whats going on?

[sunnybob]

I just cut some wood and I dont understand why its so much out of shape.

I started with the piece on the right, 40mm x 22mm. clean straight wood.
I cut three strips along it, of 6mm each, and look what I got. Theyre wavy, wonky, and utterly useless to me. By the time I true them up they will be less than 3mm thick instead of the 6 i wanted.

This isnt green wood, its from a well seasoned plank which is straight. Is there anything I can do? apart from putting the plank on the fire.

 

[williams1185]

is that a piece of iroko by any chance ? it looks like it i used to use a lot of it almost every time it was cut like that it would go out of shape dont think theres a lot you can do to put it right sorry .ian

 

[custard]

Look at the end grain, quarter sawn = more stable, flat sawn = less stable. Flip the workpiece through 90 degrees so you're producing quarter sawn components. Even then there's no guarantee of success but you've improved your odds.

Incidentally, the centre piece from the three cut components looks to be the truest. That's what you'd expect, quite possibly the wood isn't as dry as you think, it's dryer on the outside than it is on the inside, so the two outside components are unbalanced, wet on one side dry on the other.

Good luck!

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

How are you planning to use it? The challenge when you resaw a thick board like that is you will release the tension in the grain. (As well as expose any uneven moisture distribution as Custard has already said) But if it will end up fixed in several places the fixings may pull it home. If it's a table apron or similar then I'm afraid it's likely to be wasted unless you can brace it hidden from view. Your problem has been plaguing furniture makers since time immemorial and is of course (as well as economics) why veneer and ultimately sheet goods got developed.

Fixings and/or glue/clamps may rescue it for you but it will depend on its intended use of course.

 

[CHJ]

There's a link in the turning section help sticky to a good explanation by Sgian Dubh of what's going on :-

 

[blackrodd]

The replies so far are spot on, It's surprising the stresses in timber.
Also, If I may say, you're problem was not helped by the way you're bandsaw is cutting, the middle board at the far end is very much undersize.
It would probably be a good idea to get a Tuff blade and give it a tune up.
And in future, to allow plenty of oversize thickness for straightening,
Not forgetting to take equal amounts off each sideas much as possible when finishing.
Regards Rodders

 

[sunnybob]

ian, I got it as Mansonia, but theres a big language barrier between me and the woodyard, so it could be ANYTHING. (lol)

custard, noted. I will try to remember next time I cut up a plank.

Bob, it was intended to to be the sides of a small trinket box. Its now firewood.

Chas, noted.

Blackrodd, This was cut on a table saw, as my bandsaw is crap (mentioned in a couple other threads, its a FOX, say no more). I am struggling so much just trying to get thin slats of nice wood to make trinket and jewellery boxes.
I am considering a planer / thicknesser, but dont think it would help in this particular instance.?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Resawing wood ( which is the process of cutting boards into thinner but otherwise the same length and width), is fraught with risks, as you have found out the hard way.

Moisture content is one thing (the centre may be not quite as dry as the outer wood), but even if the MC is consistent throughout, the stresses induced in the drying process can be released to cause the sort of experience you have had.

It would make no difference if you had done it on a TS or a BS, a high-quality machine or a budget one.

I cannot salvage your wood, but in future, I can only advise you to use the driest wood you can, and to allow quite a lot of spare thickness for prepping you stock.

Don't feel too bad, we've all been there.

 

[blackrodd]

ian, I got it as Mansonia, but theres a big language barrier between me and the woodyard, so it could be ANYTHING. (lol)

custard, noted. I will try to remember next time I cut up a plank.

Bob, it was intended to to be the sides of a small trinket box. Its now firewood.

Chas, noted.

Blackrodd, This was cut on a table saw, as my bandsaw is rubbish (mentioned in a couple other threads, its a FOX, say no more). I am struggling so much just trying to get thin slats of nice wood to make trinket and jewellery boxes.
I am considering a planer / thicknesser, but dont think it would help in this particular instance.?

Mansonia, It's a long time since Iv'e heard of that!
The stuff we had varied in colour , and very very dusty, very poisonous, and very unstable.
I, also thought your sample was Iroko
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-ide ... /mansonia/
Unless you work by hand, a planer thicknesser is very crucial to facing, straightening and regularising you're raw timber, How big was this small trinket box to be?
Regards Rodders

Regards Rodders

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I am considering a planer / thicknesser, but dont think it would help in this particular instance.?

