Will this glue-up work with bowed board?
Hopefully, I can attach the .jpg that I created with Delta Cad and Adobe Photoshop.
I bought 4 1/2 cherry boards 6″ x10′ by 3/4″ to glue up for this desktop, which is 92″ long and 22″ wide except it is 48″wide at the “L” on the right.
One of the boards is bowed almost an inch in ten feet. These were bought already planed to 3/4″. I didn’t notice the bow until I got it home.
I’m planning to glue this up with biscuits for better alignment.
How can I cope with this bowed board? About 15 lbs pressure in the middle of the board will take the bow out. Can I just glue it up and hope that it’s neighbors will help it stay flat? The top will be attached to the apron with hardwood “buttons”.
Should I cross-cut it into several shorter sections and glue the end grain using biscuits, and hope that the boards along side help it stay glued on the ends?
Will the buttons help hold it flat to the apron if I use it full length?
This bowed board could be used as board A, B, C, or D in the drawing. Boards E, F, G are all offcuts from the 10′ long boards. Board H will come from the fifth (half length) board, and I will come from trimmings on A, B, C or D.
Please don’t say throw it away, as it repressents about $30.
Thanks for your wisdon. Hopefully the .jpg will attach. I f not, look in a subsequent reply from me.
Thanks,
Bill
Replies
The bowed board will be a little bit of a struggle when you're edge-jointing and when you're gluing up, but will be okay in the table. Its neighbors will help straighten in out. I'd probably put it at A, because the apron will also act to make it straight. In the glue-up, this is an occasion where biscuits are helpful to help align the bowed board with the others.
Thanks for your replies.
Jamie, I like your Idea of putting it at "A". I had been thinking of putting it at "B" or "C" so that it would have neighbors on both sides, but the idea of putting it at "A" so that the buttons hold it flat to the apron sound good.
3 of the long boards are about 6.5" wide and the 4th is 4.75" I had been thinking of putting the narrow board at "A" but it would also work at "D" appearance wise.
Since I keep a pretty cluttered desk (and workshop, too) it will mostly covered with stuff, especially the back edge (the "A" board). Once I start using it, parts of it won't get much sunlight. Especially where the monitor sits, in the corner. This is why I plan to give it a good dose of sunlight on the back deck, to darken the cherry, before I finish it and "nail" it down.
Bill
Bill,
I'd bring it back...and swap out for a flat board. True, it might be a great learning opportunity...but at that price and with a project that size...you'll be staring at it for years..
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