Over the years I’ve made a few long grain cutting boards. On almost every one of them there has been seperation between some of the strips of wood. Most of this seperation has occured at the outside of the boards, the edge strips. Not all the way down the length of the board but at one end or the other.
I go to great lengths to mill the wood properly. All of the pieces are square and straight. This is especially true now that I own a jointer.
It’s very annoying to get the oooohs and aaaaahs when I give them as gifts and then find that a little while I’m getting seperation again.
I’d appreciate any advice or feed back on this issue…...thanks for your consideration.
-- My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am---author unknown
7 comments so far
freidasdad
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135 posts in 1158 days
#1 posted 1073 days ago
I appoligize in advance for this post ending up here….I thought I had posted it in the forums section….
-- My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am---author unknown
8iowa
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1442 posts in 1932 days
#2 posted 1073 days ago
I find that I’m now using hand planes on my jointed edges in order to create a little “spring” in the middle of the boards that I’m gluing and clamping. This helps to keep the ends from separating.
-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"
Don Newton
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#3 posted 1073 days ago
Is it possible that you are over tightening the clamps ahd squeezing out too much glue?
-- Don, Pittsburgh
freidasdad
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135 posts in 1158 days
#4 posted 1073 days ago
Don…I don’t think so…..as a begginer I used to really torque down the clamps but I don’t do that any more…
I use just enough pressure to get a nice squeeze out and stop…..I seem to remember hearing somewhere that you should let lumber sit for a while after milling to let it stabalize between the outside and inside … have you heard of that? I wouldn’t think that would be an issue with well dryed lumber though.
-- My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am---author unknown
michelletwo
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1767 posts in 1186 days
#5 posted 1073 days ago
It never happens in the middle? at the ends or in the center? Very odd. If it were your glueing it would happen other places also..Are you using kiln dried wood? Do you use a straightedge to make sure your wood is straight? Or are you forcing the wood closed? Is your jointer introducing snipe? The last option is my best idea on your problem..check your boards very carefully after jointing.
-- We call the destruction of replaceable human made items vandalism, while the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources is called development.
freidasdad
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135 posts in 1158 days
#6 posted 1072 days ago
thanks for all the help guys——I’ll consider all that on my next glue up
-- My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am---author unknown
Bluepine38
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2101 posts in 1256 days
#7 posted 1072 days ago
You mentioned well dried lumber, does this mean kiln dried. I like to take a long view on projects and while I
realize you can not do it all the time, a year or two in a dry atmosphere seems to stabilize most woods.
-- As ever, Gus-the 74 yr young apprentice carpenter
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