Ripping Wide Boards for Stability – Question of the Week
This week’s question comes from David. He writes:
I’m relatively new to the woodworking scene. A quick question for your thoughts… My local hardwood supplier takes in rough lumber and mills it to various boards and trim. I happened to stop in after they had just finished milling some 8′ x 15-18″ wide black cherry planks. I’d love to do a sofa table or some type of piece where I can preserve the board intact. I’ve been reading about the issues with continuous wide planks (cupping, etc.) and was wondering your thoughts on keeping them intact at 12″+, or doing relief cuts and gluing them back together. They’re all 4/4. They’re beautiful and I can’t stand the thought of tearing them up now. I live in upstate NY, hot summers, cold winters – fairly large shifts in humidity across the year. Help!
And here was my reply:
“Hey David. The sad truth is there is no telling what will happen over time. Each board has its own characteristics. Combine that with the seasonal changes, and you have wide variety of conditions and a wide variety of results. So here is the way I see it. I would NEVER chop up a beautiful large board as a preemptive strike against unfavorable movement. Nothing is more beautiful than a full tabletop made from a single board. Not to mention how rare it is to see furniture like this today. So mill the board as flat as possible, prep it, finish it, and slap it on your coffee table frame. Then just hope for the best. Be sure to secure it in a way that allows for the wood to expand and contract (fig 8 fasteners), and keep your eye on it. If at some point disaster strikes and the table starts cracking or warping, you can always remove the top and rework it later. Also, it might not be a bad idea to leave the rough board in your house for a few months before touching it. This way there will be no drastic humidity changes once the final piece is placed in the house. Hope that helps. And congrats on getting such great lumber!”
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Marc, would you also recommend finishing the bottom of the plank also?
Oh yes. Definitely finish all sides of the top.
Hmmm…..I’m more curious where David lives in Upstate NY (being from Brewerton, NY myself) and which supplier has 15″ to 18″ wide cherry ??? ;)
Seriously Dave, I’d be curious to know if we’re neighbors….
Mike
Thoughts on David’s wide board opportunity. A few years back, I took a class from Kelley Mehler to make a wide topped blanket chest – about 20 inches. It was made up of joined boards, so a bit different, but still with the opportunity to flex and grow with time and humidity changes. What he showed me was to put a batten on the back; not glued, except the very center. It had three screws into the top wood; the center one was in a hole appropriate for the screw. The outer two screws were put into elongated holes I milled out with a very small router bit; about ½ inch long. I also milled out a recess into which I put a round headed screw and washer, which provided tension between the batten and top, but could slide sideways + or – 1/4 “. Been great ever since.
Another problem he might have to deal with is the ends cracking. This is what the famous breadboard can help with, which will also help with cupping. I like the look of sofa tables with breadboard ends. After milling a tenon on the big board, and a mortise in the breadboard, pin the middle, and create oblong holes near the outer edges, and pin them (no glue) to let the big board flex sideways a bit. Hmm that doesn’t solve the cracking problem. Might consider using butterflys if necessary
You might try treating the boards with PEG-1000 (polyethylene glycol) It’s pretty simple — just submerge the boards in a water solution of PEG for up to several weeks, then air drying them to working moisture content. This will reduce shrinkage drastically. The treatment works best with green boards, The treated tabletop can be successfully finished with polyurethane.
PEG-1000 is also known as Carbowax. It is often used to stabilize old wooden ships that have been raised from the ocean or lakes to prevent cracking and deterioration.