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lumber warping as it is ripped

5/23/22       
mike klostermann

I have always struggled with this problem and not sure if its just something every one deals with or if i am getting poor quality lumber.
the problem is when I joint an 8 foot long by 8inch wide board straight and flat then go to say rip it into 2.25 inch strips for door parts or faceframe parts it will bow and twist like crazy. I am lucky If I end up with two sticks out 20 that are straight enough to use the full length.
Is this normal or am i getting crappy lumber. i usually order FAS

5/24/22       #2: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
RichC

Absolutely not normal for kiln dried furniture grade lumber. Perfectly normal for kiln dried construction lumber. What grade and what lumber species are you buying?

5/24/22       #3: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
Mikeklostermann

I am mosty using hard maple or hickory. It doesn't seem to matter what species. As for grade I ask for FAS or select and better. I have always been told they are the same.

5/24/22       #4: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
Leo G Member

Depends on what twist and goes crazy means. Most all wood has stress in it. The only way to relieve that stress is to kiln dry and then let it sit for at least 6 months. And that doesn't always do it either.

If you want to get straight and flat boards you need to do it in proper sequence. And unfortunately it is more wasteful than what you want to do.

I rip all my boards to width plus 3/16" and if they are 12' or longer it's 1/4"

Then I face, plane and joint in that order. And then you can rip your boards to width. Usually they stay put. On occasion they will move slightly.

I buy all my stock skip planed and ripped one edge. That way if something cups I have the meat left to face and plane it back flat. I almost never by FAS to size anymore. And when I do I'm usually disappointed a few weeks down the pike grabbing a board and seeing a nice cup in it.

5/24/22       #5: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
RichC

I suggest you try a new supplier who does a better job with the kiln. FAS and select and better are not the same, but neither have anything to do with stressed wood. Very low grades have more knots and wild grain and can move more.

5/24/22       #6: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
door shop guy

Perfectly normal. Theres not a single piece of lumber through my shop that doesnt get ripped oversize and flattened on the jointer.

5/24/22       #7: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
BH Davis  Member

Website: http://www.bhdavis.net

I would not expect to get usable 8' strips out of a board simply by ripping them out of an already trued wider board. Like others I would rip a skip faced board into over wide strips and then face and edge joint each strip. And I would only do this to 8' strips when the full length is required. My typical method is to cut face frames or stiles and rails 2" to 4" overlong out of wide boards, then rip those short boards into over wide strips and only after that finally take them to the jointer and planer. Then the final step is to cut these blanks to the required lengths.

BH Davis

5/25/22       #8: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
David R Sochar Member

Website: http://www.acornwoodworks.com

It is not normal. It is a sign of case hardened lumber - a drying defect.

You can perform a simple test to see if it is case hardened. Cross cut a 5" to 7" wide board, and then cross cut it again so you have a piece of the board about 1 inch "long". Turn it so it is long grain parallel to the bandsaw blade and cut it like in the drawing. Date it and save it for your lumber rep.
It could be they don't know, or hope you don't know. Either way, it is to be avoided.

5/27/22       #9: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
Mark B

Both sides here but pretty much agree with David with regards to severe movement when ripping. We buy pretty much all FAS as well and the material we get has very little movement when ripping but to me it also depends on what your expecting out of the material. If your ripping standard cabinet rail/stile or face frame material ripping slightly over width then final with a back fence on a shaper on sticking is all we do as those parts are all going to be broken down into much shorter lengths. But it would be unrealistic to expect to be able to consistently rip perhaps long pantry stiles. You may get a few here and there but long parts often have to be cut oversize, edge/face jointed.

Occasionally we get packs from mills we dont use regularly and they will move more when ripping most commonly pinching or spreading at the riving knife which reminds me to avoid those sources whenever possible.

If the mill is grading accurately and the drying and stress relief is done correctly you should have minimal movement when breaking down even wide boards.

5/29/22       #10: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
Bruce H

I cross cut my door parts before ripping. Rip them over width, joint one face and plane for thickness. Final width is after the doors are assembled. In this way I get square, flat, perfect doors. A little extra work but I have no failures.

5/31/22       #11: lumber warping as it is ripped ...
David R Sochar Member

Process matters. You should have a process of lumber prep that is reliable and will yield the quality parts you need. Your lumber needs to be able to fit within that process.

We almost always get rough length first, then rough width, then face and edge, then plane to final thickness, then rip or plane to width, with allowances included.

If you have oversize parts to get - like for 8' pantry doors, then the lumber should be thicker - 5/4 or even 6/4 to get the stability you need. Draw your thick doors in section to see how they will integrate with the normal doors you make.


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