Rip before Dimensioning?

[GizmoDuck]

Hey, all.

I've got a big ol' hunk of wood that I can probably get about 4 planks out of when I rip saw it.

Now, the question, do I dimension the whole hunk first, get it all square before I rip it? What I'm thinking is, if I do that then the planks on the far sides of the hunk will have an established flat and two square edges, leaving only one face* to plane down and make square.

However, the planks in the centre will only have established edges as both faces* will have been sawn and will need truing up.

Or: should I just rip the boards first and then dimension each board individually; winding sticks, Face, Edge, Marking gauge, etc?

* what do you actually call the opposite of your Face and Edge?

 

[paulrbarnard]

Rough dimension first. That way if there is any cup, twist or bend in the boards you don’t finish up thickness if it to a veneer.

Edit: the opposite of face is back. The opposite of edge is the other edge.

 

[Jacob]

Hey, all.

I've got a big ol' hunk of wood that I can probably get about 4 planks out of when I rip saw it.

Now, the question, do I dimension the whole hunk first, get it all square before I rip it? What I'm thinking is, if I do that then the planks on the far sides of the hunk will have an established flat and two square edges, leaving only one face* to plane down and make square.

However, the planks in the centre will only have established edges as both faces* will have been sawn and will need truing up.

Or: should I just rip the boards first and then dimension each board individually; winding sticks, Face, Edge, Marking gauge, etc?

* what do you actually call the opposite of your Face and Edge?

Rip to size and length first (plus allowance for planing, movement etc) before dimensioning.
If you don't it may all move as you rip and all have to be planed again
If you do you get a sense straightaway of any movement due to tension release etc and may have second thoughts about ripping the other pieces, thickness etc. It might still move due to further drying.

 

[GizmoDuck]

Thanks, guys.

That makes sense.

I was told you have to allow 5mm of waste when you're thicknessing/dimensioning/correct term here. But... is that 1.25mil off the Face, Back, Edge and Opposite Edge? Cos I know it's taken me more than that to get a flat Face.

Is that 5mil off of each, or just a random measurement off of each planing surface?

 

[Ttrees]

Suppose that might depend on who's book yer reading, species etc.
I've had it described as loosing thickness, but a big caveat here being
that was referring to skip planed material, i.e someone else dealt with the wastage
to get it to that state, and by cutting it up again would be the same deal.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Thanks, guys.

That makes sense.

I was told you have to allow 5mm of waste when you're thicknessing/dimensioning/correct term here. But... is that 1.25mil off the Face, Back, Edge and Opposite Edge? Cos I know it's taken me more than that to get a flat Face.

Is that 5mil off of each, or just a random measurement off of each planing surface?

There’s no single answer to that. It depends on the thickness you are aiming for and the starting condition of the boards. My approach is to flattens the face side then mark off of that for the thickness I need then work the back down to the line. I’m not aware of a specific guide on how much to take off

 

[Daniel2]

There’s no single answer to that. It depends on the thickness you are aiming for and the starting condition of the boards. My approach is to flattens the face side then mark off of that for the thickness I need then work the back down to the line. I’m not aware of a specific guide on how much to take off

There isn't, and cannot be, for the reasons you state.
A lot will depend on the quality of the initial sawing, but then the manner in
which it has been stored is also critical. Then there are the internal stresses
which can be released whilst dimensioning.
Having said that, I have found over time, that if I want to end up with a 25mm
finished planed board, I need to start with a 34mm rough sawn. But that
certainly doesn't imply that I will have taken 4.5 (~5) mm from each face.

 

[GizmoDuck]

Cheers, chaps.

Much appreciated. It's a pleasure to find decent and friendly knowledge

 

[Ttrees]

Safer and less wastage using a big bandsaw for the roughing out.
The HSE would likely not recommend doing such on a TS without prepping the registering face and edge, or if suitable width to register off possibly edging on a slider, like Manor Wood's videos often does.
For something which may prove troublesome, If one were to contemplate doing so on a TS, I'd think some sorta jiggery might need be involved.
If I were to take a guess, along with some features of Shaw guards or the likes,
some sort of sled might be of use, but may require an add on table.

This is where it gets interesting, but less friendly, though with the best intentions at heart.

 

[GizmoDuck]

Safer and less wastage using a big bandsaw for the roughing out.
The HSE would likely not recommend doing such on a TS without prepping the registering face and edge, or if suitable width to register off possibly edging on a slider, like Manor Wood's videos often does.
For something which may prove troublesome, If one were to contemplate doing so on a TS, I'd think some sorta jiggery might need be involved.
If I were to take a guess, along with some features of Shaw guards or the likes,
some sort of sled might be of use, but may require an add on table.

This is where it gets interesting, but less friendly, though with the best intentions at heart.

Thanks.

Would love a bandsaw, alas, this will all be done with a rip handsaw

 

[Adam W.]

Show a photo of the piece of timber. It may be that when you rip it up, it goes out of shape quite badly.

This all depends on the way the original piece has been sawn and the way you want to rip it.

 

[GizmoDuck]

Show a photo of the piece of timber. It may be that when you rip it up, it goes out of shape quite badly.

This all depends on the way the original piece has been sawn and the way you want to rip it.

Shall do.

It's an 'orrible stumpy... well, stump. Currently in the garden getting soaked, so I'll bring it inside soonish and let it dry.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Shall do.

It's an 'orrible stumpy... well, stump. Currently in the garden getting soaked, so I'll bring it inside soonish and let it dry.

So it’s not been planked and stacked?

 

[GizmoDuck]

So it’s not been planked and stacked?

Not yet. It's a future project

 

[Daniel2]

Not yet. It's a future project

Can we have a photo ?

 

[sams93]

Thanks.

Would love a bandsaw, alas, this will all be done with a rip handsaw

Tracksaw makes breaking down slabs really easy. You can get relatively cheap ones on facebook or screwfix do the erbauer one - I don't have personal experience with it though.

 

[Adam W.]

Shall do.

It's an 'orrible stumpy... well, stump. Currently in the garden getting soaked, so I'll bring it inside soonish and let it dry.

In that case, you'll first need to consider how you are going to convert it into slabs.

 

[pgrbff]

A green piece of wood could do anything. It will depend on the species, how and where it was grown, whether it was straight growth or growing out of the side of a hill, how long it has been cut, when in the season it was cut, etc, etc. You won't know until it's converted to planks and starts to dry. Get yourself a good book or even books, it's a big topic. I found Understanding Wood by Hoadley useful.

 

[Daniel2]

A green piece of wood could do anything. It will depend on the species, how and where it was grown, whether it was straight growth or growing out of the side of a hill, how long it has been cut, when in the season it was cut, etc, etc. You won't know until it's converted to planks and starts to dry. Get yourself a good book or even books, it's a big topic. I found Understanding Wood by Hoadley useful.

I also have that book.
A fascinating, veritable mine of information.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I agree with the three contributions immediately previous to mine. Basically, the first consideration has to be, is the piece, this stump, a suitable candidate for conversion into boards and seasoning?, and if it is, how to achieve that reasonably economically, and successfully. If you're able to get to the point where you have essentially fault free and appropriately dry boards from your stump thing, then that's the time to decide how to use the seasoned boards you've created.

As has already been said it will almost certainly be worth while doing some research using knowledgeable and authoritative sources, e.g., Hoadley as suggested, and learning a bit about the topics of selecting or assessing logs that are suitable, and then their conversion and seasoning, at least as a starter. It might even lead you into studying in greater depth the fascinating field of timber technology, aka, wood science. Slainte.