How to mill rough lumber

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Rhythm House Drums

New User
Kevin
So I've heard a few different approaches... I'm not talking about skip planing or milling a log, I'm talking about when I bring in rough cut lumber to the shop... what to do to square it up...

I've heard to let it sit in the shop for a few days before working it... What do you do if your shop isn't temp controlled. would you leave the lumber inside your house till you are ready to use it.. assuming the piece the wood is for will live inside...

Next step is plane a face, then edge then other face, than square on a table saw... I've read two different things here. One is to do the process all on the same day. The other is to surface one side/face and then let it sit for a few days before doing the other side/face and squaring it up. But the reasoning is the same for both... the first method says that by doing it all at the same time you are exposing the whole piece to the same moisture content so it drys evenly. The other says that you do it in stages so that it doesn't warp, and dries evenly..

What's the most common way? What do you all do?

I have the issue of a lot of my boards warping after I square them. I usually let the wood sit either in my house or in my shed for a few weeks before using it. They are kiln dried to 6-8% I think (walnut wood).. I've never actually tested the moisture content. I get the wood shipped in from out of state (going to change suppliers soon.. just gotta get up with Kyle when I'm ready for more wood) I guess it could just be the wood?? I usually joint one edge and once face and let it sit for at least a day before I plane it to thickness and square it off. Where I get the warping is after I do this I let them sit again.. (I've cut them to a specific size now) then I rip the boards at an angle to make a V... the cuts are fine until a few days later. Most of them are fine, or not bad enough to worry about, some pieces I scrap.. but it happens often so I'm wondering if it's something I'm doing wrong. Most of the warping is a crook. The staves are about 25" long and 2" wide and 5/8" to 3/4" thick.

Any advice would be great.
 

Sully

New User
jay
Are you stickering the boards after you mill them? If not, one face of the board could absorb moisture more selectively than the other and can cause warping. That is the certainly not the only cause of warpage, but is one then to keep in mind. What is the moisture content of the rough lumber you are using?

In terms of the milling process, I actually joint one face and then let it sit in the shop. My shop is not temperature controlled. I then thickness the plane the other side before I edge joint. I find doing it this way makes it easier to minimize edge tearout since I can joint the edge relative to either face and hence account for the grain direction on the edge. Then, like you, the final step is ripping to width on the table saw.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
Are you removing an equal amount of wood from each side of the board?

If you joint one side then plane all of the thickness from only one side that could explain the warping.
 

Tarhead

Mark
Corporate Member
"Where I get the warping is after I do this I let them sit again.. "


Patient: "Doctor when I turn my head this way it hurts."

Doctor: "Don't turn your head that way."





Seriously.....wood has a lot of tension in it and as you remove layers of it's superstructure it tries to reach a new equal tension between surfaces. If the grain is not perfectly equal that process results in warping. You need to use the pieces within a few hours of milling to final dimension if the lumber is doing this. Some species are not as reactive. Quartersawn lumber is more stable.
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
Here's my method...

When gluing up panels I try and not glue up a board that's wider than 3" for flat sawn lumber and 6" for rift of quarter sawn. The reason is flat sawn stock has a bad tendency to want to cup.

* First I skip plan using a thickness planer a 4/4 board at it's full width to an 1 or 1 1/16" thick (depending on how thick the lumber was cut at the saw mill. 4/4 should come off the mill @ atleast 1 1/8" thick.

* Then I rip the board into strips on the table saw both edges get sawn to 1/4" over the size of the strip I want.

* I then run the strips through my surface planer (not thickness planer) on edge keeping them square with a jig I made - I take a 1/8 off each edge. This leaves the board with two nice parallel square edges.

* I then glue edge glue the panel up - I could really care if the faces of the boards are dressed at this point as long as the edges are dressed. I don't use any briskets or dowels for alignment (remember the boards are way thicker than the final thickness. I just use glue and a mallet to set the boards so they are somewhat the same height as it's neighbor.

