Making flat solid panels/tops- use big pieces as is or rip 'em?

[Gator95]

Qustion best asked by example:

You have two 7" wide, 3' long boards that are S4S. You want to make the top (sitting surface) of a 14" wide 34" long bench. Is there any reason to not just edge glue the two 7" wide boards togehter and call it a day? Or is there a significant amount of wood stability to be gained by ripping the 7" wide boards down to narrower planks before glue up.

If the latter, how narrow is narrow enough? For purposes of this discussion assume a common economical hardwood without any wildly distinctive grain.

[JimD]

I just glue them up. If the wood is dry and flat when you start, it should stay that way. I also do not watch growth rings. I match color and grain and glue it up. In other words, I use the two best faces regardless of the orientation of the growth rings. I'm sitting in a room with two end tables and a coffee table of solid wood I made this way and they are flat. I've done bigger kitchen tables this way and they stayed flat.

Jim

[SARGE..g-47]

Agree with Jim about.. just glue em up. If... if they are properly dryed and stable at this point, they will likely stay that way. I have glued up 10"-12" boards and have no problems. I have seen 13" and up glued that have been stable for many years.

I will add that unlike Jim, I "do" watch growth rings and generally put the face nearest heart up. A piece of stock that is going to bow after glue up will usually bow toward the heart and that's what I want it to do if it were to do so..

By placing the face directed toward the heart up I attach with a couple of screws underneath centerline only to keep it pulled down. Then run a groove around the permeter to attach table top hold-downs or Z's (if the center line connecting top of Z to bottom is straight instead of diagonal) which will not extend fully into the grove. This accomplishes having the center that is likely to bow pegged down making the stock expand from side to side. The loose Z can expand and contract in the groove.

But I also agree about putting the best side up about 95%-98% of the time... what you will find is the best side is usually the side facing the center. To determine which side points to heart.. lay the stock down if you see ) giving a smiley face.. that is towards center or heart. If you see ( or as a frown.. that is towards outside or new wood.

Good luck...

[atgcpaul]

+1 for just gluing up the boards. If you want to get fancy, check out George
Nakashima furniture. He used big beefy through butterflies to tie together
big slabs of wood.

Paul

[LarryG]

All else being equal, I too would glue up the two 7" boards. Cutting them up into narrower strips adds work, increases the number of edge joints you'll have to deal with during the glue-up, and will likely result in a less attractive panel.

If you have a wide board that is already cupped, you can often retain more usable thickness by ripping it into narrower pieces and milling each one separately. But if a given cross-sectional segment of wood is predisposed (so to speak) to cup, that's not going to change just because you rip it apart and glue the pieces back together. If it's still moving around, you need to give it more time to acclimate. If it has settled down, it should, as has been mentioned, stay settled down.