Tom Moll
09-19-2022, 8:07 PM
Stung again by anisotropic properties of wood! :)
I made 13" diameter cribbage boards with 3 track holes around the perimeter. 7/8" thick, stable and dry cherry. Finished with 6 coats of waterlox. I wanted to speed the drying of the final coat and darken the cherry a bit so I put it out in the sun for about 6 hours. When I went to finish it up there was a huge concave bow to the wood. Maybe 1/4" or more. It was astounding. I put a damp towel over the front (hole side) and steamed it with an iron and it returned to a fairly flat position. I don't know if it will stay.
Here's what I think happened... The wipe on finish covered all sides of the board but likely didn't get into the holes. I didn't want to clog the holes and have the pegs not fit. There is probably a lot of surface area that isn't finished if you consider the surface area of the hole x the number of holes. The sun sucked a little of the moisture out through the unfinished holes and curled the board. When I put steam back it, it flattened.
Has anyone had a similar problem? How should I solve? Would a spray overcoat get in the holes? Brush a coat into each hole?
I've made a dozen or more of these as gifts... they may all be warped depending on the humidity change.
I made 13" diameter cribbage boards with 3 track holes around the perimeter. 7/8" thick, stable and dry cherry. Finished with 6 coats of waterlox. I wanted to speed the drying of the final coat and darken the cherry a bit so I put it out in the sun for about 6 hours. When I went to finish it up there was a huge concave bow to the wood. Maybe 1/4" or more. It was astounding. I put a damp towel over the front (hole side) and steamed it with an iron and it returned to a fairly flat position. I don't know if it will stay.
Here's what I think happened... The wipe on finish covered all sides of the board but likely didn't get into the holes. I didn't want to clog the holes and have the pegs not fit. There is probably a lot of surface area that isn't finished if you consider the surface area of the hole x the number of holes. The sun sucked a little of the moisture out through the unfinished holes and curled the board. When I put steam back it, it flattened.
Has anyone had a similar problem? How should I solve? Would a spray overcoat get in the holes? Brush a coat into each hole?
I've made a dozen or more of these as gifts... they may all be warped depending on the humidity change.