(08-25-2017, 08:04 AM)DarrellC Wrote: I purchased some 5/4 white oak from a supplier in north GA. They planed it and ripped one edge. when I got it home I found that only two out of six had straight edges. I need to edge glue for a table top. how do I get straight edges on them. I thought of taking one of the straight ones and attaching to the bowed ones and run them through the table saw. Is there a better way? would this work? they are 8' long and 5-8" wide.
There are so many factors involved to much to get into here.
First, is this air dried or kiln dried wood? The fact they did not remain straight tells you there is internal stress. If the wood is not acclimated you also will have issues. This depends on when the wood came off the mill and how long its been stickered. Air dried wood tends to have less stress than kiln dried. Wood that is not acclimated or drying unevenly will also have cupping problems this is something you need to be concerned the wider boards.
You also have to look closely at how/where you are acclimating the wood. If you are in a humid environment the process takes a lot longer.
Regardless, you need to be VERY careful how you process this wood and how fast you go to glue up or you will be in for a lot of frustration. If the wood is still moving and you are glued up, it will be a disaster for a table top.
Coincidentally, I just pulled several quarter sawn white oak boards out for a table I will be building. I will cut to rough lengths, do a skip plane, sticker and forget about them for at least a month. Then I will do several phases of face and edge jointing. I am not planning on a glue up till early November. And this is kiln dried wood.
Here's what I would do:
1. Using a straight edge guide, rip one edge with a circular saw. You're not trying to get it perfect at this point you're only trying to see if the wood will hold.
2. Stack and sticker the wood for 1 week.
3. Re-assess. Re-rip if still getting a little bowing, and leave the wood in stickers for 1-2 weeks.
4. If the wood is maintaining, joint one edge. If you don't have a jointer or a track saw this is going to be an iffy process, but doable if you are willing to fine tune with a hand plane. I find a 6' level helps a lot as a straight edge. You could also take the wood back and let them joint it for you.
5. If the wood is continuing to bow, there is too much internal stress. In which case you need to open up the board by ripping down the middle. Resticker for a week or 2 and repeat the process.
6. Once you've determined the wood is a) de-stressed and b) jointed go straight to glue up right away.
You also need to check for wind, but that's a whole 'nother issue. Minor twisting and bowing can be taken out with clamps, but there is a limit to what you can do with 8" wide oak boards.
Best rule of thumb is keep the panel thick, wide and long as long as possible (never plane to final width). Always do your milling and jointing in increments.
And be patient.
Hope this helps
