Selecting a Board

[Doug Mason]

I'm making a tabletop for a lowboy 20 inches wide by 32 inches wide by 3/4 thick. It can't be any more than two boards. So, with the intent of resawing a wide board, I bought a 9 foot piece of walnut, 12 in wide and 1 7/8 inchs thick (actual), with a long check in each end (it was the only board wide enough I could find on that lumber run). Here I am sawing off the ends just above the end of the checking on each side.

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In doing the above crosscuts, the stress was so great on one end that it jammed the saw and I had to drive a wedge in to free the blade. So here is my seven ft long board that I need to get 3 feet for the top.

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In considering the stress I encountered, should I crosscut the 3 ft long piece for the top from the middle (which will produce wastefull off-cuts), or am I overthinking this--in wihch case I'll crosscut from one end (which will give me a useable 4 ft long piece for use elsewhere).

[Wilbur Pan]

This has nothing to do with the stress on the board, but I would lean towards cutting a 3 foot piece from whatever part of the board that gives you the nicest grain pattern for your top, regardless of the type of waste you'll get. The top of the table is what everyone sees, and it would be a shame to have a less than optimal grain pattern on the top in the name of keeping the offcut as long as possible.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Wilbur. Cutting out "critical show components" for a project is best focused on final presentation. This includes figure, grain match at edges and color.

[Jim Koepke]

I will go with the others. Show pieces do not come from being frugal. They come from taking bold moves without trying to pinch the pennies.

It looks like there could be some nice book matched pieces when this piece is re-sawn.

jim

[Doug Mason]

ok--I was thinking that there would be a good chance of enough built up stress that I might be asking for trouble when re-sawing. I'll go for the best grain pattern then.

[Wilbur Pan]

Just to clarify -- one other reason that I would ignore the stress issues is that if a board has enough stress that it can't handle being resawn, it's not likely to survive long term as a tabletop, either.

[David Keller NC]

Just to clarify -- one other reason that I would ignore the stress issues is that if a board has enough stress that it can't handle being resawn, it's not likely to survive long term as a tabletop, either.

Yeah - I second this. Moreover, looking at the board you've shown reveals a lot of sapwood. At least if you're going for authenticity, then you pretty much have to re-saw the board. Sapwood on a period original is incredibly rare (and not desirable!)