Did I messed up how I handled cupped stock?


Tony Wilkins

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I've got white pine that I'm (finally) making my Dutch tool chest out of. It was dimensional 1x12 as CS talks about in his article on it. After acclimating in my shop, it got a pretty good cup in it. I started planning it down flat. It just happens that a couple of videos I've watched lately - Woodwright shop and Paul Sellers - talk about not fixing the cup and letting the joinery straighten out the piece.  I measure and the first planed board lost about a 1/16th.

Did I make a mistake in planing it down? Will it be too thin for a tool chest?

Ive got enough stock to recut the sides that I've planed no problem and I can use these pieces for drawer sides later on.

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You may still get away with using it, but in the future planing a cupped board is a bad idea.. if anything joint the face again...or use some flat stock and clamps leaving the face thats cupped exposed and spray the cupped side with water...wipe with damp rag. Do that for a few days in a warm enviroment keeping it in the clamps. If it doesnt pull back you can steam it a bit with an iron. If it still doesn't pull back enough for your joinery to hold it, burn it and run back to the hardwood dealer.

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I doubt you'll miss 1/16.  Especially with hand tools, it helps to do relative measurement when putting things together, so whatever dimension something is exactly is less important than that it matches its mates. 

 

Another way to handle cup without taking thickness is to lose some width.  Rip the board at the center of the cup and then clamp and rejoint the edge with your jointer plane.  Then glue them back up like any old panel glue up.  This sounds like it won't work as well as it does, since most of the grain that just cupped on you is still there, but with a kerf's worth removed and the fibers severed in the process I haven't had a board recup after doing this. 

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