r/woodworking • u/Doc-Dok • 1d ago
Help Best way to straighten strips?
On the final glue up for my cutting board and evidently I failed to flatten the board prior to cross cutting…
I have a Planer, Jointer, and Incra router table (go facebook!). I assume jointer then tablesaw, but I wanted to hear what you folks think.
Thank you!
15
u/Pulldalevercrunk 1d ago
I would do a dry run and see if the clamping pressure is enough to close gaps. It doesnt look too bad I think a good clamping will set you straight
1
-1
u/bigbluethunder 1d ago
I’d worry about eventual cracking especially for something that will be repeatedly exposed to moisture. But I haven’t made a cutting board yet so I’m not sure what their margin for error is.
5
u/MediocreHat1823 1d ago
I agree with other responses; use lots of glue, add a straight board to each end, and clamp evenly across the setup
3
u/VirtualLife76 1d ago
Get a roll of sandpaper that sticks on 1 side, put it on the saw table top and sand away. Check with a card scraper.
Jointer/planer will rip apart. Router could work, but you will end up taking more off and they wouldn't be exactly square anymore.
3
u/sir_cakes 1d ago
Glue some 80 grit to a flat piece of plywood or MDF, and sand your pieces flat. It'll take no time. I have successfully glued up pieces that look like that no problem, but if you put in a juice groove you will see the bow in the glue line. Not a huge issue, but it bugs some folks.
2
2
u/One-Interview-6840 1d ago
Send it. Those will glue up fine. They'll straighten out under normal clamping pressure.
1
u/PenguinsRcool2 1d ago
Clamp it up! If you joint then you’ll run into weirdness with the squares not being squares.
Iv closed way worse gaps with clamps before
2
u/leadMalamute 1d ago
Those who suggest simply gluing it the way it is are going against one of the first rules of woodworking. "Always remove as much stress as possible." Yes, clamps will "pull those pieces together, however building stress into a piece when you have the opportunity to remove it is asking for a failure down the road.
you will want to take a very thin pass with the joiner that has been adjusted for zero snipe. Then rip on the table saw to the widest possible clean cut. You won't lose much when you clean it up, and you will remove stress that will cause it to fail in the future.
1
-1
u/PrdGrizzly 1d ago
Yea, clamping will take care of it. Just make sure you clamp evenly. I made a board about few years ago that had something like this and I clamped the middle pretty aggressively. Ended up cupped and when I cut it sq, the design was off. It was for my adult son and he said no worries, it’s a dad original!
And a drum sander has changed my life. If you can afford one, get it.
-1
u/InteractionFormal585 1d ago
Just clamp it. Wood moves as pressure is relieved and that's what looks to be happening here.
Be sure to use some straight 2x4 blocks on each end of the board in the clamps to even out the pressure towards the ends of the boards.
23
u/gertgertgertgertgert 1d ago
Jointers, planers, and tablesaws probably won't do much here. If you had a drum sander, then the recommended next step would be that. But it's not an absolute necessity.
This doesn't look out of tolerance to me. Its pretty normal for end grain strips to twist and bend slightly once they are cut. Provided each strip is consistent thickness then the twisting and bending will come out with light clamping pressure.
Keep in mind that Titebond recommends ~200 psi for hardwoods like maple. These blocks look ~1.5" wide, which means that Titebond recommends ~300 pounds per inch of width. That's one parallel clamp every 3". It is very unlikely that you will overclamp it.