When you rip a wide board into smaller strips, width ways, the same thing can occur. You get the best stability when the pieces have been cut from the log in the sizes needed. If you take more off one surface than the opposite one, when planing, it can happen again. The problems can lessen when you use shorter lengths but long stock can cause problems a high percentage of the time. Some species are better/worse than others. As time passes, you learn what processes are best to avoid and you learn to look for grain and cut characteristics. Still, things go south at times. I'm finishing up a piece in African mahogany. Running out of stock that matches well. I have to rip a 1x6 to get door rails and stiles. I'm going to cut it to shorter lengths and keep my fingers crossed. I might be making a trip to the lumber yard. Once a piece has reacted and bent, there is no fixing it. Even if you have enough extra to straighten/flatten, rip/plane again, it may do it again. Are we having fun yet?Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
ok so, near as I can tell my options are:1) to go ahead and joint the wood at which point it is 1/2" thick, and create some sort of framework to support it for my rather large dining table.
Pluses: Salvage the wood I already have for a solid wood project.
Minuses: complexity of apron section, possibly hollow sounding top, thinner wood might be inclined to move about more.2) keep re-sawing it and use it as veneer, gluing it on plywood etc.
(what is the thickest size I can have that won't cause wood movement problems).
Pluses: Assured of stable thick top, can use the extra veneer in kitchen cabinets etc.
Minuses: Not solid wood which goes away from my original intent, now I have a whole new challenge in learning to veneer.3) or, as has been suggested on another concurrent thread, force the boards flat by clamping or using biscuits and then screwing it to a framework.
Pluses: can use the wood at intended thickness
Minuses: I am worried about the logistics of gluing up warped boards, lots of stresses that can't be removed, variable thickness of wood after the inevitable additional planing of table top.4) last but not least, none of these ideas seems really feasible and I should really think about starting over.Thanks for any input!Bob
You can laminate the beautiful stock on to other solid stock. Veneering was done long before plywood came along. A nice effect is that the laminated solid wood behaves like unlaminated solid wood. It all grows and shrinks the same way, so you don't have to worry about how thick your "veneer" is. It can be a half-inch thick if you want.
Thanks Jamie,
I like that idea!
Does it matter a huge amount what I laminate it to?
I'd use mdf or ply for dimensional stabilty. Tape or edge band the edge.Expert since 10 am.
It doesn't matter a great deal what solid lumber you laminate it to. If you want to get really really picky, you could try to pick boards with somewhat the same grain orientation -- that is, laminate flatsawn stock on to flatsawn stock, and quartersawn on to quartersawn. But in my experience, it holds together without being picky.
I didn't mention this in my first post, thinking it was obvious, but the grain direction of the two laminated boards is the same -- not crossed like plywood layers.
Edited 12/15/2007 2:59 pm ET by Jamie_Buxton
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled