Straightening and Flattening Boards

[Trigger]

I've recently aquired 40 planks of american white oak 1'' thick by 8'' wide by 8' long for free . They are t&g with varnish on one face and have been used as flooring. Some of the boards are bowed and warped along the length and width and I wish to take as much of this out before I put them onto my P/T so I reduce the dimensions by an absolute minimum. Does anyone know of a reliable method of flattening planks :?:

Cheers,
Trig.

 

[Chris Knight]

Trig,
A friend gave me some of that stuff. Much of it had to be reduced to short lengths before I could get straight wood without undesirable bows in it. I did have some success with removing the varnish and leaving it to reach equilibrium in terms of moisture gradient and some boards straightened as a result. I used an electric hand held plane set on a fine cut to remove the varnish.

 

[devonwoody]

My feeling is 'what you see is what you have got'.

In the long run you would most probably be better off cutting down to size pieces for a job and working with its faults.

Like having a bad hand at cards?

 

[Trigger]

Thanks for the advice

I think I'll try planing the varnish off as suggested and see if that has the desired effect. Ill leave it for a few months then I guess that will be as good as it gets.

Cheers,
Trig

 

[RogerS]

Trig

An article in a recent issue of Practical Woodworking on converting timber recommends, to remove wind, setting the planer to remove a little over a whisker at each pass. Concentrate hand pressure on the OUTFEED table to reduce any tendency for the board to rock during the cut.

 

[Trigger]

Roger,

Thanks, I'll try this as one of the boards has a nasty split in it so if it goes wrong not much damage done.

Cheers,
Trig

 

[OPJ]

Trig

An article in a recent issue of Practical Woodworking on converting timber recommends, to remove wind, setting the planer to remove a little over a whisker at each pass. Concentrate hand pressure on the OUTFEED table to reduce any tendency for the board to rock during the cut.

Really? I'm certain I've heard Norm you do almost the opposite; instead, apply downward pressure on the infeed before the blades?

Obviously, if you apply even pressure from infeed to outfeed, following the timber like normal, you're not actually straightening the timber at all, simply forcing it down and removing material along the bow.

 

[Scrit]

Really? I'm certain I've heard Norm you do almost the opposite; instead, apply downward pressure on the infeed before the blades?

I was taught to apply moderate downfeed on the infeed only in the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the cut and thereafter to apply downwards pressure on the outfeed table. If you press down too hard you'll end up perpetuating the sind. It's almost impossible to work any other way I find. Whatever works for you, I suppose......

If this stuff is badly in wind it might be possible to surface it through the thicknesser. Set up a straight plank (25mm plywood, etc) and lay a board on top. Shim up with veneer slips, playing cards, cornflake packets, etc and feed through taking small passes until there is a sufficient flat area to be able to flip the board over and thickness as normal. To check progress "scrub" a carpenters pencil over the surface between passes. This technique is limited to about 6 or 7ft length, but does work. I'll even resort to scrub planing the high spots to speed things up (yes, I know, me with a hand plane, oh the shame, the shame :wink: )

Scrit

 

[Alf]

I'll even resort to scrub planing the high spots to speed things up (yes, I know, me with a hand plane, oh the shame, the shame :wink: )

THUD

Sorry, just the sound of my jaw hitting the deck... :lol:

 

[Scrit]

I'll even resort to scrub planing the high spots to speed things up (yes, I know, me with a hand plane, oh the shame, the shame :wink: )

THUD

Sorry, just the sound of my jaw hitting the deck... :lol:

Cheeky! You obviously never read my reviews of the L-N #64 and #162 planes at the old place...... :wink:

Scrit

 

[Alf]

Did so. Just wondered where on the CNC machine you kept the scrub, that's all. :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Scrit]

Did so. Just wondered where on the CNC machine you kept the scrub, that's all. :lol:

Keep it under the...... oh, that woden thingy with 4 legs in the corner.... Covered in dust... Bunch? Binch? Got it! Bench! :lol:

 

[luthier49]

Don`t do any thing to the boards at this moment. Decide what your going to make with them, make out a cutting list and saw the boards up to your cutting list. Sharpen up your jack plane blade and hand plane the twist out of the sawn components testing with a pair of winding strips. Once you`ve got a flat out of twist face then your ready for the planer thicknesser. You might have to glue some of the boards to make thicker components of your project.

 

[Trigger]

Thanks again for the advice. I've taken the varnish off and some high spots with a plane and I'm going to leave them for a few weeks and see what condition they are in then and then try Scrit's solution on a few boards to see how it goes. I've got another batch of 30 or so on the way so I can afford to experiment a little

Cheers,
Trig.