Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 19 of 19

Thread: Is there an ideal width for boards, making a panel 2' x 3'

  1. #16
    Understood. No offense intended.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,876
    I would say about 1/2 the width of the boards you start with. So 5 inch in your case or maybe 2.5". I feel cutting in half will average out any curve and reduce planning passes to get it flat, thus preserving thickness.
    Bill D

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    451
    Blog Entries
    1
    I've seen a lot of indications of how to orient/alternate the grain and such in an effort to minimize the effects of warpage. I've never went by this. Interestingly, my father-in-law built some white oak furniture for my wife and I around 25 years ago that has had a few lives as well as seen some moisture in storage. I have the pieces as panels for re-use now and interestingly what did warp did not warp with the grain orientation.

    In my builds I never concerned myself with this and have always used the side that looks best and as wide of stock as possible limited by my shop's equipment. When I had a 6" jointer I'd often used close to 6" maximum width because that is what I could flatten. With my 8" jointer I use nearly 8" when I can and have found that is getting about as wide as I can manage when making them into panels. I've never seen an issue with warpage that would've been prevented by board width or grain orientation. Indoor kept pieces aren't affected enough by environmental factors to be concerned with designing the panels on any size/orientation features but stick to aesthetics and function.

    If you want a design that looks like it is made of small width boards then make small width boards, etc. I think consistent widths typically looks best. I will base my widths on consistency and what board widths I have available.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,680
    For me, I don't really pay attention to the various ways to "maintain stability", such as alternating growth rings, on furniture/projects that are for indoor use. It's all about appearance taking priority for me and that's how I arrange boards for any necessary glue-up to reach a certain size. Now if the material cooperates and I can get that so-called alternating growth pattern for flat sawn boards (which I don't particularly like compared to rift) as well as a good grain and color match, that's a bonus. How things are physically assembled is where I hopefully deal with any "maintain stability" concerns.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •