Should I RIP EM?

[beeg]

I have some 7/8 thick hickory boards I'm fashioning into a table top. I have 2@ 12" wide and 2@ 10" wide. This are for a 40" square top. Should I rip em half?

[Ed in Tampa]

That depends on their present condition, how old they are, how big of a tree were they cut from and how they were cut from the tree. Can you see the growth rings do they form a U or semicircle on the short edge of the board?

Unless the growth rings are almost parallel and don't form a U or semicircle the boards will probably cup.

[beeg]

Sorry Ed, I didn't get a treefax with em I bought rough sawed plain sawed hickory. That I hand planed, machine planed the cup out of it last January.

[Ed in Tampa]

Actually you can tell a lot from the end grain. If the grain is fairly parallel the stock was probably quarter sawn or cut from a huge tree. If the grain is curved and running toward itself the board was probably flat sawn. A moisture meter will tell you approximately how long ago it has been cut whether it was kiln dried or not.

If you had to plane cup out of the boards and if it were me I would rip the boards at least once possibility twice and flip one and glue the board back together. Then I would glue up the table top. But that is just me. I rarely keep a board wider than 4 to 6 inches. I just rip them down because that is how I was trained never to use a board wider than 4 inches. However I have seen pieces I only wish I could make and the craftsmen used wide boards in it.

[8iowa]

I know that there are a lot of "rules" as to how you orient the grain in order to prevent warpage, and it's true that narrow width boards glued up are less suspectible to this problem.

However, from an ascetic standpoint, especially on a table top, The wider boards really have a nicer appearance. For many years we have had a pine trestle table, 36" x 72". The factory finish was so dark that the wood grain was hardly visible. Upon re-finishing, I discovered that it was glued up from no fewer than 11 boards, with the grain going in many different orientations. Frankly, after sanding this top down three times I gave up trying to make it look nice.

I now have a supply of 2" thick cherry with several boards 9" to 11" wide. I will use the widest boards to glue up for a new table top.

In a nutshell, my recommendation is to glue up your table top for the best appearance.

[dan1999]

I guess I am going to go with ED on this one I realize that the table would probably look better with wide boards, however, thee chances of it cupping over time and with potential for moisture getting back into the wood even with a great finish on it is something I would not gamble with. Especially as this will probably be a a showcase item that you are going to show off.

Dan

[charlese]

I have some 7/8 thick hickory boards I'm fashioning into a table top. I have 2@ 12" wide and 2@ 10" wide. This are for a 40" square top. Should I rip em half?

I'm also going to be in the "rip-em" camp. Having never made a table top that is 40" X 40" I would simply be hesitant to try jointing only the wider plain sawn boards.

If it were to be me making this table top, I would not only rip boards to a narrower width, but also think seriously about making breadboard ends. I've made a couple of tops lately (although a lot smaller) where wider boards were ripped according to grain orientation so they appear to be wider boards on the top surface. Here's two examples: (5 photos)

The first 4 pics show matching of plain sawn grain. There are 5 boards making up the top (plus breadboards) There are only two boards on the front and sides, because the dovetails will hold back warping.

The last pic is of an unfinished coffee table top without breadboard ends. All boards are quarter swan -

[pennview]

Another method for keeping table tops flat is to attach battens to the under side of the table

[beeg]

I've made a couple of tops lately (although a lot smaller) where wider boards were ripped according to grain orientation so they appear to be wider boards on the top surface.

Charlese can you expand upon this statement? I have some of the same grain patterns as in your first pic, on the front of the chest, just below the blue tape.

[charlese]

Charlese can you expand upon this statement? I have some of the same grain patterns as in your first pic, on the front of the chest, just below the blue tape.

Ripping according to grain orientation:

As I see this situation - when edge jointing plain sawn boards - there are 3 major things to watch for. These are 1) surface grain, 2) color, 3) end grain

On plain sawn boards there will most probably be some rift grain. Rift grain presents straight grain on the surface and is adjacent to some figured grain (like wavy or cathedral).

It is best to rip wider boards through the rift portion of a plain sawn board, if possible. You may find it advantageous to diagonally rip a board in order to follow the rift grain. Hopefully your boards are longer than the needed 40" length in order to allow diagonal ripping.

During the ripping process, be thinking of how the narrower boards will best fit together. When finally through ripping, sort and re-sort the new boards to get the closest match of surface grain and color.

Then it's time to check the end grain for the orientation of the tree's annual growth rings. In my personal opinion, I like to keep the spacing between rings (tree's growth rate) approximately the same on mating boards. Sometimes all that's needed is to turn one board end to end.

When you get the top (surface) look as best you can grain and color), it's time to joint and glue.

I'll re-post these two pics to give you a better idea.

Both photos show the left side and front sides. After enlarging to +275 you can see the two side boards are joined right in the middle of the second pin from the top. (look at the changing annual rings in that pin) The front is joined at the third pin from the top. Although I can't see the joint in either the pin or the tail, I can see the cathedral effect of the rift grain where the boards join.

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