MisterDrow Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 Got some walnut milled up for another desk and noticed that one of the planks (the widest of them) has a lovely little bow in it (about halfway down the plank through to the end). Not horrible but enough that it made me cringe a bit. Normally I'd plane it out and mill the other boards to match but I fear that might make the top too thin (I've got it at 1" thick now). My question is, where that's the only one and the bow isn't bad, can I get away with using biscuits to help with alignment and just force it flat like the rest of the planks or am I asking for trouble there? I can press it flat on my own with very little effort but I don't want to run into problems down the line, either. My gut tells me I should just go buy another board but I REALLY don't want to have to do that right now. I await the comments/answers telling me to listen to my gut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 How many boards are in the glue up? If there was one board with a slight bow in 3 or 4 glue up, that would be further supported by a frame or something, I wouldn't hesitate to use Domino's for alignment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 I'm afraid hat your gut is speaking the truth. A small bow can be corrected with biscuits or dowels if the board is between two others. The problem lies down the road. There's no telling what it'll do in a month, or year. I'd go with your gut and be safe, not sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDrow Posted July 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 There are 5 boards total. The widest one (about 10") is going in the middle, the rest (about 6.5") go on either side. The widest one is the one that's developed the bow. The panel will be fastened down to 2 cantilever legs that span most of the distance of the panel underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 It will probably introduce some twist into the entire panel but since you'll be securing it to the aprons it probably won't matter. Hard to know what "a little bow" means though since that definition will vary from person to person. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDrow Posted July 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 When I lay the panels next to each other, it sticks up about 1/4" at the peak. Just a smooth curve over a span of about 28-30". I can press the board down flat with the rest of the panel by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 Don't know if biscuits will hold it until the glue sets up. If you're going to try it, I'd consider dowels instead. Dominos would be best but not everyone has a Domino. I think 1/4" is a lot to force a 1" thick board into alignment. I'd consider a new board if this is something which you will put a lot of work into. Another possibility would be to rip this board in half and then, when gluing up it would be a bit more flexible to keep in place. Also, I'd agree that, if the top will be held in place by structure underneath at various places (especially in the center), then I wouldn't worry too much about what will happen over time once the desk is assembled and glued (and/or screwed to the top). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris208 Posted July 19, 2017 Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 Cory, I think it will be fine, but getting a new board would be safest. Is there structure to secure the panel to near the middle of the bow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDrow Posted July 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 1 hour ago, Chris208 said: Cory, I think it will be fine, but getting a new board would be safest. Is there structure to secure the panel to near the middle of the bow? Yeah, there is. One of the cantilever legs will go right through there if I continue as is. Also, I looked at it again last night and the bow isn't as bad as I thought--only about 1/8" off variance at the center. I'll mess w/ it a bit tonight and see how comfortable I am just going with it, even though in the end I may just end up listening to my gut and relegate this board to making small boxes and cutting boards. I'm on a time crunch with this desk and haven't been able to make it to the lumber yard due to being busy at work. I am hearing myself from another thread on here where I told someone that rushing through a project rarely ends well so maybe I just need to come in to work early one day so I've got time to swing by the lumber yard and tell my friend that it'll be another week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDrow Posted July 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 Spoke w/ my friend whom the desk is for, looks like we're just going to snag another board. Worst-case, we have extra wood to trim out a couple smaller things he and I talked about and maybe make a cutting board or two for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted July 19, 2017 Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 You could probably get that out, but the result would be a board at 3/4 thick. What's the reason you cant take it under 1" I think 3/4 is enough thickness for a top. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterDrow Posted July 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 Yeah, 3/4 would be thick enough but he wants it as close to 1" as possible so that's what we're shooting for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.