proper process and technique for letting wood air after jointing

[Brian Runau]

Never had a problem before, but with the recent lumber I am having movement after jointing. Guess I have been lucky. I mostly work with quarter sawn oak. After I joint a face and an edge should I stack it and let it sit overnight? I normally will machine for thickness right after jointing it and then lay them flat overnight for the next process, but this time I am having problems, so looking to go back to basics to make sure I follow proper procedure. At what point in the jointing/planing process should I stop and let the wood rest stacked so air can circulate around it?

Thanks.

Brian.

[Jim Becker]

I like to take a similar amount of material off the other side with the thickness planer after face jointing and then stack/sticker for things to equalize. Only stacking with just the face jointing will have more stress /MC imbalance on the material. I kinda get close enough so that bringing to final thickness with a pass or two on both sides will finish the work in the next milling session.

[Mel Fulks]

It's best to face the convex side,as that will often make the whole board straighten on both sides . After both sides are
dressed ,remove wood from the convex side, that can change with every pass ....or not. Reccomendations to face
the concave side are based on perceived "safety". "Follow the science"

[Robert Engel]

What they both said + add some weight to the stack.

You can follow the science and the occasional board still didn't "read the book" LOL

[Brian Runau]

Jim, how long do you let it sit to air? Overnight? Thanks Brian

[Ron Citerone]

I agree with the other 3 posts. I also have the question of how long has the wood been acclimated to your shop? If not very long, I would want to know were was it stored before you put it in te shop.

[Warren Lake]

joint plane over thickness then put it on its sides with air between. Leave it 2-3 days if you have time, 15-20 percent will move a bit and be taken care of on the second jointing and planing down to final thickness. You want to get the tension out. Final life it wont have weight on it.

[Brian Runau]

I agree with the other 3 posts. I also have the question of how long has the wood been acclimated to your shop? If not very long, I would want to know were was it stored before you put it in te shop.

Been in the sop 2 months.

[Ron Citerone]

Been in the sop 2 months.

I’m thinking it might be stress in the wood then. If it was dried when you put it in your shop 2 months is a pretty long stretch. I’ve had some stress issues with White Oak occasionally.

[Mark Bolton]

Proper process is to not let it "air" at all unless its something uber critical like doors. Machine it, and get it locked into its final form as quickly as possible. Remind yourself on a minute by minute basis that things are being made, finished, and out the door, while your pondering your "resting after surfacing". Its not to say that a $30,000 bespoke project or a pair of doors in a $20K opening may not command some preferential treatment, but thinking anyone needs to allow every piece or material to "rest" after any machining is a severe misnomer. Dont fall for the hype. Enjoy your work, adjust your work to meet your material and timeline.

#stop_the_foolishness

[Jim Becker]

Jim, how long do you let it sit to air? Overnight? Thanks Brian

Generally overnight, but it depends upon what the moisture meter says. The white pine I used this past year for a locker door project for a local equestrian business needed nearly a week to "calm down". I even put a fan blowing through the stacks as the nature of the work really required "no movement" after milling. I actually stacked and stickered that particular material for a day or three after milling to final thickness just to be sure. Normally, however, overnight is usually just fine when equal amounts were taken off both sides. If a board goes wonky after that, it was a bad board and needs to get re-purposed.

[Ron Citerone]

Proper process is to not let it "air" at all unless its something uber critical like doors. Machine it, and get it locked into its final form as quickly as possible. Remind yourself on a minute by minute basis that things are being made, finished, and out the door, while your pondering your "resting after surfacing". Its not to say that a $30,000 bespoke project or a pair of doors in a $20K opening may not command some preferential treatment, but thinking anyone needs to allow every piece or material to "rest" after any machining is a severe misnomer. Dont fall for the hype. Enjoy your work, adjust your work to meet your material and timeline.

#stop_the_foolishness

Agree. In this case the OP usually does this with no problem until this time.

[Brian Runau]

Proper process is to not let it "air" at all unless its something uber critical like doors. Machine it, and get it locked into its final form as quickly as possible. Remind yourself on a minute by minute basis that things are being made, finished, and out the door, while your pondering your "resting after surfacing". Its not to say that a $30,000 bespoke project or a pair of doors in a $20K opening may not command some preferential treatment, but thinking anyone needs to allow every piece or material to "rest" after any machining is a severe misnomer. Dont fall for the hype. Enjoy your work, adjust your work to meet your material and timeline.

#stop_the_foolishness

I'm just a hobby guy and 64 so some days I don't go into the shop when I'm tired or doing errands outside the house. thanks. brian.

[John TenEyck]

If the wood is at EMC with your shop then do exactly as Mark said. If it's not, then you have 3 options. The best option is to wait until it is. Second best is to do exactly as Mark said. Third best is to mill oversize and wait, as discussed above. Sometimes we are forced to choose a less than perfect option due to time constraints. In that case, your only option is what Mark said. Keep in mind that production shops can't and don't wait, yet they produce high quality products. The key is starting with wood that meets your MC requirements and culling the stuff that goes wonky from internal stresses. Buy 20% extra from a reputable supplier and have at it.

John

[Don Stephan]

In all likelihood if the lumber has been in your shop for 2 months the relative humidity of the air and therefore the moisture content of the surface of the wood has been changing, unless your shop has constant temp and humidity year round. If the moisture content of the surface of the wood has been changing then so has the moisture content further in the wood. According to Bruce Hoadley and his excellent reference book Understnding Wood, the woisture content is not uniform through the thickness of the wood. Seldom is a rough sawn board perfectly flat, so when one face is jointed flat more wood is taken off some areas of the face than others, so the surface moisture content will not be uniform on the jointed surface.

What has worked well for me is to joint one face flat, plane the other surface parallel, and sticker for a week. After the time to acclimate joint one face flat again and plane the other face parallel. If it took more than 2 passes through the jointer, I sticker the wood for another week and then repeat. If again it took more than two passes through the jointer, I use the board for test cuts, et cetera. If it stayed flat through the first resting period, and needs to be thinner after the second flattening alternate faces through the planer.

This is the method that has worked for me. Environmental conditions, wood sources, wood species, and more all can have an effect. For those with a different method that has worked for them I am NOT suggesting change.