A P/T would have helped earlier in your processing "if" when resawing the boards you had left enough wood beyond the dimension you wanted to allow you to plane it back to size. That would be the normal means of mittigating any wood movement. It can be a pretty soul destroying process as you watch several millimetres of expensive board disappear into your extractor! It is often however, the only reliable means of finding the straight inside the "banana"

It can be done by hand of course and is more rewarding. It may be that for trinket boxes that's a money saving approach given the dimensions aren't big. P/T's do tend to be fairly expensive although I obviously have no idea what sort of budget you might be playing with.

P/T's do have an additional advantage which is that they give you the general ability to salvage wood that might otherwise have been junked. One of the real pleasures I get from wood working is when I get given a scabby old board and then a couple of passes of the planar later and it's a beauty underneath. The vast majority of people don't realise this when they chuck them in the skip.

You can also process your own green timber, though the air drying takes a long time.

 

[williams1185]

im pretty sure you cant get mansonia any more in fact i think the last time i heard that name was over 30 years ago blimey showing my age now !

 

[sunnybob]

Rodders; I live in Cyprus, they arent too hot on elfin safety here. The wood I have is definitely not iroku. My mansonia is very dusty, Luckily I always wear a mask when working, and also have a good dust extraction system. But having read about it, what mansonia I have is now on its way to the fire bin.
I also bought a length of Meranti. This looks quite nice when cut, but goes very dull when oiled with baby oil, or danish oil. So I think my neighbour will be ok for firewood for a while.

My best results so far have been with mahogany. I salvaged 6 planks that had been used as pallet crating, bent and broken and peppered with nail holes. But although I lost a fair bit in the salvage, I found the mahogany a pleasure to work with, and actually made a couple of items good enough for them to be allowed into the house!. I also found a few walnut wedges, about three foot long by 3" wide, double tapered to a centre height of about 3"/ Glueing small pieces edge on gave me enough for a couple of small box lids.

I'm not ambitious in either dimensions for my boxes, I'm teaching myself as I go, with boxes around 4" across, and up to 12". most have been scrapped.



Bob, my budget is almost spent, this was supposed to be a cheap retirement hobby, HAH! But I think its going to have to stretch to a P/T this year, or what I have already spent will be wasted.

Williams, your collectible piece of Mansonia will be in the post tomorrow, C.O.D. alright? (lol)

 

[Jacob]

If you want a finished 6mm thickness from 22mm thick stock you'd be lucky to get two pieces (i.e. saw down the middle) by the time you have planed them straight. This is normal with most woods - as a rule of thumb you expect to remove at least 6mm when planing sawn material , more for longer pieces. But it's very variable.
If you cut it to length first, before ripping, you get a lot less waste - planing small pieces is inconvenient, though perfectly possible.
Don't plane first before ripping - you will only have to plane it again. Saw to length, then to width (plus 6mm approx.) then plane.

 

[sunnybob]

I think I'm going to stick to mahogany and walnut. What I've done with those have been pain free compared to these other woods.
Dont know if its auto suggestion about the mansoni, but I am now scratching both forearms. I've de-dusted the workshop, emptied the dust collector, thrown my clothes in the wash basket, and showered twice. I thought this was going to be a relaxing hobby!

Any views on Sapele? I have a plank of that waiting.

I also scrounged a small off cut about 10" x 5" x 1" of a very deep red wood used for decking (it was ridged on one surface). It has no grain to speak of, and is very hard. Tap a piece against the bench and it sounds like its hollow. I have no idea of the name, but it cuts very smoothly, and looks an amazing deep red when coated in danish oil. Does it jog anyone's memory?

 

[blackrodd]

A few pics would be good, and show the oiled piece too, no doubt some one will know what it is.
Regards Rodders

 

[sunnybob]

A few pics would be good, and show the oiled piece too, no doubt some one will know what it is.
Regards Rodders

OK, here goes;

The brass heart catch is sprung, and the pivot is just a wood dowel.
The base is walnut, I dont know the other wood except its used as decking