Oak table top glue up warping problems

[ScouseKev]

A friend of mine asked for an oak table top 2" thick x 7ft long made up of boards ranging from 5" wide up to 8" wide.

This is not a job i've ever done before and i was quite sceptical about joining such thick boards.

We were going to join them with Dominos

We put all the pieces in his living room for 2 months, then planed all the pieces flat and square.

We left it for a few weeks and it's all bowed badly, up to 20mm in places.

At 2" thick i think it would be a nightmare to try and join .

Is there anyway to rescue this job or should i just start again with 1" thick.

Thanks.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Ouch, that sounds...unwelcome, to say the least.

Just to be clear, you do mean bowed, as opposed to cupped or sprung, don't you?

I there any way that you can arrange them so that one pulls against the other? One hollow side up against the other hump side up? At 7' long you should have some flexibility in the board, even at 2" thick (though I don't know that you'll get 20mm of flexibility - you might).

Some pictures would help, Kev.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

When you say they were in his living room for 2 months, where they 'in stick' or just piled up there? I'll bet from what you describe, they were just piled up, in which case you might as well have not done it; it would not have let the wood acclimatise as you hoped. If it was stickered properly, I'm surprised you had warping issues, unless the wood was somehow defective, i.e. badly kiln dried or not dried at all.

You should be able to make a table from 2 inch thick boards, this is not the issue, though i think you might struggle now the warping has already occurred.

I would get some more 2 inch thick boards from a reputable wood merchant and allow them to acclimatise in stick. the warped stuff will be OK for short lengths for other jobs.

Mike.

 

[ScouseKev]

Thanks for the replies.

The boards were placed on supports every 30" on the floor in the living room.

When i say "bowed" i mean when you look along the length of the 2" edge the board is like a banana.

 

[woodbrains]

Thanks for the replies.

The boards were placed on supports every 30" on the floor in the living room.

When i say "bowed" i mean when you look along the length of the 2" edge the board is like a banana.

Hello,

Do you mean the boards were placed on supports between each and every board, each board being stacked one above another, with the supports being directly above the one below? If so, then it was sort of in stick, though I would have had the stickers no more than about 18 inches apart, and the stack weighted with bricks or something too. It is possible with stickers 30 inches apart, you might have introduced some bow in the stack, though it is hard to say.

You might have been unlucky and got some badly kilned oak, with some case hardening or other defect, which is a shame. As I said, there is not an inherent problem with making a 2 inch thick tabletop. If your client wants that, I shouldn't let it put you off necessarily, but perhaps try a different timber supplier. Where did you get your oak? I have used Ramsay in Appley Bridge for many years and not had any real issues with their oak. Not too far from you. British Hardwoods is very good too, but a bit more of a journey. Apparently, there have been issues with poor kilning of oak in this country, Custard a contributor here will attest to this, but I've not had issues myself with the suppliers I use.

Mike.

Mike.