Replies

1. 
   Westchester | Sep 20, 2011 06:10pm | #1

   Twisted

   Hello Graeme

   Given your amatuer status - I would suggest working with a more reliable board,  maybe a different species - and use the Wenge for accents -

   SA

2. 
   ggoode | Sep 21, 2011 02:56am | #2

   Hi SA, thanks for this - however I intend to use this wood for the table - sure I can use something easier to work with etc but this is what I would like to make the table out of. So back to the question at hand regardless of my expertise level, what would you do to straighten the planks? Perhaps i will practice on some easier wood and then tackle this - I am an amateur but not a complete beginner...

3. 
   jfsksa | Sep 23, 2011 02:35am | #3

   There are various articles online about flattening boards.  FW has several.  One good one involves making a sled to support the board when you run it through the planer.  I intend to try this.  In your case,  I would flatten the boards individually first.  Using clamps during glue up to force the boards flat (temporarily) creates tension that will be revealed when you remove the clamps.  The resulting table top will not be flat, and might be wider than your planer capacity.  

4. 
   roc | Sep 23, 2011 05:01am | #4

   I think your question is so broad it scares people off

   That is if there are any handtool woodworkers left in this chat room.

   (I am a ghost and so don't really count but I will haunt you until some one comes along.)

   Graeme,

   It is hard to stuff several years of handtool learning and experience into a reply in a chat room.  You need to go back and learn how to use the hand plane and that includes four squaring a board .

   That is what you are basically asking.  I suppose you could power sand the thing flat.  You could get a hand held power planer and use that.  Learning to do it first with handtools will make you a more aware power tool user.  Start there.

    four squaring a board :

   1.  Flatten one face.

   2.  Plane one edge square to that face.

   3.  Cut the opposite edge parallel to the first edge.

   4.  Plane it square to the flat face.

   5.  Cut the ends of the board to rough length

   6.  Plane the ends square to the flat face. ( yes you could use a power saw but learn to do it with the plane ).

   7.  Lay out your rough thickness all around the edges.

   8.  Plane the second face flat and to rough thickness.

   Once you can do this then you can prepare a second board and another etc.

   Then glue them  (joint them ) edge to edge.  When dry scrape off the glue and repeat the four squaring  on the glued up board.

   To chose and prepare the planes is a small book in its self.  Same goes for preparing your power sander/hand planer especially for hard exotic woods.

   Before anyone jumps in and says this is wrong because the boards will change as they are planed and need to be planed on the first side again after rough thicknessing . . . there . . . I said it.

   I am not sure what you  will see in your part of the world if you click on this link.  I am in America, The Wild Wild West in Colorado to be exact, and you should see a paper back book you could get here for five dollars plus shipping.  It is in my local library.  Perhaps it is in yours.  In any case it is called :  

   Nick Engler's Woodworking Wisdom

   http://www.amazon.com/Nick-englers-woodworking-wisdom-Engler/dp/0762101792/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1316761067&sr=1-1

   Read it.  Take notes.  Think , practice, reread.  Read most all the back issues of this magazine especially the ones from the seventies and eighties.

   You have your work cut out for you.  I expect a full report.  Take your time.  I can wait.  Check you again in about five years.  Ten is better.

   
5. 
   DonStephan | Sep 25, 2011 07:46pm | #5

   A jointer is the usual machine for flattening one side.  Feed the wood through with little or no downward pressure, so that the board is not distorted.  With light passes, the jointer only takes off the lowest points.  Once the bottom is flat a planer will make the top parallel to the now flat bottom.  Sticker the boards for at least a week and then re-check, as they may have warped after flattening.  Repeat as necessary unti the boards stay flat after stickering.

   Flattening can also be done with hand planes and more time.

6. 
   RalphBarker | Sep 27, 2011 04:13pm | #6

   warp

   In general, Graeme, wood is going to do whatever it wants. Internal tensions are created during the growth process of the tree, and milling it into lumber can release those tensions. Improper storage can introduce additional faults. Conventional thicknessing squeezes the board flat immediately in front of the cutters, and then removes material to make the board the same thickness. Upon exiting the thickness planer, the remaining board returns to its previous shape.

   Straightening usually involves removing the "naughty" parts of the board, leaving the "good" straight parts. Naturally, a much thinner board is the result. Thus, this is usually done prior to thicknessing to final dimensions.

   You might try storing the boards you have, with stickers  and under some weight for a while - a couple of months perhaps - and see how the boards react.

7. 
   roc | Sep 28, 2011 12:57am | #7

   Step by step

   Graeme,

   For some reason I did not receive an e-mail notice that you posted here again.  So I am behind in answering.

   >ideal way of doing it  <

   I can imagine that including many variables depending on the person including :

   the fastest way

   the most fun

   the most satisfying

   the most profitable

   the most impressive to the peers

   what tools are to hand

   etc

   What I was saying is once you can do it with hand tools then it will be obvious what you need to do with the power tools and you can more easily choose the best method open to you for each step to arrive at boards that are free of distortion.  If a power tool isn't producing the results intended you can more easily diagnoes the reason (dull blade(s), bed alignment) and correct it.

   There are many ways to do each step using power tools; some of them you have and others you may wish to acquire.

   As Ralph said though just running a plank through a thicknesser may seem like that is what you need to do to make it flat and the same thickness along its length but as you found out there is more to it than that.

   The hand tools can slow down the process enough and get you to concentrate on the details enough for you to see exactly what needs to happen.  Then on the next project you can gain speed on the big projects by using power tools.

   > wenge is a hard wood to plane!<

   I agree there.  A whole table of the stuff takes a huge amount of muscle power.  Makes one really appreciate power machines.

   Maybe make a small project with some wenge using only hand tools to learn then of course use the power tools as you like to get the big table job done.

   PS: I have had zero luck weighting dry wood to force it to straighten.  Once the weights, clamps , what have you are removed it goes right back to the shape it was in.