* When the clamps are on and tightened down - I spread the glue out so I don't have any big glue balls. I usally keep the panel in the clamps overnight but I understand you can take them out sooner.

* After the glue is dry, I take the panel out of the clamps and skip plan one side of my surface planer to the same thickness as when I originally skipped planed the wood. Then I flip the panel over and take off a 1/16 of an inch. flip again take of another 1/16. At this point both faces are usually fairly dressed. but just to be sure I then take off 1/32 from both faces. This will leave me with a 7/8 thick nicely planed wide panel.

* I then sticker the panels until I get ready to use them - like in the picture below. This keeps them nice and flat. I used to have all kinds of problems until I started sticking over sized panels. The surface you stick your panels on must be as close to perfectly flat as possible eles it'll show up in your finished panels. Keep the first row of panels off the floor a good few inches and use 3/4" dressed sticks that run a few inches longer than your panel rows are are wide. This allows air to circulate through and around the stack.

* When I get ready to build what ever it is I'm going to use the panels for - they go through the drum sander by taking a 1/16" off each face - this will leave me with a 3/4 thick panel. I do this as I'm using the panels so they become a part of whatever it is I'm building asap.

I Hope this helps... I really like my surface planer it's great for this kind of work and does a good job straightening things out - much better than my thickness planer would. I don't use my jointer much when making up panels - only if I have a wild board...

0130111609a.jpg
 

LeftyTom

Tom
Corporate Member
I understand "taking equal amounts off both sides". Is this done after you have both faces pretty much flat? I start by jointing one edge, the jointing one face. Then I plane the rough face until it is almost completely smooth. Then I switch to the "Finishing" speed on my planer, and try to take equal passes on both faces to get the board to the thickness I want.
 

CrealBilly

New User
Jeff
I understand "taking equal amounts off both sides". Is this done after you have both faces pretty much flat? I start by jointing one edge, the jointing one face. Then I plane the rough face until it is almost completely smooth. Then I switch to the "Finishing" speed on my planer, and try to take equal passes on both faces to get the board to the thickness I want.

I think your thinking along the right lines... I only use my jointer if I have a wild board. Generally speaking wood tension is built up from the center outward - so by removing a fairly equal amount off each face after you have straightened the board out on a jointer - it should stay pretty straight. Ofcourse wood is wood and there is no perfect recipe, sometime it takes many different approaches... I've even snapped a chalk line and cut along the line with a skill saw to get a straight edge on a crooked board (poplar is notorious for it's crooked behavior). But If I wanted perfection I would work with man made materials like plastic or maybe natural material like rock. Truth of the matter is wood is wood, it once was alive and filled with water. Even after it's dried out it's still gonna move somewhat. Wood swells and shrinks based on the environment it's in.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
I usually do not worry too much about warping because what I am making will tend to compensate. For instance, I just finished two end tables for my daughter out of cherry. The sides and back are made like flat panel doors. If they are not flat, they will be when I fasten them to the other two pieces. Boxes like this will equalize minor warping. The top is a solid piece made up of two wide boards for one and three narrower for the other. They were glued up after running through my Ryobi AP-10 thickness planner. I have a fairly wide jointer, 8 5/8 (INCA) but I rarely use it. I would get flatter stock if I did but it normally doesn't matter.

Doors, especially if they are large, are something that you can't pull the warp out of and should be jointed on a face, then edge, then planned to thickness. If you will cut narrower pieces out of a wide board, it is wise to cut them wider than you need because they may warp along their length. Then rejoint an edge and then rip to final width.

Another thing to consider is the type of wood. Walnut hardwood is often made of the limbs of the tree because the straight portion of the trunk can be sold for more money as veneer for plywood. Limbs are going to warp more because they were not straight when they were on the tree. The rings are not in equal width, the pith may show, and it is generally just not great wood. I like walnut but I do not like limbwood. I especially do not like it if it has been steamed.

Jim
 
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