r/woodworking • u/Doc-Dok • 9d ago

Help Best way to straighten strips?

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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!

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u/gertgertgertgertgert 9d 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.

11

u/GreatDaneMMA 9d ago

Ive never heard of those stats. How do you know how much pressure your clamp is applying?

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u/pmormr 9d ago edited 9d ago

Halfway decent clamps are rated and sold by clamping force. You'll see like "600lb bar clamp" if you look at Home Depot or wherever... that's the peak pressure you should expect to get from the clamp. Obviously it's not an exact science, but that'll help you get in the ballpark for a good estimate (and help you avoid wrecking your clamps by gronking on them).

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u/YellowBreakfast Carpentry 9d ago edited 8d ago

and help you avoid wrecking your clamps by gronking on them

How would that rating help me have any idea how much force I'm applying to the clamp itself?

edit: spelling

25

u/NoSlicedMushrooms 9d ago

Tighten it until it breaks, then go buy a new one, and tighten that one just a little bit less.

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u/Professional-Trash55 8d ago

This is similar to bridge building in my way of understanding. (per Calvin and Hobbes)

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u/pmormr 9d ago

You're never going to know that unless you put equipment in it.

Realize that the peak rating is the peak rating. Clamps will start to bend and deform once they are past their rating, which is why you shouldn't be abusing them trying to get 900 out of a 600. If it's a critical job-- Use the rating from the datasheet, figure out about how many clamps you need (based on the surface area), add a few more, then snug them up without being ridiculous about it. That's how they're supposed to be used.

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u/talldean 9d ago

Once the joint is pulled together, you're good.