Resawing and warped boards-bowing

allen levine

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new york city burbs
I had to resaw alot of mahogany beams to get 1 and /34 inch width legs for chairs.
I left an additional 1/8 almost so I can joint and plane boards.
The boards were huge, and heavy.
I would have loved to cut them down, but then I would not get the same amount of curved legs out of each one, so slicing the boards down in length wasnt a good option.
After pushing these big boys through the bandsaw to cut down to width, I noticed two boards had bows in them.
The boards are approx 8 feet each
Each leg is 40 inches, and with the 5.5 inch boards I can cut 4 legs.

Do I cut the legs out rough, and hope the bow is not so noticable?
If I face joint and plane with an 8 footer, I will lose more than the 1/8th I allowed.
Should I plane legs after I cut them rough?
Didnt realize 2 of the boards had warps, they looked flat, I thought it was just the cut of the beam, some were narrower at ends.
Im done for the weekend, but I will take any advice before I proceed to cut legs.
(IM using the thicker slice in the pictures, and although only the thin slice looked warped, the larger piece is also a bit bowed)
 

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Allen,
Your resawing relieved internal stresses from within the beam. That's what caused the warping.

How much warp is there in a 40" length? It looks like there's less than an inch over the total (12 foot?) length, so there likely isn't that much in at least the two end 40" pieces.

You might be able to still get your legs cut out of the shorter lengths, but on the other hand, cutting them may release even more stresses and allow even more warpage. You won't know until you try.

One of the fun (not!) aspects of working with a dynamic medium like wood!
 
IM going to let my wife read that Jim, and tell her the tubular steel legs still look great, even though they are from the 80s.

Im thinking as a last resort, Ill have to plane the legs down to 1.5 inches, to get as much out if I need too.

Ill see how they cut down I guess next week.

After it came through the blade, it sprung apart like it was on a giant spring.
 
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I cant see that it is going to be a problem over a 40" part and what you have there is a sign of casehardening in other words it may have been dried to fast and the inside is carrying more moisture than the out side. That board will more than likely flatten out after it acclimates in your area.

Jay
 
I am an dufus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After going back out there again, and changing up the blade, (new experience, not as easy as I thought), I decided to cut down some flat pieces to see how the saw handles.
After counting up all the thickness Ill need, I realized IM going to be short!!!!!
Then I found by laying on the filthy floor, I believe I have put a piece of 10/4 stock, enough to fnish all legs, on the bottom of the back pile.
That means I have to lift and repile 2 stacks of heavy wood, and then restack them again.
My back will never forgive me for making such a stupid error.
IM hoping I can grab my kid tomorrow night to give me a hand.
What a moron I am.(putting hundreds of pounds of ash and maple on top of one lone piece I need)
 
Since you know the length of the legs, I would rough cut to length and ease your handling efforts. Glad you found that other board. Sorry for where it is.
 
Id rather cut it all to lengths, but I cant, since the legs come out next to each other and overlap on the face of the board.
cutting each piece to length will waste too much.

and to add a bit insult to injury, I decided to move enough of the front pile of wood to really see the piece on the bottom of the back pile.
It was just so dirty and so encrusted with mahogany dust(that fine red stuff)
even after using a flashlight and blowing air to try to see it better, it turns out its that clear pine I bought in that 10/4 size. So it was all for nothing, but at least I only had to move a little over half of the first pile to see.
When this current project is finished, Im going to repile everything, and use a piece of chalk to correctly mark the side of each piece, and Im going to pile all the same species together.
The only 2 IM not 100% sure is some of the maple and some of the beech.
They look very similar to me in rough form.

Im not going to buy more lumber. I have alot of 6/4 or close to it, Ill just re adjust my measurements a bit and cut the legs a bit thinner to cover myself.
One and 3/8 ths will be sufficient thickness for the legs.
 
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