Miter Cuts?

We must learn to love that which we hate, Grasshopper.

-- Thos. Angle

Easy for you to say. I am trying to live with a Coffee table, with glass top/insert, and 6” wide mitered outside frame.

While in the midwest I watched the gap expand and contract. That is one reason I don’t like miters.

So I try to use smaller boards.

-- W. Kirk Crawford - Tularosa, New Mexico

I’m with you, Kirk.

When I moved from California to Germany, my household goods spent quite awhile on the ocean. The 3” miters on my living room furniture were yawning wide-open when I saw it again. They will never be the same, and I will never again do a simple miter that long. Even though I reinforced those miters with biscuits, it wasn’t enough.

For my bedrrom furniture I’m going to try modified finger joints with only the tops appearing mitered. I’ll let everyone here at lumberjocks know how that works out.

so easy for you to say, Master Thos.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Hi Guys, and gals,

I think maybe you guys are dealing with something other than miter problems.

Sounds more like a ambient condition to me. By that I mean if the humidity in the enviorment where the furniture “lives”, is not controlled, it will always move.

Just like the doors in a house that stick sometimes, and work perfectly at others.

Another key to controlling the wood movement as much as possible is to apply the same finish all parts of the wood. Tops bottoms and especially edges, which act as straws for moisture, (humidity), to sneak into. By finishing all part evenly, you are controlling to a degree, where moisture is gaining access to your project. If it is equall on all surfaces, it will remain fairly predictable.

A rule of thumb for all woodworking is to do the same to both sides of the board. If you were to veneer only one side of a board, it will surely cup. Same goes with finishing.

Any furniture that makes a three month voyage, unless properly packaged will be prone to self destruction.

Don’t give up on miters, as they do have their place in woodworking.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

I totally support you Lee on this one – it does not matter what the joint was – A long time (months) stored in uncontrolled conditions, especially at sea, with High humidity conditions will affect all carpentry, even if ALL surfaces have been covered in laquer (this only slows the process of expansion and contraction of wood)

We have extreemly high humidity here most of the year, 80 to 100%, yet the workshop and inside woodstore is artifically maintained at 40 – 45% relative humidity, in order to keep the wood at about 8% moisture content (MC). I can also watch my joints expand if I leave the doors open for too long. The secret is to control the environment of the untreated wood. If the finished item in going into a high humidy environemnt then make the item from 10 – 12% MC wood. If its is going into a centrally heated house or apartment, then use 6 – 8% MC wood.

Try leaving a slightly larger expansion joint between the glass (which effectively does not move much) and the wooden frame, the use of soft silicone is qute useful for holding the wood and glass together firmly, whilst allowing some movement.

-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

Years ago a friend of my scored a complete teak wood dining room set in the Phillipines while on a business trip.
It was heavily decorated and gorgeous to look at.
In 6 months he had several hundred individual pieces of wood.

I have never forgotten that. It literally exploded!

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner