Thanks very much Dennis,
Of course, the point is, were Chris to wander into your workshop and ask for advice, do you:
A. congratulate him on his choice of a breadboard as a first hardwood project as an excellent vehicle for learning how to prepare and use a plane, preparing timber by hand and thereby developing a set of skills with universal application to every single project he will encounter for the rest of his life, not to mention introducing him to one of the pleasures of life; or:
B. encourage him down a path most fear to tread with only second rate results in sight just to bash the job out without having to learn much nor break into a sweat; or:
C. stand around going, "Ooh, Err, that Moz e's a bit harsh isn't he".
Anyway, ddashk and wizer have summed it up. It's end grain so I can't see that board orientation has produced this effect. It probably is a clamping error. However Chris, and although it may sound a daft question, did you check that the edges were square before gluing up!? This is essential, with any discrepancies corrected before joining. I'm a little unclear about how you squared up the edges after ripping the glued up board into strips but before re-gluing into its present state. Did you return the pieces to the 'router thicknesser'? I won't go on about that again (you know how I feel) but using feather boards to press the work tightly against the fence could work for or against accuracy - are the reference face and edge square to each other to start with? (and if so, how on earth have you achieved this?) Is the fence square to the table? If not, the board could be distorted/lifted with unpredictable results. Is the cutter square to the table? If you used a table saw, is the blade sqaure to the table? Nothing can be taken for granted. I know you must feel disappointed but don't bin it just yet.
John
