Questions tagged [warp]

Use for any Question relating to twisting, cupping and bending in wood.

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What would be the best way to unwarp this chess board?

I made this chess board then accidentally left it in a garage for a few months before finishing it, causing a very significant warp presumably due to humidity changes. Things I'm considering: Gluing ...
21 votes
9 answers
157k views

How do you straighten/bend wood planks without removing any material?

I have some 6' long 2"x12" planks of douglas fir that dried into a twist, I need to straighten it out but I don't want to plane this any thinner. So basically I'm trying to bend the board back into ...
1 vote
0 answers
514 views

Securing an Ikea countertop to Ikea drawers (SALJAN and ALEX)

As the title suggests, I'm having a few second thoughts about how to mount my 98" Saljan countertop to two sets of Alex drawers. I've already bought three 14 gauge steel channels that I'll be ...
5 votes
3 answers
974 views

Having a hard time ripping inexpensive 2x10 lumber. Could use a little advice

For a little while, I've been buying longer Southern Yellow Pine boards at 'ye olde orange home center' that contains pith. The idea is that I'll rip out the pith and some surrounding material and ...
14 votes
5 answers
50k views

How to straighten a warped board

So you have a board removed from a pallet that, once removed, shows significant warping. Or perhaps you bought some lumber and you didn't notice an imperfection. This is visible along the width of ...
1 vote
1 answer
164 views

How long should I leave a green yew stick clamped to a bench for straightening?

I have already gotten a lot of great info from some previous questions on here, but honestly speaking, I am trying to find a reliable answer for my ten year-old, son who (probably rightly) doubts my ...
2 votes
1 answer
443 views

Wood warps after milling

From recent question Will forcing a twisted drawer front flat cause issues? Wood sometimes distorts after we make it final thickness. Can we avoid this?
3 votes
1 answer
370 views

Will forcing a twisted drawer front flat cause issues?

I'm working on cherry drawer fronts for a dresser with inset drawers. The drawer in question is 38" wide and about 8" tall. The drawer itself is 1/2 Baltic Birch. The board has already been ...
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

What to do about cupped table top

I am in the process of building a dining table out of solid walnut. I don't have the skills or equipment to make the tabletop myself, so I got my wood supplier to do it for me. The tabletop is 6/4 ...
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Will varnish stop bare wood from warping?

I am looking to purchase some unfinished ash strip wood for some interior decorative purposes. The retailer advised that whilst it is 'ready to use' (in reference to the wood having been planed etc), ...
0 votes
1 answer
782 views

Smoothing an uneven piece of wood

What are the best ways to smooth out shallow cuts in a piece of wood that is "mostly flat" but definitely a little warped, and has no requirement to be made flat? This came from trees a ...
0 votes
1 answer
79 views

Routed Brazillian cherry warps after cutting

I started with a 9" x 20" piece of Brazilian cherry, and router cut 5 holes (one circular one, 4 rectangular ones) through the entire width of the board of different sizes in a non-symmetric ...
1 vote
1 answer
206 views

What determines whether a board will warp or stay straight?

I've been reading a lot of forum posts on woodworking since I'm very new at it, and a common point I read is that wood needs to be glued soon after surfacing it or else it'll warp. It has left me ...
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

Repair warped wood in situ

I have acquired a coffee table (it's more like a small wide chest of drawers) with a warped frame and want to check that my fixing method is appropriate and cannot be improved upon.** My plan to fix ...
13 votes
4 answers
21k views

What is a good way to prevent jointed tabletops from bowing when tightening fasteners or the glue sets?

I recently made a tabletop for a rolling tool cart using 2x4's jointed and pocket-screwed. When I set the table upon the cart I noticed a very serious bow, almost like I was starting to make a barrel!...
0 votes
0 answers
159 views

Will 4/4 rough sawn white oak warp over time?

I have a bunch of 9' long by 6" 4/4 rough sawn (flat sawn) white oak in my garage. I'm curious as to whether I should expect it to cup and/or bow over time. It's kiln dried. I have it in stacks, ...
-1 votes
1 answer
292 views

How to straighten AC plywood for desktop

I'm building a very simple work-from-home desk, with 3/4" AC fir plywood for the top. The plywood has a concave bow on the top side. How do I straighten this board? Other details: I've already ...
2 votes
2 answers
935 views

Which side of a cupped table top has absorbed more humidity (and other causes for warping)?

Quality table tops are built from many smaller pieces of wood, which are then glued together. (Here we focus on table tops, not on butcher blocks, where multiple long beams are glued, then cut into ...
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to repair a warped kitchen tabletop?

I guess that over the years I (ab)used this 1¼-inch-thick kitchen table top, by, for example, not using place-mats. The finish was initially extremely good. I palm-of-hand applied the varnish (which ...
2 votes
2 answers
248 views

Warped Monkeypod Desktop

I purchased this monkeypod piece a couple weeks ago. It is 7.5 ft x 2.5 ft x 2 inches thick. It is composed of two pieces glued together. My plan was to use it as a desktop but I’ve noticed since I ...
1 vote
1 answer
6k views

How to prevent desktop from bowing?

So, this is usually a problem for particleboard shelves, which bow under the weight of books. But my question is actually about the desk, which I built myself: It's a small desk (36x20inch), its top ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Possible to fix cupped end-grain cutting board?

I had two end-grain cutting boards that cupped about 1/16 inch after gluing. So one side is concave and the other side is convex. If I let it sit, it stays the same. If I plane it flat, then it cups ...
0 votes
0 answers
197 views

Is it possible to unwarp this piece of wood?

