Help with breaking down 8/4 Cherry

[Shawn Fisher]

I am a beginner so bare with me! I tried to look for a tutorial or how to on this but couldn't find one. I just bought some 8/4 Cherry the is 11" wide and 6 feet long. What I want to do is make 4 pieces of 3/4"x 5" x 6' boards. Could some walk me through this process?

I have the following tools for the job:
Delta 6" jointer
Lunch box 13" planer
Grizzly G0555LANV with 3t resaw blade.
3 HP Tables saw

I am thinking that I should use the jointer to get a square edge and then rip it to width on my table saw. Then use jointer to get flat 5". Then resaw on the band saw and use planer to get all 5" sides flat and finally use jointer to sqaure the last edge.


Any help or suggestions would be appreciated as this is the first 8/4 that I have worked with!

Thanks!
Shawn

[Roy Harding]

IFF it is "fairly" straight, I'd rip it to 5 1/2" (your second piece will be 5 3/8" given a 1/8" kerf on your table saw), then I'd joint one face, one edge - then resaw slightly oversized, then plane to thickness, then rip to final width (5"). If it ISN'T "fairly straight", you may need to joint an edge first - then carry on with the rest.

Have fun.

[Al Bacon]

Well Shawn, if it were me I would first run the board over the jointer to get one straight edge for ripping. Then go to the table saw. Be careful here to identify any cupping or twist in the board and compensate for that when ripping. Once it's ripped it may do some interesting things when the stresses are relived. Once I have two boards I would flatten one face and an edge to have a 90 degree edge. Then I would go to the band-saw and re-saw it into two equal boards. Following that I would give it a couple of days for stresses to react then take it to final size in small steps. With each process the boards will move a little and the next small step will cancel the last until you get where you want to be.

Just me understand, but that's the way I would go about it.

Al

[Roy Harding]

Al makes a good point regarding waiting a couple of days after resawing - I should have mentioned that as well.

[Brian Tymchak]

Al makes a good point regarding waiting a couple of days after resawing - I should have mentioned that as well.

I would go so far as to sticker the boards with some weight on top of the stack and leave it alone for 2-3 days, maybe longer. Since I do woodworking on weekends mainly, I rough mill one weekend and then cut to final dimensions the next weekend. You want to to get air to all sides of the lumber with some weight on it to help hold it straight while it comes to moisture equilibrium.

[glenn bradley]

-- rant on --

Ripping material on the tablesaw that does not have a flat reference surface on the table and against the fence is a primary contributor to the high number of tablesaw related accidents reported. Don't be a statistic. If you cannot face joint and then edge joint your material prior to ripping, do not use the tablesaw which expects flat and straight reference edges; rip on the bandsaw. The bandsaw is much more forgiving of the undulating feed path that results from a non-flat reference surface. Using the tablesaw to rip things like 2x4's and un-prepared material is asking to wear said material for a hat :eek:. We get to read about kickback too often already. Work safe.

-- rant off :)

When milling lumber, my steps will vary depending on how rough the original material is. Material straight from the mill can require some bandsaw work to get it close enough to move to the jointer without losing too much material. If we consider that we have a face that is close enough for the jointer, I do the following steps while always heeding grain direction (YMMV):


Rough cut to oversize.

You don't want to have to mill around any extra length or width that exaggerate the flaws you are trying to remove.


Joint one face.

This is now the surface upon which all other steps are based.


Plane the opposite face leaving the thickness oversize.

This gives you two known parallel faces so that you can edge joint in the appropriate direction based on grain.


Joint one edge.
Rip to oversize width on the tablesaw using the now flat face and edge against the table and fence.
Crosscut to oversize length.


I then let the material rest for a day. The oversize dimensions allow you to correct for any movement during or after rough milling. Cut your parts to final dimensions and rock on.

[Jason Beam]

-- rant on --

Ripping material on the tablesaw that does not have a flat reference surface on the table and against the fence is a primary contributor to the high number of tablesaw related accidents reported. Don't be a statistic. If you cannot face joint and then edge joint your material prior to ripping, do not use the tablesaw which expects flat and straight reference edges; rip on the bandsaw. The bandsaw is much more forgiving of the undulating feed path that results from a non-flat reference surface. Using the tablesaw to rip things like 2x4's and un-prepared material is asking to wear said material for a hat :eek:. We get to read about kickback too often already. Work safe.

