Help Needed with a warped board

[Louis Ledbetter]

I have a pie safe form the early 1800's from the Pennsylvania area that
has completely dried out. The back panels are approximately 40"x 30" x 1/2"
and have warped beyond belief. How can I possible maintain the antique
without damage and have a straight board to place back into the tongue
and grove channel on the back. Thanks for any contributions. John

[Keith Hankins]

pictures might help

[Bill Rogers]

+1 on Pictures.

[Kevin Bourque]

Without the benefit of pictures....how about steaming the pieces and then flattening them?

[Keith Hankins]

without seeing what the actual problem is, any suggestions would be a shot in the dark. Steam IMO will destroy the finish depending on what it is, and may add to the problem. Can you disassemble the parts in question?. Tongue and groove can be resolved by hiding the problem by removing the tongue and reassembly with a spline. Again any suggestions are worthless without seeing the problem. Sorry.

[Mel Fulks]

Yeah pictures. My GUESS is that before it was a valuable antique it was a piece of junk that was out doors and rained on.The water on one side made the back warp convex side in cabinet ,concave side out. If you can get the back panel off you can flatten it . See previous threads on flattening table tops that mention "compression ring set" . Worst case scenario,would be you have to cut some kerfs in the back to flatten it. Drastic but better than discarding the original back.