Hi Gary,
I was given 4, 8/4, 10″ by 8′ rock maple planks that had been stored in a barn for several years in coastal northern California. I am outfitting my new shop and am starting to build a new work bench. One of the planks has almost an inch of verical bow. I have cut the planks into 2 3/4″ wide boards to turn sideways and glue together for the bench top. When clamped the bow flattens out with no problem. My question is; will glueing the boards under this much tension cause a problem during glue up or later on? Also, is there any amount of tension that is acceptable?
Thanks,
Kevin Silver
Replies
Kevin,
Sorry about the reply time. This message got overlooked.
If you haven't tried gluing already, I'd skip using the bowed stock. Too much trouble trying to get the stuff flat while glue is all over things.
As for how much tension is acceptable, well I suppose as much as you can handle. A little bit of bowing shouldn't be an issue but if you have an inch of bowing I think you're asking for trouble. I avoid bowed stock for long glue-ups. Best of luck. Gary
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