-- rant off :)

When milling lumber, my steps will vary depending on how rough the original material is. Material straight from the mill can require some bandsaw work to get it close enough to move to the jointer without losing too much material. If we consider that we have a face that is close enough for the jointer, I do the following steps while always heeding grain direction (YMMV):


Rough cut to oversize.

You don't want to have to mill around any extra length or width that exaggerate the flaws you are trying to remove.


Joint one face.

This is now the surface upon which all other steps are based.


Plane the opposite face leaving the thickness oversize.

This gives you two known parallel faces so that you can edge joint in the appropriate direction based on grain.


Joint one edge.
Rip to oversize width on the tablesaw using the now flat face and edge against the table and fence.
Crosscut to oversize length.


I then let the material rest for a day. The oversize dimensions allow you to correct for any movement during or after rough milling. Cut your parts to final dimensions and rock on.

This. ALL OF THIS. Especially the first part.

And for those of you fantastic cowboy woodworkers who have gone XYZ number of YEARS ripping rough timber on a tablesaw without any incident who can't seem to control the urge to post conflicting statements and bellyache about how the safety police bother you, I say this: Go buy a lottery ticket because you've been lucky. Second: We're talking to a novice who may not know all the factors to consider when doing stupid things at the tablesaw.

Everything Glenn said is exactly what I would do :)

[Jim Matthews]

I don't own a tablesaw, and just did something similar with locally harvested White Oak
(roughly the same thickness).

I joint one face, one edge before resawing.
I would verify the actual thickness, after jointing the face.

Drop a line you can see down the middle of the unjointed edge that's facing up.

Resaw with something to keep the end supported on the infeed,
and a lower table to catch the offcut on the outfeed side.

There's no need for a tablesaw, to do this.

Once you've got your resawn boards,
let them set for a week to see if they cup.

Most everything I resaw does, to some degree.

You might need to rejoint the board, before your next step.
At that point, verify thickness remaining.

Cherry is pretty forgiving, but the natural grain directions will have greater influence over thinner boards.

[Jeff Duncan]

First off I'm not a fan of using 8/4 stock to get 3/4" finished thickness. If there's any tension in the wood you may well end up with 2 unusable pieces. If the wood is stable then you may be OK, unfortunately you won;t know until you've split it in 2.

As for how…..joint one edge, rip to oversized width, joint 1 face, plane the other, re-saw in half. Let them sit a couple days and see what they want to do. Almost all the movement will happen immediately, but leaving it for a couple days or more will give you some insurance if the core was not equalized to the faces.

good luck,
JeffD

[Michael Mahan]

First off I'm not a fan of using 8/4 stock to get 3/4" finished thickness. If there's any tension in the wood you may well end up with 2 unusable pieces. If the wood is stable then you may be OK, unfortunately you won;t know until you've split it in 2.
JeffD
So Jeff ,
when considering buying rough boards is it better to buy 4/4 stock(that'd be 1" if am thinking right ?) for a 3/4" finish size ?

[Alan Lightstone]

First off I'm not a fan of using 8/4 stock to get 3/4" finished thickness. If there's any tension in the wood you may well end up with 2 unusable pieces. If the wood is stable then you may be OK, unfortunately you won;t know until you've split it in 2.


I agree, but I've found that I do better with 5/4 wood. A little more leeway to get the exact thickness I want. Sometimes with cupping or twisting, 4/4 doesn't give you enough thickness to get a truly flat board.

[Alan Lightstone]

-- rant on --

Ripping material on the tablesaw that does not have a flat reference surface on the table and against the fence is a primary contributor to the high number of tablesaw related accidents reported. Don't be a statistic. If you cannot face joint and then edge joint your material prior to ripping, do not use the tablesaw which expects flat and straight reference edges; rip on the bandsaw. The bandsaw is much more forgiving of the undulating feed path that results from a non-flat reference surface. Using the tablesaw to rip things like 2x4's and un-prepared material is asking to wear said material for a hat :eek:. We get to read about kickback too often already. Work safe.

