# All glued up and now it's warped...GRRRRRRR Please help



## KenBry (Sep 13, 2011)

Let me discribe what I glued up, in the center I have a 2" wenge center, I have 1" wide maple coming straight off each paralel side, (pinweel style) then I have 4 pieces of Claro Walnut squared up and glued to the maple. Total size is 23" wide, 27" long 1" thick with the intent to surface it just a little to give me smooth lines…. well that's all jacked up now

Well got it all glued up and now it's warped. I am afriad if I take it and get the warp planed out that I will end up with a table top 1/2" thick.

What I knew before I started gluing was that one of the walnut pieces was slightly warped only about a 1/4" from one end to the other (15"). I thought I would be able to knock that out but no joy…

So here's my thoughts, cut it all back apart, take the walnut and surface it flat. Then reglue everything again. The maple is no big deal to loose in this process. The Claro walnut on the otherhand is a big deal.

The table was supposed to have a natural edge on it. but I might just fram the entire thing with maple if the walnut gets to thin.

Any ideas on how to improve my situation?


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

Ken,

A picture would help…

If you are gluing up a top and have cross grain joints (that is, the end grain butting into long grain…) you are building a heartbreaker since wood *WILL *move and you're not designing to accomodate that fact.

Good Luck!

Be Careful!

Herb


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Well, you may have messed up on the wood movement side of things.

But give it a week or two to cure and see what happens before you
cut it apart.


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

Moisture loss/gain is most likely the culprit. I would recommend letting the wood set and acclimate to your environment before you try to glue it back up, maybe a couple weeks. I would cut it back apart to keep it from cracking fairly soon tho.


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## McKinneyMike (Feb 11, 2011)

Ken,

How long did the glued up top sit before finishing/attachment to base? How was it stored during the time between attachment and glue up?

If it was glued up and laid on a solid flat surface that could be the source of the warping. Never store/lat a glued up piece flat on a solid surface if it is unfinished on all surfaces.

Always store the piece on its edge or its end. I prefer to have it elevated off the floor to help insure that is not affected by moisture possibly coming up from a concrete floor too.

This might not have been the scenario, but thought that I would ask anyway.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I agree totally with McKinneyMike. I glue up strange combinations of wood all the time for my guitar fronts and backs. Look at some of the glued up nonsense on my website. And every time I put them in clamps, with an extra clamp, and stand them up on the ends of the clamp pipes, off the floor, for at least two days. I never have any warping problems. When I get lazy and clamp something on the top of the table, oops, warp will usually show at least a little.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

McMike has the idea. I always let my work stabilize in the shop for several days before I glue up. Even though the wood may be "dry", thre will be some movement after planing/jointing, etc. Just finishing a table top in that environment. Don't rush the process. (It only took me a bunch of years to believe in that process.)
I plane, joint, rest the wood, sand, glue/clamp, rest the work, etc.
Slower process, but it sure keeps the agony factor to a manageable level.
Bill


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

McMike has the idea. I always let my work stabilize in the shop for several days before I glue up. Even though the wood may be "dry", there will be some movement after planing/jointing, etc. Just finishing a table top in that environment. Don't rush the process. (It only took me a bunch of years to believe in that process.)
I plane, joint, rest the wood, sand, glue/clamp, rest the work, etc.
Slower process, but it sure keeps the agony factor to a manageable level.
Even more critcal if you're using any wood from a borg that was harvested yesterday, blast dried, and sold today. Know what I mean?
Bill


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

Did you resaw any of the boards, prior to glue-up ?

Often, resawed boards will warp a LOT, after you resaw them. It's good to resaw … like an eighth over your desired thickness, and then give THOSE boards a week to acclimate. Then, you can plane them down to the desired thickness.

Sad. Good luck !


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