Rails for a Leaning Bookcase

[jackellis]

I have plans that call for plywood shelves and 2x4 construction lumber for the rails, but I'm going to use chestnut for the shelves and cherry for the rails.

Here's the problem: I'm not confident I can get an 8' long x 9" wide board trued and squared with enough accuracy. It's going to take a lot of hand planing to get one side of the board reasonably flat enough to rip, and then I may be confronted with a piece that has unacceptable flaws.

Ideally the rails need to be 3 1/2" wide by 8' long by at least an inch thick (I can substitute cleats to secure the shelves instead of dadoes). Each 34" wide shelf is also supported by a stretcher. I suppose one option is to build up the rails by laminating and overlapping the pieces so there are no through joints to create weak spots. Another possibility is longer sections that are not laminated but are instead connected with half lap joints.

This is one of those projects where the challenge is to use a board that would normally be cut up for firewood. I'm not willing to do that.

Some of the chestnut pieces have outstanding figure. The resident design authority has signed off on the combination of woods and the chestnut boards need only be ripped and planed a bit.

[drillman88]

I may be on the wrong track, but could a setup like this http://www.leestyron.com/sled.php be useful? It would at least cut quite a bit off the amount of hand planing needed.

[jackellis]

I've seen jigs like this before and it is another alternative, at least for getting out the twist on the one face I have been hand planing.

[themachine]

I would be tempted to get an 8-foot long, particle board laminated shelf at a home store and use this manufactured edge as a guide for a flush trim bit in a router. Just lay it on the suspect board near the edge to trim a straight edge on the chestnut. You can clamp it on or use double sided tape. Then I would use the same particle board and lay the chestnut on it. Hot melt wedges under areas on the chestnut that are raised above the laminated base so the chestnut will not flatten under the pressure of planer infeed rollers. Put a stop on the end of the laminate so the chestnut cannot slide off the end on the particle board. Run this through the planer carefully as a sandwhich, obviously with the chestnut side up. You should be able to make a pretty flat surface on the entire board if you wedge it properly. After that, flip the chestnut over by itself and run through the planer to make the other side parallel to the first. Then rip on the table saw to make the edge parallel to the first edge you prepared with the router. This should give you a straight enough board for your purpose.

[cabinetman]

It may take some handwork, especially if you need the 9" surface flattened. Another choice would be to find a shop that has a 12" jointer. Or, if you can resaw thin veneers, use something else for the the stock and veneer it.

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[pelligrini]

Making router jigs or planer jigs is an option, but it would probably take just as long or longer to make and use them then it would be to hand plane. Properly setup and sharpened handplanes should be able to make quick work of it.

I don't know what hand tools are at your disposal but I would use my No.6 with the mouth opened up and a good camber on the iron to do some quick material removal then move on to to my No.7s and No.8 jointer planes. A No 5 set up right would work too.

If you're only needing 2 rails and already have a 6" jointer. You could rip the 9" board in half and put it on the jointer. I've ripped rough wood by attaching it to a longer straight board and used my tablesaw. Usually I'll use my long sawboard and a circular saw to rip it.