I resawed a wide board of tulip poplar to 3/8 inch thick. The resulting thin board cupped. I now need to glue this to a flat surface. I think that just forcing it flat will cause it to split. Should I steam it? And if I do, what glue should I use on the slightly damp wood that will result? Will steaming it cause any color change?
Thanks
Replies
If the one resaw you've done hasn't used up the material you have available, you might consider doing the glue-up first, then resawing, and consider the first attempt part of a learning curve. That way you don't destabilize the material until you've already backed it up.
Steam not needed. Place the concave side down on a damp lawn, or towel, out in the sun. Give it about 30 minutes & it'll be flat again.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Newtrava, I see that you are new here. While I hope you feel welcome here, I would just like to offer a suggestion. When you ask a question, it would really be helpful if you would try to give more information when you ask a question.
Only giving one dimension of a three dimension object leaves a lot to interpretation and wide is not descriptive enough for everyone to know even close to what you are up to.
Most of the time. When you resaw a board, if it cups, indicates a moisture gradient, or that it is more moist on the inside or outside, depending on which way it cupped.
I will just say, that I think gluing a 3/8" thick veneer onto a substrate that will not move in the same way doesn't sound like a good idea to me, and wetting one side might just make failure later more likely.
And believe it or not, just posting your location in your profile can be important information for a good answer whether you know it or not, so please click your name, and fill something in.
I'll take your advice, Keith, so here is the long version. I made a small cabinet for fastenings having 16 drawers. The case dimensions are 23 inches wide by 14 inches high by 14 inches deep. The sides, bottom and top were made of 3/4 inch tulip poplar boards edge joined to achieve sufficient width. The grain of the boards all runs parallel to the front edge of the cabinet, that is not back to front. This was supposed to be just a simple throw-it -together cabinet for the workshop.Then unfortunately I came across an old growth tulip poplar 5/4 board 15 inches wide with a beautiful dark color. And it occurred to me that I could laminate ####veneer of this onto the cabinet for a more interesting appearance. I use only hand tools. So I four squared the board and then with a handsaw resawed it to create two boards. Each of these boards,now about 3/8 inch thick by 15 inches wide by 30 inches long, cupped in the opposite direction.I thought it was more a matter of a release of internal tension than differential moisture content, as the boards have sat now for over a year on a lumber rack well away from any moisture source.Once glued in place I anticipate planing the veneers to about 1/4 inch thick. This is to match the thickness of a hard maple molding (for contrasting color) that I have already glued to the edge of cabinet. The grain direction of the veneers will be the same as the substrate.So here we are back to the original question. As you can see I have painted myself into a corner. What are your thoughts?
Newtrva, You still haven't done it all. Shall I assume that the VA in the end of your name is for Virginia? When you re-sawed is the concave side out or is that the convex side? Was the wood ever kiln dried? How has the weather been wherever in the world you are, and has this board been exposed to the outside atmosphere since it was KD? Are you telling me that you actually re-sawed the whole 15" by hand? If so, what kind of saw did you use? I can see why you don't want to loose the effort you have invested in this wood.I would still like to hear your answers, but if you have a car, and if it will be hot sunny tomorrow. You could start by parking it in the sun, and leave the wood in it with the concave sides inward, with a couple of spring clamps holding it together this way. The hot air will absorb the extra moisture out of the convex / humped side, taking some pressure off of that side. Is that clear enough to understand? I don't like adding more water to flatten wood, which may already have too high a MC for how you want to use it. Now click on newtrva in blue, then change profile, and name a state and city. You can lie about the city, but at least make it close to where you are. It is important to those of us who are here offering free advice, who would like to keep it relevant. You don't want someone from Death Valley giving someone from Central America advice on air drying wood do you?I normally just pass on spending time on post like this, when that information is missing, and if you want any other advice it is required of you. Good luck on the project. K
I've updated the profile, and indeed the location is Richmond, Virginia.I did the resawing about a year ago, so my recollection is not clear. I think each half cupped away from the center, that is concave side out. I do not know if the wood was kiln dried. I purchased it from a covered but not climate controlled lumber yard. The wood has stayed in my attached but not climate controlled garage during that year. It has always remained cupped in the same direction, although I have not closely watched the amount of curvature in different seasons. I was actually able to glue the other half of this resaw to one end of the cabinet simply by spreading the glue and clamping, but at the present time the remaining side is cupped just over 1/4 inch over its 15 inch width, and I'm concerned about cracking. Yes I did actually resaw the 15 inch wide board by hand using a standard rip handsaw. Hard to believe, isn't it? (I've actually been thinking of making a veneer saw like one I saw at the cabinet maker's shop at Colonial Williamsburg.)Thanks for the help.
Well Newt, thanks for doing that. I already feel like I know you better.I am betting that the wood was air dried, because if it had been KD, it would have been drier in the middle, and would probably have gained moisture on the outside, which would have made it go the other way. Since you don't know how high the MC is, I would not do anything to add more to the concave side, but would rather have you try to just take the moisture out of the convex side. As someone earlier stated, you can lay it out in your yard, and it will pick up mc on the bottom while giving it up on the top. You will get the same end results just by doing one without the other. You can just lay it on something dry, and let the Sun do its work on only the top without changing the other side. A few years ago I tried to deliver a couple of finished table leaves that I had made for a customer. They were not home, and I forgot to take them out of the car when I got home. The next day when I remembered them, they had bow away from each other as they stood on edge behind the front seats. After the initial shock of thinking they were ruined, I did a head slap, then just reversed their position, and a couple of hours later, they were back to normal. You can get the same results in a hot attic, and maybe a piece of foil or clamped to another board to block the air from getting to the already concave side. If you just glue a too wet veneer of that thickness onto a substrate, then later have it dry, it will likely split, and break its glueline. That is just too thick to use for a face veneer, and the main reason thinner veneer is used there.
Just to let you know--- When you are getting advice from Keith N, you are in good hands. Some of us are not so professional.
I was not going to post.. I have one of those steamers for drapes, clothes and such.
This year I had a slight mishap with a curved hunk of QS Oak for a child rocking chair I made.. Just needed a 'bit' more bend. I filled it with water and as it heated it up I put my bad stick back on the form.. Put a plastic bag over the farm with stick and had a beer or two.. Went back on occasion to see if the water ran out.. When the water ran out I just unplugged the steamer. And went to bed.. Let it sit a day or so.. PERFECT!
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