Gary:
I am making up some raised panel doors out of South Amercian Mahogany for a kitchen. All the frames will be 2″ X 3/4″. I’ve been starting with approx 6/4 that is approx 7″ wide. I joint a face and edge. Now, before I rip to final dimension is it better to rip first and then thickness plane or thickness plane down to 3/4 and then rip to 2″? Or should I always rip a bit bigger to allow for movement? I am just trying to minimize movement/waste.
Replies
I always rough mill first and look for movement. I once cut up a 1x3" piece of Honduras mahogany, one of the more stable woods of the world, on my band saw. Before I finished ripping it, it split apart on me because of the hidden tension in the board caused by improper drying.
I have to ask, are you really going to waste 3/4" of material taking your 6/4 stock down to 3/4"? Here's what I would do instead.
Rough rip to width, say 2 1/8". Let the board move if it wants to. You still have plenty of width to play with. Then rip the stock down, on the band saw, to 7/8" thickness. Now you've got your rough milled stock, and pieces of 1/2" stock or so for another project. Then joint one face and plane to 3/4" and joint one edge and rip to your 2" width.
I prefer rough milling my stock down first to absolutely minimize waste and loss to improper drying, so rip first and then thickness. Good luck.
Gary Rogowski
Director
The Northwest Woodworking Studio
thanks-I'll give that a try.
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