Twisting and bowing

[Beave2012]

Just resawed some 3/4 hard maple into 1/4 for some fretwork, but after the resawed it really twisted and bowed to where it's almost unusable. Anyone have some tips for this? Should I just plane down 2 pieces from 3/4 down to 1/4, and hope it won't do the same?

[BuckeyeDennis]

In his videos, Charles Neil famously advises "Sneak up on it!". (At one point, you could buy T-shirts with that slogan, on his website.) By which he means, if you need really straight/true milled lumber, don't try and take it to the final dimensions on the first milling. For the exact reasons you experienced .. the wood will still move due to the internal stresses.

So he recommends milling lumber to final size in several steps, giving it a few days to relax in between each step. And then begin the next step as if it were rough lumber: joint new flat/straight reference surfaces, and then thickness plane it.

[nuhobby]

+1 on what BuckeyDennis says. I'm currently sneaking up, with hand-planes, on some maple slabs I'm preparing for a job. I keep sighting down them and concentrating on the high spots / corners. Usually I'm successful, but last year I had some White Oak that just wanted to turn into Pringles chips.

Chris

[Beave2012]

I typically can do it without issue, but this hard maple did the Pringle deal. If I joint it the way it is, I will send up with a wooden nickle. Right now they are under pressure to see if the come back partially.

Think planning it down would still cause a Pringle effect?

[Ed in Tampa]

Just resawed some 3/4 hard maple into 1/4 for some fretwork, but after the resawed it really twisted and bowed to where it's almost unusable. Anyone have some tips for this? Should I just plane down 2 pieces from 3/4 down to 1/4, and hope it won't do the same?

Their are a zillion reasons this can happen. How and where the tree grew. How it was cut, how it was treated after it was cut. How it was dried. How it was stored, and on and on.

I have cut wood that was straight and it remained straight then I have cut wood that curled like a pigs tail. I have had wood literally explode when cut and I have had wood that should be as hard as rock cut like butter.

I have seen 2x4 studs nailed in a wall turn 90 - 180 degrees from the time they were used until the wall was dry walled during construction of a house. Yet the studs from the same pile nailed the same way remained perfectly straight.

Wood is a living thing and until it rots, is burned or otherwise destroyed it will do things none of can fully explain.

Best advice cut it down to almost finish size, let it rest at least a day, better a week, then mill it to size. Again let it rest for a period of time then use it.

[algale]

I'm curious for more info. We know the board was 3/4 thick originally. How wide and how long? Was there really circular grain when looking at the end grain?

[Beave2012]

I'm curious for more info. We know the board was 3/4 thick originally. How wide and how long? Was there really circular grain when looking at the end grain?

BINGO. There is my reason. I messed up on selection (too good of a deal for a reason) and got a center cut piece (circular), and split it down the center to resaw. The two halves held it together and I split them. I guess I'll just have to plane down the full 1x12 down to 1/4 inch... Such a waste. But first I'll eye how bad it is after the glue up. The work after the resaw helped a bit and may still be salvageable. Stay tuned for an update I guess.

[rpd]

Could you rip the pith (center) out of it . the then glue the outer panels back together.

[Beave2012]

Could you rip the pith (center) out of it . the then glue the outer panels back together.

It's not that close to center, but it's 12" wide so it has both directions of grain.

[rpd]

Could you rip the pith (center) out of it . the then glue the outer panels back together.

It's not that close to center, but it's 12" wide so it has both directions of grain.

I meant the pith (center of the tree) which is not necessarily the center of the board.
This video may be helpful.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k19jzpEuFl4[/youtube]