Water Damage to Glued Cherry
Glued-up wide Cherry boards got rained on. What's the best hope for salvage? January 18, 2011
Question
I was sanding cherry glued into 12 inch wide boards and it rained, causing all the cherry under my tarps to get wet. Some are wet all the way through, others only some. What is the best way to dry the wood? Avoid or remove water stains? What about the glue joints?
Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From contributor B:
Looks like a few variables here you may need to deal with. First, I doubt that the water will damage the glue joints, unless you used a glue that doesn't dry water-proof, in which case they will certainly fail. Re-gluing doesn't work, so you would need to rip down the glue line and redo it. If it falls apart, a simple pass on the jointer will work. Hope you had some room to work with.
To dry it, just put it in your home, or somewhere else dry and warm for a couple of weeks. Getting it wet doesn't mean another kiln job, it just means the water needs to evaporate out of it. Wood is somewhat like a sponge, just slower. If you have concerns, find a local shop that has a moisture sensor (or buy one yourself for about $100) and have it tested. It only takes a few seconds.
Finally, the potential water stains. That's the booger, cherry is prone to color shifting as it is let alone angering it. I can't give you a promise, but if it were mine I would take any piece that got wet at all and let it get rained on completely; at least the look would be similar across the whole piece. If one spot got wet and it's dried up already, I doubt you will lose the stain by re-wetting it; may need a run through the planer. However you use the wood, try to use one piece to make any side you may look at match. You may try using borders or separators of another type of wood (walnut, ebony) to break up the visual of the potentially differing cherry.
From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
Contributor B has hit the main points. The heat in a kiln can easily soften the glue, as can the moisture. So, it is possible that the present joints are toast.
Would you like to add information to this article?
Interested in writing or submitting an article?
Have a question about this article?
Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below?
KnowledgeBase: Knowledge Base
KnowledgeBase: Lumber and Plywood
KnowledgeBase: Lumber & Plywood: Storage
KnowledgeBase: Primary Processing
KnowledgeBase: Primary Processing: Air Drying Lumber
Would you like to add information to this article? ...
Click Here
If you have a question regarding a Knowledge Base article, your best chance at uncovering an answer is to search the entire Knowledge Base for related articles or to post your question at the appropriate WOODWEB Forum. Before posting your message, be sure to review our Forum Guidelines.
Questions entered in the Knowledge Base Article comment form will not generate responses! A list of WOODWEB Forums can be found at WOODWEB's Site Map.
When you post your question at the Forum, be sure to include references to the Knowledge Base article that inspired your question. The more information you provide with your question, the better your chances are of receiving responses.
Return to beginning of article.
|
