Replies

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 03, 2009 01:35pm | #1

   bob,

   There are several ways to skin this cat and it depends.  Don't you like hearing that, it depends.  Instills lots of confidence don't it. :-)  These are axioms many woodworkers use.  Another is the infamous slippery slope.

   I would first determine how much of a straight board I can get out of the bowed stock.  In other words measure and mark a straight board on the bowed one.  This will tell you which parts you need to mill in order to end up with a straight board.  You should end up with a convex side and a concave side relative to the marked straight board. 

   To me the big issue (slippery slope) is that a bowed board may not always be bowed exactly the same at both ends.  This is where the it depends comes in.  Oh yeah and this is but one way to skin this cat.  You will probably hear others too. 

   I like to start with the concave side and using either a hand plane or a jointer work on the parts at each end of the concave side until that side is straight along the marked line; the goal being to get one side as straight as possible.  This creates what I call the newly straightened edge.

   On a long board I will often clamp a cutters edge (8' straight edge) to my tablesaw fence and, placing the newly straightened edge against it, rip off the opposite side (convex) a bit on the waste side.   Then flip the board and trim the newly straightened edge, just skimming it to remove any irregularities I may have introduced when creating the newly straightened edge.

   Hope this helps,

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   tenderfootbob | Mar 04, 2009 05:08am | #10

   Bob

   Thanks for your thoughtful solution. The solution was directed however at correcting a "crook" or concave situation along the edge or thickness of a board. My problem is across the width of the board, where a bow is from one end of the board to the other, with the both ends higher than the middle. Any ideas?

   Tenderfoot Bob

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 04, 2009 05:39am | #12

   bob,

   I'm curious as to how it bowed, i.e. it wasn't stored flat or did it bow by itself from internal stress?  If it was stress then you may not be able to eliminate it and if the bow is significant then it might be better to select aanother one.  Yeah, you prolly don't see that as a solution.

   If the board is bowed from improper storage then your idea may work but may take some time and success might be iffy at best.  I would think that given the length required for a rail I would use it such that the bow faces toward the inside of the bed and brace it to make it straight.

   I also think the best solution is to use a straight board but that may not be an option for you.  You haven't told us how much bow there is but I'm assuming that if planed out, the board would be so thin as to be useless in your application.

   Beds typically have slats in them to support the mattress and box spring so if you feel confident they will hold it straight.....

   Can you give us more details as to how the bed will be constructed, particularly the rail/post details?  Will there be a ledger board attached to the rail to support slats?  Perhaps a ledger board that is sufficiently wide might straighten out the bow enough?

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   tenderfootbob | Mar 04, 2009 08:24am | #14

   The hard maple rail has dimensions of: 75" x 6" x 11/4". I bought the board with a 1/8" bow.

   Tenderfoot Bob

    

2. 
   billy5151 | Mar 03, 2009 02:07pm | #2

   I'm not sure which way (which plane) the board is bowed. When the board is lying flat on a surface is it curved, or "humped-up"?

   If it is curved then use a hand plane to make it straight. If it's humped-up then you can try the weight and water method. But if the rail is only to be fastened at each end, the board will want to curve again. After making the board straight, can you attach a "stiff-back" to the inside of the rail?

   Just my two cents worth (you get what you pay for)

   Bill D.

   "If I can turn it into saw dust, I can handle it"

1. 
   SgianDubh | Mar 03, 2009 03:39pm | #3

   Bowed in woodworking parlance means only one thing billy.  Here are some definitions you might find useful. Slainte.

   Warp is a general term indicating distortion of some sort in a plank. The following sub-categories more precisely describe warp.

   1. Cupping across the width is the most common warp that shows in tangentially cut boards and the concavity normally faces the bark side of the tree.

   2. Spring, crook, or edge bend means the edge of the board is not straight. The concavity usually faces towards the tree’s pith and is the result of differential shrinkage along the length of the grain, particularly due to the larger shrinkage factors that juvenile wood at the core of the tree exhibits.

   3. Bowing shows as an end to end bend along the length of the wide face of a plank. As with crook, the bow most often faces towards the heart of the tree.

   4. ‘In winding’ or twist. Differential shrinkage, usually in all three planes- tangential, radial and longitudinal, causes the plank to resemble a propeller. Very often a contributory cause is reaction wood, either compression or tension wood, or juvenile wood. Another common cause of the fault is spiral grain.

   5. Kink. A sharp deviation usually on an edge; a typical cause is a knot that shows on the edge.

   Richard Jones Furniture

   Edited 3/3/2009 9:54 am by SgianDubh

1. 
   joinerswork | Mar 03, 2009 04:07pm | #4

   Richard,

   Couple more terms, used here locally:

   Hog-backed: Same as  your #3, but viewed from the top face.

   Skow-wow: Condition that combines your #'s 1, 2, 3, 4, and occasionally, 5

   Still trying to attain footnote status in your book;-)

   And to the original poster: a bad warp can be jointed or planed out per Bob's instructions, but will often return as the stock is planed to finished thickness, as additional stresses are released.

   Ray

1. 
   SgianDubh | Mar 03, 2009 09:51pm | #6

   You just did Ray. Below is how my text looks now along with the attribution and listing in the bibliography, all proper and correct as per Harvard Referencing.

   If you want me to be more specific about which part of the USA, you'd better let me know again. I've read of your location somewhere, but I've forgotten. Slainte.

   Bowing shows as an end to end bend along the length of the wide face of a plank. In parts of the USA this condition is called “Hog-backed, same as [this description] but viewed from the top face”. (Pine, 2009)

   Richard Jones Furniture

   Edited 3/3/2009 1:52 pm by SgianDubh

1. 
   joinerswork | Mar 03, 2009 10:08pm | #8

   Richard,

   I'm touched.

   Ray

2. 
   calvinhobbs | Mar 03, 2009 10:00pm | #7

   Ray,

   You forgot Catty-wampus, or as I was taught by Ben Sr.  Cal

1. 
   joinerswork | Mar 03, 2009 10:14pm | #9

   Cal,

   I thought it was catty wampus (out of square) if it only fit one way when it was kitty-cornered (diagonal).  That is, loose enough to throw a cat through.  Or, alternatively, so tight, you couldn't cuss a cat in it, without getting fur in your mouth.

   Ray

2. 
   Thorvald | Mar 04, 2009 05:18am | #11

   Ray,

   I think the problem the OP is describing is what I would term a "wow" in the board rather than a "bow."  However, if the plank is defective in both directions, i.e., it has a bow-wow, cussing the cat won't help.  The only thing that will help is a hair of the dog, which is like a mouth full of fur sometimes, but much more effective.  Matter of fact, I think I'll try one now!Verne

   If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to cut it up and make something with it . . . what a waste!<!----><!----><!---->

3. 
   joinerswork | Mar 04, 2009 07:54am | #13

   Verne,

   I've been doggedly trying to make sense of this thread but it's occurred to me that there is none. Think I'll go to bed as I'm feline a little tired.

   Ray

2. 
   billy5151 | Mar 03, 2009 04:17pm | #5

   Thanks I am much educated now.

   Bill D.