How can I square-up this (thick) tabletop?

[Frederick Skelly]

Guys,
I've painted myself into a corner and I need a hand. I'm mocking-up a butcher block top now. It's going to be 3 1/2" thick and 20" wide and 30" long. After I do a 10" wide mockup in pine, I'll do the final 20" wide top in maple.

This morning I realized that none of my tools will handle that thickness/width combination. And I'm searching for a safe way to square this top.

The details.......
My CMS will handle widths up to about 6" wide at the thickness Im talking about. That means make 3 sections and hope they alugn pefectly in the final glue up. My contractor saw has a darn good sled, but Im reluctant to make a cut that deep (dangerous?) plus I have to remove the blade stiffener to get that deep in the first place.

So I when went to buy the maple this morning, I asked my supplier if I could pay them to square it up after I build the final maple top. He said they got rid of their big industrial size radial arm saw because it was missing a number of guards, etc and someone had gotten a minor injury.

My next thought was "hire a cabinet shop" to square it up. But what do I do if I cant find one willing/able to do it? I mean, if my lumberyard got rid of their big saw, are others likely to have one? Dunno.

I looked at track saws, but the Makita doesnt look like it will cut that thick either. (Maybe I missed something?)

I'm not sure I'm good enough with handsaws or planes to square it. I toyed with using a big ROS or even an air-driven auto body sander. But those seem like last resorts.

Am I missing something obvious? I've decided I really do like the look of that 3 1/2" thick top. But if I can't find an answer, I'll have to go to something thinner, as some of you suggested last weekend.

Thank you,
Fred

[Brian W Evans]

Someone with a sliding table saw could handle this in a few minutes. Let us know where you are and maybe a creeker could help you out. Otherwise, try a millwork shop or a different lumber dealer. My dealer has a big slider, CNC machine, wide belt sander, etc. and is happy to do one-off jobs for people.

[Jerry Bruette]

Any way you could cut half way through on table saw then flip it over and finish the cut. I think I'd try using a sled with a stop so the cuts would be aligned.

[Bill Space]

If it were me, what I would do is clamp guide rails on the sides of the surfaces, and make a small router sled (or just a larger base plate for my router) and use the router in a fashion similar to how a router is used to flatten large surfaces, using a sled to hold the router.

Naturally you would do one edge at a time.

This should not be hard to do with a small 20 by 30 inch piece. you can stand it one edge and control the router without problems I expect.

It is the way I would probably address the issue. Hope the idea is useful.

Bill

[Bradley Gray]

Where are you located. It is unlikely I am close enough, But my RAS could do it.

Your table saw could work. Make several passes raising the blade between. One side at a time.

Or you could use your jointer to make 2 edges square. You could then rip and flip on the TS

[andy bessette]

Cut close to the line on the bandsaw and plane or belt sand to the line.

[Mel Fulks]

I would carefully mark it, then bandsaw. Sand edges with belt sander ,60 or 40 grit before going finer. And even if that means getting someone else to do it ,I think it will be cheaper than using table saw.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys, for all the advice and your kind offers to cut this thing for me. You've given me several ideas I can use. I'll let you know what I end up doing.

I very much appreciate your advice. I was flat stumped.

Best regards,
Fred

[joseph moses]

I had a similar problem with a bench top that I made. I ended up finishing things off with a Japanese handsaw and a jointer plane. It was a lot of work and I remember having to take my time to make sure that my saw stayed at the right angle. I used a magnetic level to make sure that the saw stayed at the right angle until I got the hang of it. I then used a sharp jointer plane to make sure it was flat.

[Ed Labadie]

Since you don't tell us where you are......help offers don't do much good.

I could square it up on my GE quicker than it's taking to type this.

Go find a rental house that has a 16" Makita circular saw, clamp a straightedge on the glue-up and cut.

Ed

[mreza Salav]

Cut with a circular saw about 2" or so deep using guides clamped. Then cut using bandsaw on the outter side of the kerf of the circular saw.
Flip it over and use a spiral flush trim bit to "extend" the circular saw cut all the way to full depth.
Instead of circular saw you can do it on your table saw if you have a proper sled to handle the piece (my sled fits up to 21" wide pieces).

[Sam Murdoch]

Process each of your 3 sections to be square and the correct length. This might mean that one edge of each of the 3 sections would need to be a bit bigger than the remaining components so that you can joint or saw to dimension.

During each stage of the glue up your primary concern would be to get the ends aligned perfectly. I would use a Domino but dowels or a stop block on your glue up table would work just as well. With each section assembled to the correct length and width repeat the careful glue up for the entire top. After assembly/clamp up the top should be pretty darn square. And though I am by nature and training, a meticulous fellow and a fussy woodworker, this is a case where I would say - who cares if it's out a 1/16"? If you can't see it without a the aid of a square I would be satisfied.

[Dave Richards]

Several have suggested cutting part way through from one side and finishing the cut from the other. If you make a guide like this (https://flic.kr/p/ebreuc) you should get a nice cut that'll only take a bit of sanding or a block plane to dress.

[Bill Dindner]

If it was me, I would use my track saw at max depth, then use a large hand Saw to cut through, then true it up with a large jointer plane

[rudy de haas]

You could make two - each about 1.75: thick. Square those up; glue therm (cross grain) and then sand the edges.

[Frederick Skelly]

Process each of your 3 sections to be square and the correct length. This might mean that one edge of each of the 3 sections would need to be a bit bigger than the remaining components so that you can joint or saw to dimension.

During each stage of the glue up your primary concern would be to get the ends aligned perfectly. I would use a Domino but dowels or a stop block on your glue up table would work just as well. With each section assembled to the correct length and width repeat the careful glue up for the entire top. After assembly/clamp up the top should be pretty darn square. And though I am by nature and training, a meticulous fellow and a fussy woodworker, this is a case where I would say - who cares if it's out a 1/16"? If you can't see it without a the aid of a square I would be satisfied.

Thanks again everyone!

I'm trying the approach Sam describes on the mockup. I should know by mid-week if it's going to work, but it did today for the first 3 sections I glued up, and it did. I decided to make 3 more sections, just to expand the test to the full 20" width. We'll see.

If not, I have lots of food for thought......

Using a small router and sled is still intriguing..... I'm not a big "router guy", but I never fail to be amazed by the ingenuity of you folks who are! I never would have thought of that.

Likewise, I never thought to that cutting guide Dave shows. I'll bet I could get it square with that, even with my journeyman sawing skills.

I'll be sure to circle back and update the post to document what all I did and how it work, so it's in the archives to help the next guy.

Best regards,
Fred