# Max. Width for a board when gluing up panels?



## Jimothy (Oct 29, 2015)

Hey everyone. I am gluing up some massaranduba boards to make a tabletop. Final size about 35×75". They range from 8-11" in width. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to rip them into say 5" widths or so then glue them all together. The reason for this is from what I can remember, the very wide boards are more prone to warping and moving, and adding a glue joint down the middle would help with that.

So what is the max. Width you'd want your individual boards to be when making a table top?


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

i tend to think aesthetically that boards in the 6-8" range look best. and having them either all the same, or some kind of pattern looks best. like 8" outside boards and middle boards all 6" or something like that. its usually mostly cosmetic. and if the base is solid and/or you are using battens, those will keep the top pretty flat regardless.


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

For me this is easy, 6" because that is the width of my puny jointer. Maybe I will grow up and get a real one if I expand my shop. I could almost go the other way and go all hand tool but that sounds like a lot of work.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I've used 10-11" boards for large tabletop glueups. They were quartersawn white oak though.

For flatsawn hardwood, I might stick with 8" and under.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

For me appearance of the grain, and color of the stock is the most important factor. I would go by that much more than individual widths, unless as SMP suggested the actual widths are part of the layout. I opt for a top to be invisible for joint lines, or as close to, as possible.

For a tabletop of that size I would use 5/4 or 6/4 stock, and if properly dried then attachment of the entire top is more critical than looking into movement of individual boards. IOW the boards can, and likely will move, so the way it's attached will dictate how well it survives movement. Once glued up, it's as if the entire top is one, not a bunch of individual boards.

Now in terms of cupping which on flatsawn boards they can, and usually will follow the growth rings, and move that way. 2 things. Either use Quarter sawn, and Rift sawn stock, or for flatsawn for centuries makers would flip every other board, so the overall was like a series of low waves, as opposed to having a hump. Current thinking is pretty split on this, but for flatsawn I still flip alternate boards.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Personally I don't really feel there is anything to gain/lose with using wide or narrow, looks are more important.
The one thing I like to do is have a consistent width, i.e. not a random mix of wide and narrow. Better there
be symmetry or a purposeful grain matching layout if going random.

There is always the fear of a table top board going rogue and messing everything up, but if you let the wood acclimate after major milling and don't see issues, you should be fine. Plenty of techniques to attach a top to the base that can help pull it all flat and keep it that way.


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## AlanWS (Aug 28, 2008)

There are a few situations where ripping the boards makes sense, but in general don't do it. You should be thinking about looks as you place the boards. Individual boards several feet wide have made beautiful tables, but are no longer readily available.

If boards are sufficiently cupped that flattening the entire board will make the stock too thin, then ripping before flattening and thicknessing will leave more useful material. Moisture seasonally entering and leaving flatsawn stock can make it cup, but wood in this direction is flexible enough that bending movement of this type can be undone by attachment to aprons. Just make sure the way you do this allows board width to change without destruction.

If your design does not provide aprons or battens to hold the top flat, you might want to rip the boards narrower and flip half over. This does not diminish overall movement, but does convert a large cup in one direction into a ripple across a top that stays overall reasonably flat.

I prefer orienting the widest boards convenient to use, oriented to look best, held down to aprons.


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## Jimothy (Oct 29, 2015)

Hey thanks for the replies everyone!


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## Jimothy (Oct 29, 2015)

> For me this is easy, 6" because that is the width of my puny jointer. Maybe I will grow up and get a real one if I expand my shop. I could almost go the other way and go all hand tool but that sounds like a lot of work.
> 
> - controlfreak


Haha you think that's small? Mine is 4 inches! Which is why I barely ever use it. If I need to mill flat some wide boards I just use a planer and a big/shims.


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