Dimensioning 10/4 lumber for bench build...How to go about it?

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

Next order of business: laminating pieces to make the legs. I ripped and crosscut all the necessary pieces to rough dimension and it's all planed (power-planed, not hand planed). There are a couple pieces with slight bows that a thickness planer wouldn't remove, so here's a good learning opportunity.
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The pictures above are of the worst offender--about 3/32" of gap between the pieces. With decent clamps I could certainly get this gap to close up but at what risk? Would the stress induced by clamping a bowed board flat be a problem?

Thus far in my woodworking experience I've taken the "better safe than sorry" route and tried to get all the pieces to mate as well as possible before laminating. I figured the less stress in the wood the more stable it might be in the long term. But this takes time and becomes more and more difficult as components become longer. It also requires, in cases like this, a decent amount of thickness to be removed.

How big of a bow would you tolerate in pieces that are gonna be laminated?

Matt

[Prashun Patel]

That gap is a little big for me. I aim for the pieces to draw seamlessly together by hand. A little bit of force by my fingers is tolerable, but if additional jointing is possible, I will do that until it's good.

Take care to keep your edges square as you bring them into flat.

Challenge yourself to be a little more perfect here.

[Robert Hazelwood]

Those laminates look a bit thick for that kind of gap. Can you squeeze the gap closed with your hands? That is the test I would use.

My bench is made of 1.5" thick laminates. I planed them all with a smooth plane until I got continuous shavings, but they would still have some bow. Skip planing by hand basically. Then I clamped all the laminates together in the correct order/orientation and check the fit. I had to make a few corrections to close some gaps. Then it's ready for glue up. Has held together fine so far.

[Pat Barry]

Next order of business: laminating pieces to make the legs. I ripped and crosscut all the necessary pieces to rough dimension and it's all planed (power-planed, not hand planed). There are a couple pieces with slight bows that a thickness planer wouldn't remove, so here's a good learning opportunity.
IMG_5330.jpgIMG_5329.jpg

The pictures above are of the worst offender--about 3/32" of gap between the pieces. With decent clamps I could certainly get this gap to close up but at what risk? Would the stress induced by clamping a bowed board flat be a problem?

Thus far in my woodworking experience I've taken the "better safe than sorry" route and tried to get all the pieces to mate as well as possible before laminating. I figured the less stress in the wood the more stable it might be in the long term. But this takes time and becomes more and more difficult as components become longer. It also requires, in cases like this, a decent amount of thickness to be removed.

How big of a bow would you tolerate in pieces that are gonna be laminated?

Matt

The amount of tolerable bow is inversely related to the force required to close the bow and how they respond. If you can close it with light pressure and the two boards straighten together then ok. If one conforms to the other and they are not straight together you have more work to do. If it takes much clamping pressure then you have more work to do.

[Brian Holcombe]

Even if it is close-able the result will either be a very thick glue line or open seam.