I am wondering if anyone has a similar problem with wood movement. <!—-><!—-><!—->
I work a lot with Red Oak, I usually buy rough boards 4/4 random widths. I let them acclimate to my basement for at least a week. When I go to use the stock I rough plane, taking material from both sides as equally as I can. Then I let them sit for a week before I finish plane. <!—-><!—->
What happens to some of the pieces is what looks like stress cracks on panels for doors or even 2″ wide pieces. This has been happening for different lots of oak I have bought over the last 20 years or so. There can be swings in humidity in my basement from the summer to the winter when I burn my wood stove. The basement never gets below 40% or seems to get above 50% relative humidity but I suppose it could droping drastically from an overheated basement (80 degrees or so)<!—-><!—->
Is this a normal condition for Red Oak which seems to move quite a bit anyway? Once I have sealed a project with some sort of finish I have never had any problems. <!—-><!—->
The other thing that happens is pieces that were flat get a slight bow in them which makes me think my wood stove is drying them out on the exposed side.
<!—-> <!—->
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Replies
Hi I have used a great deal of red oak and it does have a great deal of movement.But OI also do this with all my woods.Here is a suggestion that works pretty good for me.Any time I plane wood I stack it just like you would with green wood Putting sticker strips between all boards about 6" to a foot apart.Be sure and seal the end grain with a latex paint or wax.Then what I do is put cinder block wieghts on it to help hold it flat and I don't take the wieght off untill I am ready to use it.Hope this works for you.Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I suspect you would have this problem regardless of planning. Keep the raugh sawn stickered as flat as possible in your basement. Paint the end grain and leave it for a month before using. I'll bet you will see a big difference
dp
If you really want to figure out what is going on, get a moisture meter and track the dryness at various points on both sides of your boards. When it all equalizes at 8-12% you're ready to build. You may find yourself a system that works OK most of the time, but without the meter you're hit and miss.
DR
PS - red oak is very susceptible to moisture changes. If the environment is tricky, why not use something else?
I think you have the best advice. One thing I should clarify is the wood is kiln dried. Its just not planed yet, that's what I meant . What may be happening is by burning a wood fire its drying my boards from the exposed sides. I have pieces laying face down on my workbench so perhaps the second thing I should do is sticker everything. What has suprised me is boards that have been down in the shop for months suddenly spliting like there is some sort of built in stress. Thanks for your reply.
I would bet that the planing is introducing machining stresses which are relieving themselves by cupping or twisting the wood. Laying the boards on the workbench would also contribute to the problem since the wood can't "breath" on one side so the temp/humidity changes aren't even. Stickering should help by allowing air circulation on both sides.
Finally, you might try sitting a pan of water on your wood stove. Heat from wood stoves is as dry as dust and sitting a pan of water on the stove is an effective way to add some humidity.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled