Replies

1. 
   HWG | Nov 15, 2005 12:49am | #1

   Bill, depending on how warped they are, you will likely need to rip them.  Usually with wide boards there is no thickness left after you remove enough wood to make the flat, even if you have a wide jointer.  There is much less wood to remove with two narrow boards to make them flat than with one wide one.  Lay a staightedge across the ends and check to see.

   Woody

2. 
   tailsorpins | Nov 15, 2005 01:13am | #2

   Don't get in a rush to smooth the boards.  Maximize your yield by cutting the twisted and/or warped planks to slightly oversize dimensions before beginning surfacing.  If you need a flat 1 x 12 x 6', no sense planing a 10' board flat, then thicknessing, .. cut it to a rough length first.  Do only the 6'-2" long rough plank.

   I've seen entire loads of 5/4 and 6/4 by 10', slightly warped and twisted, reduced to 3/4 milled lumber the full 10' ..... only to be cut to lengths of 5' or less, and the owner wishing he had some thicker material!

   Good Luck,

   John in Texas

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Nov 15, 2005 01:37am | #3

   I'll second what John said.  Don't dimension the lumber until you know what the dimensions are going to end up. 

2. 
   jazzdogg | Nov 18, 2005 04:15am | #5

   I also agree wholeheartedly with John: wait until you have firm plans for the lumber, then break down the roughsawn lumber into manageable pieces to make tham easier to work with while simultaneously increasing your yield.

   Good luck,-Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

3. 
   forestgirl | Nov 15, 2005 10:39am | #4

   Another option for flatting one face of a wide board is to build a sled and use a router with a 1" or so planing bit.  Article not too long ago -- was it FWW or one of the other mags?  Can't remember.

   When you have one flat face, you can plane the other.  Another option is to use a sled for your plane and shim the piece level to get one flat face.  Then flip over and plane the other side, shims not needed.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

4. 
   ned7 | Nov 18, 2005 06:43pm | #6

   Hi Bill,

   I'll echo what the others are saying, don't do anything until you know what sizes you need. Also, you can build a sled for the planer to allow you to remove the warp and twist. I saw it in one of Taunton's books on building a workbench. I think the book is simply called The Workbench by Schleining. It is a pretty good read, and has other useful tips about building a bench, including good reasons to buy one.

5. 
   Elcoholic | Nov 20, 2005 12:13am | #7

   I vote for wide boards.  A simple sled of 3/4 sheet goods and a couple of cross blocks is all you need to use your planer.  Shim the board approx level and screw a block to the sled at each end of the board.  Screw through the blocks into the end grain of the board.  I staple or brad or use double stick tape to attach the shims to the sled and run the whole mess through my planer.  Like the others said, rough cut to size 1st then flatten to maximize your yield.  If there's too much twist or warp then you have to rip, flatten and edge glue.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   The more things change ...

   We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized.  I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

   Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC

6. 
   Midnight | Nov 20, 2005 01:39am | #8

   for me, its a no brainer... hand planes would be the way to go...

   Mike Wallace

   Stay safe....Have fun