Thread: Jointing needed?

The principle to keep in mind here is simply this. Wood moves. It would have been nice and straight (presumably) for the first few hours after going through the machines in the yard. After that, it will have moved and will have cupped, twisted or bowed somewhat.

Wood forms a "skin" over time that slows the loss and gain of moisture in the air. You remove that "skin" and it is a little like you taking a splint off your wrist. All of a sudden you can move more freely and you do, simply because you can. Wood is the same.

What do you need to do with it to bring it back into an useable condition? That depends on many factors, what you are making, what your tolerances are, what is the standard you are hoping to achieve, tools at your disposal etc.....

Without seeing the timber, or even knowing the species or sizes, we cant say whether it will be bent or not. We also dont know what tools you have. Do you have a tablesaw? If so, you can joint on that. Find a long sacrificial board with a stright edge just a bit wider then your timber stock. Sequentially fix each piece to be jointed to it using hot melt glue or similar,just overlapping the edge slightly, and pass it along the saw, edge of the sacrifical board against the fence, skimming the edge of the stock with the blade.

Alternatively, given a hand plane, you should be able to get it straight enough to ride along the saw fence.

Those places don't straighten or face dress before thicknessing.

Originally Posted by Ray153

Wood forms a "skin" over time that slows the loss and gain of moisture in the air. You remove that "skin" and it is a little like you taking a splint off your wrist. All of a sudden you can move more freely and you do, simply because you can. Wood is the same.

Do you have any references for the wood forming a 'skin'? Thanks.

Originally Posted by mic-d

Do you have any references for the wood forming a 'skin'? Thanks.

No, what I was referring to was the outer layers drying out and having a lower moisture content than the inner layers. Remove the outer layers and the "wetter" inner layers then dry out and the wood will move in the process.

Probably wasn't the best turn of phrase in my earlier post.