# Rough Sawn Table Top



## cajunjoe (Jun 26, 2010)

I have several rough sawn pieces of 8/4×12" walnut boards up to 10' long. They are very dry and stable and I want to build a large dining table with the boards and maintain the old circular saw mill kerfs on the top side. My problem is where to start in getting the boards to mate up for edge gluing. The boards are not all flat and some are both twisted and cupped. Is this an exercise to be fixed with lots of hand planing? How do I start?


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I would start buy flattening your stock then see what will match up. It doesn't have to be a straight line how you line the ends up.


----------



## swirt (Apr 6, 2010)

If they were flat you might be able to keep the saw marks, but since you say they aren't flat, and you want to make them flat, keeping the saw marks is not really an option unless you are going to build a large substructure to force them flat (which rarely works if they are significantly twisted). As soo as you start planing (electric or hand) they saw marks are going to get shaved off.


----------



## cajunjoe (Jun 26, 2010)

A1Jim--You seem to think I can flatten the stock from one side to be able to keep the mill marks. Any pointers on how to do it?


----------



## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

One side of each 12" wide board has to be flat in order to be able to joint a glue edge. Of course, not many of us have 12" wide jointers, and actually you don't need to have such a large machine in order to accomplish this task.

I take a wide rough sawn board and clamp it flat on my workbench. Then with winding sticks and a #5 jack plane, I eliminate the twist, gradually moving the winding sticks closer together until I am satisfied that the twist is gone. Then I run a #7 jointer plane along the length to knock off high spots and any slight cupping.

If the boards have a natural wavey edge, I draw a straight line the entire length, as close to the edge as possible, and with a wide blade on the bandsaw, I create a straight edge. Ball bearing roller stands on the infeed and outfeed are a big help for long boards.

You can then joint the edges and glue the boards leaving the sawn surface untouched. On long boards I often use the #7, adjusted to remove just a thousandth or two, to remove a slight amount of wood in the middle of the joint to create a small amount of "spring". This will serve to keep the ends of the boards from eventually separating.


----------



## cajunjoe (Jun 26, 2010)

I assume that I will still loose some of the sawn surface in order to get the twist out of it?


----------



## swirt (Apr 6, 2010)

If you follow 8iowa's method you will end up with a flat board and more than likely no saw marks remaining. If the saw marks are a "must keep" then the only real option is to try and de-twist and de cup the wood. That isn't easy.

If the twist or cup is not too much, you may be able to make the few saw kerfs on the table saw that don't go all the way through the board on what would be the under the table side of the board. (Like 3/16" shy of cutting all the way through the thickness) . This would make it flexible in and you may be able to bend it, but that is a bit of a long shot…. and even if you manage to get it reasonably flat, then you are faced with how to finish it. If it is for a Kitchen table, you really don't want a shagy or rough surface as it is pretty impossible to clean.


----------



## 8iowa (Feb 7, 2008)

I do a lot of rough sawn boards. Some came from a sawmill with the curved "swirls" and most have been sawn on a WoodMizer bandsaw mill. I use the method that i've described above to prep a board for the planer. However, if the amount of twist is slight and the boards are not very bowed you should be able to joint edges and glue up the boards, saving the rough surface. It's worth a try. If it doesn't work out you can always saw out the glue joint and plane the boards on both surfaces.

I can appreciate your desire to save the rough sawn surface. I've seen some expensive coffee tables done that way at a furniture store in Mackinaw City. They were sanded, but the swirls were very present. Saving some of the natural edge is also a nice feature.


----------



## cajunjoe (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks for all the input. I need to rethink my project.


----------

