Flatten a twisted apron help

[Trevor Wentzel]

Hi,
I've pulled the trigger and started a bench build, and it's all going pretty well...
I have laminated and planned the top, aprons and legs.

One of my aprons came out twisted and I suspect i clamped the twist into the lamination.
The aprons are 1.5"x11"x5'
Is the correct method to remove this twist to plane the high corners and flatten one side with winding sticks, then flip and repeat?
or is there a better method?

Will it matter much if the aprons are not the same thickness?
thanks for the help!

[Glen Canaday]

It won't matter if the thickness is different between them as long as they are functional as intended. If you intend to use holdfasts, for instance, they just need to be thick enough to hold them.

As far as flattening, it is the same as for any board. Plane down the high spots and then smooth as desired.

[David Eisenhauer]

Flatten one face by knocking down the high corners and using winding sticks to ensure flatness, then run a gauge line (gauging from the flattened face) around the perimeter of the opposite face to the greatest thickness available after flattening the other face. Plane to the gauge lines.

[Hilton Ralphs]

I know this won't help but I normally ask my wife to iron mine.

Sorry, it's Friday. :)

[Trevor Wentzel]

Thanks David, this is the method I plan on using....

Thanks for the laugh Hilton!

[Robert Engel]

What I do is remove enough material from the high corners until the board sits on the bench without rocking.

Then I flatten the other (top) side. You can also use wedges between board and bench.

Sribe a line around the 4 edges and plane the other side to the lines.

The problem is if a large amount of twist the board will be much thinner and possibly unusable.

I would check this first you may have to start over.

[george wilson]

Have them run it through the mangle at the local laundry!!:)

[Brian Holcombe]

Have them run it through the mangle at the local laundry!!:)

If they can't straighten it, then use a pair of unwinding sticks.

[Trevor Wentzel]

I didn't get much done this weekend, I had some board and batten to get up before the snow comes....
I believe I must have laminated the twist into the apron, how is this avoided?

As i get the legs square, I cant wait to have a bench and stop chasing the workmate around the room!

Also, as I get closer to cutting the pieces to final length, I have a question about two saws I have.
One is a Canadian made 26 inch Disston D7, 5 1/2 ripsaw, in wonderful condition.
The other is a 22 inch Disston, keystone K3 pacemaker cross cut panel saw. (slight bend in the blade)

I know the saws themselves are not highly sought after, but could they be restored and make good users?

[Glen Canaday]

Yes @ the saws.

And twist can be laminated in in a few ways. Two of which are: 1.) face gluing edges that are not square, and 2.) the boards are allowed to slip on one end just a bit during glue-up.

These are the two ways I've done it. Now I glue one board at a time and take forever to do it because I'm scared ;) The second method can be prevented in a number of ways like drilling holes and doweling or screwing them together at glue time, but the first..just gotta do a better job squaring up than I did.

[Pat Barry]

Hi,
I've pulled the trigger and started a bench build, and it's all going pretty well...
I have laminated and planned the top, aprons and legs.

One of my aprons came out twisted and I suspect i clamped the twist into the lamination.
The aprons are 1.5"x11"x5'
Is the correct method to remove this twist to plane the high corners and flatten one side with winding sticks, then flip and repeat?
or is there a better method?

Will it matter much if the aprons are not the same thickness?
thanks for the help!
How are you planning to attach the aprons to the bench? How much twist is there? What type of wood?

[Trevor Wentzel]

How are you planning to attach the aprons to the bench? How much twist is there? What type of wood?

I'm building the bench from Paul Sellers book, but a slightly thicker top. 1/4 twist at one corner, mostly spruce, but some pine.
I unpacked and re stacked a whole bundle of 2 x12x 12 for 5 perfect boards...

[Pat Barry]

I'm building the bench from Paul Sellers book, but a slightly thicker top. 1/4 twist at one corner, mostly spruce, but some pine.
I unpacked and re stacked a whole bundle of 2 x12x 12 for 5 perfect boards...
I was going to suggest that you could likely just screw the apron to the edge of the bench and to the legs and that twist will disappear because 1/4 inch over 5 ft isn't really all that much and it shouldn't take much force to straighten it out. Easy enough to recess the screw heads so they won't be an issue

[Trevor Wentzel]

How much twist is there? ?

To measure the amount, is it the height of the gap between the table and raised corner?

[Trevor Wentzel]

I was going to suggest that you could likely just screw the apron to the edge of the bench and to the legs

The plans call for screws and glue. Some folks use wedges in the housing dados of the apron against the legs, but I think I'll screw/glue as I don't need it to be a knock down bench...

[Pat Barry]

To measure the amount, is it the height of the gap between the table and raised corner?
I took your comment to mean there was about a 1/4" twist in it (at each end for example). If the board were secured to an edge and one corner, there might be 1/2 inch gap between the 'high' corner and the post as you described. I think this amount could be easily pulled in over the length of that apron. Imagine that you are going to untwist the board by hand. You would fix one end and then rotate the other end, in a direction opposite to the twist, to unwind it. Bascially use this method to secure the 'high' end with a clamp and then screw it all home.