Need help truing up a joint in a panel before glue up.

[Scott Winners]

I don't understand why all the rest of them look good and this one is driving me bananas.

My current panel is 16 length x 17.5 width. Once it is glued up I can trim it to 15x15 inches for the project I have going. It will be a small table top.

***whole panel, pencil is pointing at the bothersome gap.

*** closeup of the gap. It is right at 1/32" at the widest.

Material is 4/4 American Beech, kiln dried, shipped to Alaska, I have been tripping over it on the floor of my home office for about 18 months, and my hardwood purveyor said he had brought it in in either 2014 or 2015. My rough stock is mostly 5-7" width, flat sawn, not much figure. I rotated my stickered stack every month for the first three months it was here, and then every three months since then. They were all a little cupped, but I do have more crook than I want.

The top as pictured is all from one board that was 6" wide this morning. I cross cut to length going 1" long on everything, and then ripped to 2.5" off each edge leaving me rift sawn table top pieces 4/4 x 2.5 x 16 nominal, and some beech wood scraps nominal 1x1x16" and flat/quarter sawn.

I have shaved and trimmed and shaved on this thing, and decided to stop to ask for help. Could it be the problem piece has some more crook stored in it? How long should I let it set to finish crooking before I trim it some more?

Alternatively, I could re-arrange the order of the pices and put the problem child at one end, but then how long should I wait to trim the excess off the table top I will have trapped inside there? I do also have one spare piece the same size from the same board, but it has a through knot close to one end.

I can certainly let this sit for 48 hours while I work on legs and aprons if that is likely to be enough time...

[Scott Winners]

Looks like four days was enough for relaxing. I have three gaps now, but the wood seems to have stopped moving in the last 12 hours. I am going to measure up the three gaps I have as best i can and let the stock sit another week, then measure the three gaps again next weekend. If it's stable, then I will glue up the top next weekend.

Next time with the rest of this beech I will rough out my stock two weeks before I plan to start joinery.

[Jim Becker]

A trick I learned from Brian Holcomb but have seen used by others is to take a piece of thin plywood onto a flat bench, put the panel on top of it with the edge slightly beyond the support panel and use a well tuned hand-plane to joint the edge to precision that sometimes doesn't come from the power tool. For a bookmatch panel, be sure to set things up so your getting a complimentary edge just as you would with the power tool. The longer the piece, the bigger the plane. You're basically doing an informal shooting board using your (flat!) bench as part of the "tool".

[Andrew Hughes]

If your trying to get a good fit with hand planes try to make a hollow in the middle. Then one final shaving from end to end.
If your using a jointer then drag the jointer out from your shop because it’s not earning it keep.
Get the Boards glued up in the same hour the joint is made perfect. American beech is not know for its stability Euro beech is much better. You have to work with that in mind.
Good Luck

[johnny means]

I would clamp that shut and call it a day.

[Scott Winners]

Thanks all. I went with American Beech because I like the look of it, it is cheaper than white oak which I love - and cheaper than s4s pine from the BORG, and it moves a tiny bit more than white oak. I figure once I have beech under control I won't have any trouble with white oak moving around on me.

I did use a handplane (#5 Bailey) to joint the edges, front to front, then back to back, front to front working my way across the panel. It was perfect for about an hour, the one piece with the most run out got to moving within, I dunno, 3-4 hours. I will give it another week to finish relaxing and count it a lesson learned.

Thanks again.

[Derek Cohen]

A trick I learned from Brian Holcomb but have seen used by others is to take a piece of thin plywood onto a flat bench, put the panel on top of it with the edge slightly beyond the support panel and use a well tuned hand-plane to joint the edge to precision that sometimes doesn't come from the power tool. For a bookmatch panel, be sure to set things up so your getting a complimentary edge just as you would with the power tool. The longer the piece, the bigger the plane. You're basically doing an informal shooting board using your (flat!) bench as part of the "tool".

You mean like this, Jim ?

Two book matched boards to be jointed ....





They are folded together. A second piece of MDF is laid on top, and then weighted down with bricks (to ensure the edge was flat and parallel to the bench top) ..





A jointer plane now shoots the edge square ..





Pretty well know to hand tool users.

One reason woodworkers should be ambidextrous

Glueing up ...




Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Matthews]

Thanks all. I went with American Beech because I like the look of it, it is cheaper than white oak which I love - and cheaper than s4s pine from the BORG, and it moves a tiny bit more than white oak.

Thanks again.

Andrew beat me to the suggestion of a "sprung joint".

If you clamp these boards together, can you get the gaps closed?

Even along the coast, modern glues are pretty tough.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, Derek...like that. But the bricks. Now...that's a new one for me! LOL

[Alan Lightstone]

Love the bricks, Derek.

I was going to suggest a sprung joint too.

What's the equilibrium moisture content up there? With 12 inches of rain a year and 61 inches of snow on average, it can't be low.

I watch all those Building Alaska shows. Isn't the tool of choice up there a chainsaw?

[Derek Cohen]

Not just any bricks ... I do have extras for sale. Shipping may be a killer!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Matthews]

Not just any bricks ... I do have extras for sale. Shipping may be a killer!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Artisanal Pilbara Dockers' training camp pitch bricks?

Looks a lot like a a dozen Footy fans in the stands...

[Scott Winners]

Outdoor EMC for Fairbanks, AK per the US Forest Service is 11%; which I agree with as I process 8-10 cords of firewood annually with moderate expertise. We are pretty much a desert, the snow we get is dry and fluffy. I had no idea Fairbanks is a world class destination for cross country skiers until I got here. CC skiing looks a lot like work to me.

Indoors with consumer grade equipment I routinely see +80dF and 80+% RH in the summer time, in winter I can maintain temps with the wood stove but running two gallons daily through the humidifier I struggle to maintain 8% RH. The garage is even worse, as the boiler and associated fresh air intake is out there in my shop. Though I am at the ragged edge of my hydrometer's envelope, 2% RH and +55dF is not an uncommon reading during heating season. I am planning to put a beech saw till out there with my remainders after the table is finished. I do have a plan.

FWIW my house has Hv__ for HVAC. I routinely use 250/300 million BTUs for heat including domestic hot water, about 200 of those from the wood stove, have a courtesy fan in each of the two bathroom for ventialtion, and jack doodle for AC.

FWIW I had the panel clamped up again this morning and it hasn't moved within measurable limits.

[Jim Matthews]

80% to 2% is significant and must be considered.

That's a recipe for jammed Summer windows and Winter whistling through every gap.

I begin to understand why Suomi houses are still hewn logs - their walls are designed to move a little.

https://ikihirsi-loghome-pikkusuomi.blogspot.com/

*yikes*

Jim Tolpin down in Port Townsend might have some insights about this. I'm seeing gaps develop in my dining table this time of year - just opening doors is enough to change the air volume.

Breadboard ends, drawbore pins and expansion slots will help but this is a VERY large swing.