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!”
3- Refinishing (Pt. 2)
High Resolution Version
In Part 2 of the refinishing series, I review some details concerning the table-top itself and take a look at the leaf expansion system, which is pretty unique. I also give some tips on how to determine what type of finish you might be up against, in order to determine the best way to remove it. And the last topic I cover is lead testing and safety. I hope you find this video useful and informative. As always, thanks for watching!!
Refinishing Pt. 1
Refinishing Pt. 2
Refinishing Pt. 3
Refinishing Pt. 4
Refinishing Pt. 5
Refinishing Pt. 6
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