First time working with wood - i CNC'd a landscape into a piece of London Plane timber but since first purchasing the wood, the left hand side of it has slowly curled upwards. Most of the curling ...
2 votes
0 answers
144 views

How to assess the quality of a plywood

I am into wood working field for for past few years only thing I am always wrong in assessing the quality of the plywood. I mostly get warping of my boards after the pasting of laminates. Can someone ...
3 votes
2 answers
490 views

Table top popping up

I just got into woodworking and have ran into a problem. I recently completed a farmhouse coffee table for a friend and encountered a problem when gluing on the table top. I used 6 dowels for ...
2 votes
1 answer
991 views

Twist in board after glue up!

I have been planing / jointing rough sawn wood recently and edge joining it to create a larger board. Every single time the finished board ends up with a big twist (diagonally opposed corners too low)....
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

Flatten warped plywood

Is there a way to unwarp a piece of 20 x 20" piece of 1/8" inch thick piece of plywood? I trying wetting one side and weighing it down with weights. https://www.dropbox.com/s/e69r6iecj5farjj/...
1 vote
2 answers
752 views

Best way to cut a thin board that resists warping

I want to cut some boards to be used as the covers for a book. The boards would typically be about an eighth of an inch thick and book size in dimensions (the average book is 9" x 6"). What would be ...
3 votes
3 answers
280 views

How can I design a large speaker cabinet to come together square and true when my panels aren't flat and my boards aren't straight?

This question differs from similar questions about wood warping because I'm not asking how to straighten a warped board nor how to fix an existing design that warped. Rather I'm asking how do you ...
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Remove twist from plank without reducing thickness

I have a 5/4" x 8" x 6' plank of cherry with a twist on one end. The twist is only about 18" long. When you lay it on a flat surface the corner was raised about 1/4". I tried soaking the board in my ...
1 vote
2 answers
558 views

Compensating Rabbet or dado in warped plywood

I'm building some 3x3x16" long L brackets out of 3/4" plywood. I'm planning on using a simple butt joint with a single rabbet and screws to attach the two pieces together. The strips are all bowed/...
5 votes
1 answer
4k views

What are reliable ways of flattening out warped wood?

I know about cutting a line on the concave side to loosen it, and then gluing in strips of wood once flat, and I know of using water on one side and then laying things on top to help it dry flat. Are ...
3 votes
1 answer
692 views

Any way to straighten this wood gate piece?

It wasn't until I got this gate piece screwed, glued, and hung up that I noticed there's a slight warp to it. I think it's due to just one piece in particular, but at this point I think I'm cooked. (...
3 votes
3 answers
4k views

Should I seal my bed slats, and if yes, with what?

I hired someone to put together bed slats for my new bed. The bed frame comes with center support for the slats that he's building and the slats will be screwed down onto the center slat and the side ...
2 votes
2 answers
13k views

What are some good wood choices for making signs?

What is the best board (type of wood) for making signs? I will purchase board and then cut it to size of sign. Need something that doesn't warp.
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do I fix a warped shoji door?

It is warped like the picture shows, basically one of the corners moved out of the plane of the door and moved everything with it :-) I am not sure if this is because the wood dried out or because I ...
5 votes
2 answers
616 views

Is this a case of just using the wrong wood? (Warping)

I resawed a 2x4 I've had in my garage for a couple years down to about 3/8th in strips to make the following: After gluing the panels togerther, I glued and screwed support strips to the back hoping ...
6 votes
2 answers
9k views

Does MDF warp less than pineboards?

Background I am a very much a beginner, and I have been trying to make a long (3.6m) pelmet. (It is not a pelmet box - it goes from wall to wall, and hangs from the ceiling.) Attempt #1 was with a ...
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

How can I repair raised boards on table top?

The boards on my secondhand hard wood table top have started to lift at the join in a couple of places. I assume it's due to moisture making the timber swell. What can I do to fix this and prevent it ...
2 votes
2 answers
6k views

Warped Walnut Slabs

I have 2 walnut slabs I want to make a table with but they are slightly warped, is there anyway to flatten these back out with water and weight or by bolting the wood down to a frame and then ...
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

How can I flatten out a cupped piece of 3/4" plywood for a wood counter top base?

I am building a kitchen island. On top of the carcass is going to be a piece of plywood, and on top of that a laminated solid wood plank top of 3/4" thick planks. The plywood is to provide enough ...
12 votes
3 answers
901 views

Does dropping boards really relieve internal tensions?

A Fine Woodworking article I read a while back has a picture of Steve Latta dropping boards onto concrete. The caption reads: Drop relieves stress. For larger doors, like those on armoires, Latta ...
11 votes
1 answer
3k views

Can I effectively use a table saw to straighten warped lumber?

I have several pine boards I want to use for a table, however many of them have are warped, and I need them straight. These will be used for legs and support members, so they only need to have good ...
6 votes
3 answers
12k views

How can I fix warping on board made of glued 2x4s

I built a tabletop gluing up seven 2x4s together, and it warped a lot. Two opposing corners are up and the others down. I know cheap construction 2x4s can warp, but can this be fixed? The only way ...
15 votes
3 answers
4k views

How can I minimize warp due to wood movement when gluing up a panel?

I recently built a small 2' x 3' dresser top out of pine. It was within 1/8" flat and level when I glued it up in the garage, but within a few weeks inside it had warped and buckled significantly. ...
5 votes
1 answer
532 views

"Annealing" wood?

Is there a process for wood similar to annealing for metals to relieve internal stress? For example, if I have a thin piece of oak used for trim that is bowed sideways (bowed parallel to trimmed face)...
11 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do I correct extreme crossgrain cupping?

I was staining a set of pieces of unfinished pine for a dresser (ikea furniture) on my rooftop. First coat was put on last night around 9pm, and I was planning on doing the second coat this morning ...