lewisc Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I'm preparing timber for a small shaker table - http://www.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/HiRes-SEPT2004-Seg2.pdf Which would you choose for the table top grain alignment? I'm leaning towards the one with the swirly grain on the outside. Thoughts? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Yep, the first picture is a better grain match.. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 5 minutes ago, TIODS said: Yep, the first picture is a better grain match.. + 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Definately #1. The glue line about disappears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Wright Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 #1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Definitely the first picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Thanks for the confirmation. The reason I ask is I'm a bit unsure about matching the grain to reduce movement.I've got a bit more reading to do on the topic. Would it matter in a table top this small? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 5 minutes ago, lewisc said: Thanks for the confirmation. The reason I ask is I'm a bit unsure about matching the grain to reduce movement.I've got a bit more reading to do on the topic. Would it matter in a table top this small? The reason for most seams in table tops is to reduce/limit wood movement. If you can hide that seam at the same time and produce the look of one board, you're ahead of the game. The size of the top is irrelevant! If you must use multiple boards, it's generally best to try and hide the seam. If you can't hide the seam, then turn it into a feature and do what you can with it. I your case, the seam is textbook to hide it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisc Posted May 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 I just found this little bit of info in the table plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Thanks for the confirmation. The reason I ask is I'm a bit unsure about matching the grain to reduce movement.I've got a bit more reading to do on the topic. Would it matter in a table top this small? Short answer: No. You can edge glue the boards in whatever orientation you please and it won't self-destruct. The goal is to make a pretty panel (your first effort is the clear winner) with bonus points if you can make a panel that is easy to plane. Have you checked which direction these boards want to be planed? If the next step after gluing is a sander it doesn't matter. But it is a good habit to get into. Sent from my QTAIR7 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwk5017 Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 11 hours ago, lewisc said: I just found this little bit of info in the table plans. Damn, what is this source? This whole time I make that exact effort to alternate growth patterns and it could be all for naught! agreed, you always want to match up vertical grain when you can because it's so easy to blend. I will say that your panel in question look so odd to me, because they are bass ackwards to how a real board looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bombarde16 Posted May 5, 2016 Report Share Posted May 5, 2016 Wondering out loud: What if the old wives' tale about alternating growth rings up and down isn't about warpage but about aesthetics? Assume we're gluing up a tabletop with flatsawn boards. Nice cathedral patterns that feather out to rift sawn grain at the edges. Assume further that we're doing our surface prep with a hand plane. Insofar as it's possible, we want the entire top to be plane-able in one direction. If you alternate your boards growth rings up and down, this would imply that your cathedrals would also alternate. i.e. The first board's growth rings are up and the cathedrals point to one end of the table. The next board's rings are down, so the cathedrals point to the opposite end of the table. And so on. The grain of your table top now suggests sine waves instead of arrows pointing in one direction. Not sure if this would be such an aesthetic boon as to warrant generalizing, but that's what came to mind. Back to my tater tots. Dinner is getting cold. Sent from my QTAIR7 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown craftsman Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 My rule for tables is to never glue the inside of the tree to the out of the tree.This always works for me and picking out the boards for the top . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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