-- rant off :)

When milling lumber, my steps will vary depending on how rough the original material is. Material straight from the mill can require some bandsaw work to get it close enough to move to the jointer without losing too much material. If we consider that we have a face that is close enough for the jointer, I do the following steps while always heeding grain direction (YMMV):


Rough cut to oversize.

You don't want to have to mill around any extra length or width that exaggerate the flaws you are trying to remove.


Joint one face.

This is now the surface upon which all other steps are based.


Plane the opposite face leaving the thickness oversize.

This gives you two known parallel faces so that you can edge joint in the appropriate direction based on grain.


Joint one edge.
Rip to oversize width on the tablesaw using the now flat face and edge against the table and fence.
Crosscut to oversize length.


I then let the material rest for a day. The oversize dimensions allow you to correct for any movement during or after rough milling. Cut your parts to final dimensions and rock on.

This is pretty well what I do with my lumber, except I joint one face, then joint a side. Then I plane the opposite face. I do it this way, because I have a combination jointer/planer and it saves me one changeover step.

In regards to Glen' "rant" - No rant at all. Kickback is real, and can cause real severe injuries, including loss of life, limb, or change in major political party affiliation (a fate worse than death). Considering you are new to this, best to start using good technique from the start.

[Jeff Duncan]

So Jeff ,
when considering buying rough boards is it better to buy 4/4 stock(that'd be 1" if am thinking right ?) for a 3/4" finish size ?

Yes, firstly b/c your generally spending less on 4/4 than you are on 8/4. The thicker the stock the more time consuming it is to dry properly and hence, more money. Also even if it is dried fairly well some woods can tend to have defects in the board that are not apparent on the surface. White oak is a big one for finding checking internally that doesn't show up when just lightly milling. But more importantly I buy the thickness I need b/c the stock is more apt to mill the way you want it. Now don't get me wrong, if I have something in the rack I'll re-saw it before making a trip to the lumber supply. And some woods are better than others, mahogany I would be far less worried about than say maple. Then you have certain situations where you want to re-saw for book matching, or making really thin parts, or a whole slew of different circumstances where you want to re-saw. But if I'm buying lumber to make 3/4" door parts I want to buy 4/4. If I'm making 1-3/4" passage doors I'll buy 8/4, etc. etc.. No hard and fast rules as much as thinking about the most practical way to do what your trying to do;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Shawn Pixley]

I agree, but I've found that I do better with 5/4 wood. A little more leeway to get the exact thickness I want. Sometimes with cupping or twisting, 4/4 doesn't give you enough thickness to get a truly flat board.

I think it depends upon what the condition of the lumber you buy. Where I buy, 4/4 lumber is consistantly 13/16" surfaced two sides and straightline ripped. I can pick over the lumber to check for straightness, cupping, etc... I can nearly alway get 3/4" true after flattening. Truth be told though, I flatten with hand planes not a electron powered jointer.

I'll slink off to my cave now...

[Jason Beam]

Yes, firstly b/c your generally spending less on 4/4 than you are on 8/4. The thicker the stock the more time consuming it is to dry properly and hence, more money. Also even if it is dried fairly well some woods can tend to have defects in the board that are not apparent on the surface. White oak is a big one for finding checking internally that doesn't show up when just lightly milling. But more importantly I buy the thickness I need b/c the stock is more apt to mill the way you want it. Now don't get me wrong, if I have something in the rack I'll re-saw it before making a trip to the lumber supply. And some woods are better than others, mahogany I would be far less worried about than say maple. Then you have certain situations where you want to re-saw for book matching, or making really thin parts, or a whole slew of different circumstances where you want to re-saw. But if I'm buying lumber to make 3/4" door parts I want to buy 4/4. If I'm making 1-3/4" passage doors I'll buy 8/4, etc. etc.. No hard and fast rules as much as thinking about the most practical way to do what your trying to do;)

good luck,
JeffD

Totally agree here. If i have it, i may use it. But it's not the most economical use (and as stated, higher risk). It can be done with care and a little luck. Sometimes the cut of the wood can also make a pretty big difference. Quartersawn stock will usually move around a bit less but like Jeff said, there's no hard and fast rules. I had some QS stock pretzel on me -- must've grown on a slope or in the wind or something - quite a bit of internal stresses. Just goes to show you can only predict so much of what a board will do when cut -- sometimes you get a surprise! :D