to rip and reglue or leave wide and glue

I would only do that if they had already cupped.

If the wood is already dry it shouldn’t cup as long as you have some kind of finish on it to stop it from absorbing any more moisture.

How thick is it now?

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I have planed it to 3/4”. It was air dryed for quite a while but some how got wet again I have it drying now and will glue in a couple of days.

It was air dryed for quite a while but some how got wet again

While it is certainly possible for water to soak into the wood, for whatever reason, it is really not the same as when the wood was “green”. The original drying gets the fliud out of the cells and cell walls, once that has happened it will never be “green” again. Water-wet yes, but that will dry significanly faster since it is not “in” in the same way.

It has never made sense to me to cut anything in half just so that it can then be glued back together.

-- Mark

The reason to cut down wide boards is to prevent cupping, but you can’t just re-glue them the way they came apart. You have to flip over 50% of the boards so the growth rings are oriented in alternating directions. This way if one board cups toward the front of the panel, it’s “neighbor” is likely to compensate by cupping toward the back of the panel.

I’m with Gary, though. If it’s been dried and planed and hasn’t cupped, you’re probably okay.

-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com

Hi Andy

You probably will be alright with fir. At work we never glued up boards wider than 3” and put a reverse glue joint on the edges. Most of our furniture was soild oak. Question to ask : Does doing more glue joints take more time than repairing or replacing a top?

Tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa