Thin Strips More Stable? - Question of the Week

April 28, 2008 | Filed Under Blog, Question of the Week 

I starting my first real project. It is a mission style sofa table of my design constructed with semi rough cut oak. I am very pleased with the results so far. The wood is turning out great, the mortise and tenons are good (room for improvement here), and the overall look is just what I want. I have finished the four legs. Sooner than later I will have to make the top. The dimensions will be roughly 17″ x 50″. The wood I am working with is 15/16 thick and in widths of 7″-9″. I will plane the wood down to just over 3/4 thick. The guy I bought the wood from suggested that I rip the top to 3″ strips and alternate the end grain to help prevent warping of the top. I agree totally, but thought that 3″ widths was excessively small. I see photos of other people work that is much wider than this and it seems to work. I will be using a couple of biscuits to edge glue the top together. I was hoping to glue it up in about three 6″ planks. I think that six 3″ strips would cheapen the look. What do you think?

And here was my reply:
Hey Luke. Not doubt that 3″ strips would stack the cards in your favor in terms of stability. But wow, does anyone really want their table to look like a gym floor??? The bottom line is, if the wood is kiln dried and properly seasoned, it should not cause you any unexpected MAJOR issues over the course of time. Not to mention it will be secured to the base which will help keep it flat. And on a table of this size, I think the 3″ strips would be completely unnecessary. Think about how many beautiful dining room table tops are out there with nice wide boards and overall widths of about 4′, and those are nearly as flat as the day they were glued together.

I always use the widest boards my jointer will allow. And if I find a nice wide plank of 12″ or more, it would be a travesty to cut that board down under the hopes of increased stability. Wide boards are harder and harder to come by these days so furniture made with wide boards is more elegant and more appealing, in my opinion. So if I were you, I would go with your gut and assemble the top from three 6″ boards. And as long as it doesn’t make the face grain look bad, go ahead and alternate the growth rings. Conventional wisdom says that will keep the top balanced. Good luck.

Comments

7 Responses to “Thin Strips More Stable? - Question of the Week”

  1. Luke on April 28th, 2008 11:34 am

    Thanks Marc for making my question the question of the week. And on my birthday too… How did you know!!?

    I just finished my table this weekend and did indeed use about 6″ wide strips for the 17″ wide top. Time will tell I guess, but it certainly looks much better I think.

    Here is a link to a couple of photos of the finished table. The current top two photos are the finished table. The rest are some various photos along the way.

    Thanks again.

  2. Luke on April 28th, 2008 11:47 am

    Forgot to post the link for the photos.

    http://pedersonfamilyhobbies.blogspot.com/

  3. Vic on April 28th, 2008 12:41 pm

    Luke,
    That turned out very well! I don’t think you’ll find any detriment to using the wider boards for the top and it does make it a lot prettier to look at, right?!

  4. Dan on April 28th, 2008 9:32 pm

    Good advice from Marc on this.
    My computer is sitting on an oak dining room table made from 10″ wide boards. The table was made in the late 1800’s and is still in perfect condition. With kiln dried wood and modern glues, you should be fine.

    DD

  5. Todd on April 29th, 2008 11:21 am

    If the table top is made of QSWO then it would not move anyway. Correct? I think this must have been why the craftsmen who made the arts and crafts style, made their furniture from QSWO. Very dimensionally stable. And at the time it was abundant and cheap.

  6. Claude Stewart on April 29th, 2008 7:18 pm

    I’m not sure that Quartersawn white oak was mentioned for the top. Although that would be very good. And that old 1800’s table top is probably a very good example of old growth timber with very tight growth rings making it very stable. At least that is what I keep hearing from ” Norm”. I do think that table is very nice. Claude

  7. Lip on May 1st, 2008 10:50 am

    Wonderful table Luke!

    I’m probably in the minority on this topic … then again, when the OCD kicks in I’m usually in the minority on any topic … but when it comes to gluing up oak table tops … or just about any oak panel for that matter … I actually prefer the smaller strips … however, my preference has less to do with stability than it has to do with the grain pattern … because grain pattern is probably the #1 reason I got into this hobby in the first place … the “gym floor” effect doesn’t bother me nearly as much as seeing a bunch of mismatched grain patterns going all different directions when I’m looking at a table top or panel … especially one made of oak … where the grain is usually very pronounced … by using smaller strips … I can usually be a lot more selective when I’m trying to match the grain … yeah, 99% of the people out there aren’t going to ever notice … but I know I am … and that’s all that matters! lol

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