Cove cutting a cupped board

[Adam Shapiro]

I need to make some 3' long cove cuts, and I've got a cherry board that's got a noticeable cup to it. So I'm thinking, rather than thinning it by jointing and planing it down, could I just start with the cup and cut from there? Or is this asking for wood movement problems down the road?

Adam

[Rod Sheridan]

I need to make some 3' long cove cuts, and I've got a cherry board that's got a noticeable cup to it. So I'm thinking, rather than thinning it by jointing and planing it down, could I just start with the cup and cut from there? Or is this asking for wood movement problems down the road?

Adam

You could, however what about the other face and two edges?

What are you going to make out of this?

Regards, Rod.

[Adam Shapiro]

It's for base trim molding on a built in cabinet. My thinking right now is to have a horizontal board sticking out a bit below it, the cove piece standing vertically, and then a small trim piece connecting it to the cabinet above.
That way, the back of the cove piece really doesn't need to be flat.

One edge was already straight line ripped at the yard, I figured I'd joint that edge to have a side to work off of and rip the other side after cutting the cove. But I don't have much experience with built up molding, so I'm open to suggestions.

If I do face joint the board, it has to be with the cup facing down (a frown), right?

[Rod Sheridan]

Yes you are correct that the back doesn't have to be flat, however the front has to be straight, and the sides have to form the correct angle.

Regards, Rod.

[Adam Shapiro]

I suppose the face will have to be jointed down enough to give a flat service to run on the saw table and create the flat edges for the board. I guess my concern was is that enough, or by leaving the cupped grains in place and the back still cupped (but hidden), was that asking for the board to continue to cup or twist later on.

Sorry if this is a really dumb question, but I'll clearly still learning about wood movement.

Adam