James W Prichard Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 OK, I'm a newbie to the forum. I am trying to get a wood shop set up in the garage and want to laminate some boards together (think Roubo). I found this Oregon Ash at a good price. After driving 60 miles to get it, I could have kicked myself. All of it was bowed to one extent or another. No cupping or other funky movement. The wood is 8/4 Oregon Ash, 8' long and 6" wide. It has been air drying for a little over a year and its current moisture content (as taken with a Harbor Freight moisture meter, so plus or minus…) is a pretty consistent 11%. There are a total of eight boards. The worst bow is a 1 in. rise off the ground over the eight foot length. The smallest bow is 3/8. I tried pairing them up (bows facing) and placing a 1" spacer mid-span for the most bowed boards. I clamps both ends together and tried wetting the concave sides to try and ease the stress. They were left clamped for four days and there was no change. Are these too bowed to use in a workbench top (even if I alternate the bows… bows not facing the same direction)? Thank you for your help! James P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 I think you will be able to use the stock you'll just end up with a thinner top - of course it depends how long you are making the bench. 1" bow is large and you may have to use that elsewhere. Having said that you may be able to clip the ends off as the photos seem to show more bow at either end. The centre portions look relatively straight so you may just end up with a slightly shorter bench . Don't forget really it's only the top surface that needs to be reasonably flat. One thing is sure no amount of wetting or clamping will straighten those boards. They need properly milling. Even then as you say it is air dried you may find that the newly exposed wood may have more moisture content than you think and it will start to move again. Don't be disheartened though as wood always moves. Welcome to the forum BTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 I avoid bowed boards like the plague...but now that you have them, try this: Glue two boards with similar bows together, concave faces in. Clamp them hard and let them cure completely...at least 24 hours. It's possible that they'll cancel each other's bows out to some degree. THEN mill that glue-up to flat and square. Repeat for the remaining boards if it works. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James W Prichard Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Thank you both for the responses! James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 I would chop it into shorter pieces stagger randomly and finger joint. This should let you retain thickness. I don't think the joints will be an issue for a bench if your careful with squaring and clamping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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