Ever use that expression? If you are working with wood, it’s actually pretty important.
Wood is a natural product and with nature you seldom get uniformity. Plus, lumber has to be cut and dried so there are even more opportunities to introduce defects. The problem is that when you work with wood
, you really need to have it be flat and straight in order to get good edges and seamless joints.
Usually you can select boards that are straight and true but then there is that last imperfect piece in the wood pile that you need for your project. Or you may have a board with issues but the grain is so outstanding that you just have to use it.
Here are some of the common flaws you’ll find with suggestions on how they can be corrected:
- Bow – your board curves end to end. Perfect for an archer, but not great for your project. Some woods may be flattened with steam and weights. Or, if the bow is very slight, it may be possible to plane it out but you’ll end up with a thinner board. Ultimately you may have to just cut it into smaller pieces.
- Cup – your board curves edge to edge. A cupped board would be great for a rain-gutter or barrel staves. You may be able to plane the cup out but check first to see how thick the board will be after you plane both sides. Or you could rip the board lengthwise into narrow strips and then glue the resulting strips together to again make a wider, flat board.
- Twist – kind of a combination of bow and cup; one corner of the board is higher or lower that the other three. You might try steaming and weighting it, but more likely it will need to be cut in to smaller pieces.
- Crook – (but not criminal) – your board curves along its edges like rocking chair rockers. If the curve is not too severe you might run the high ends over your jointer until you have a straight edge. Or fasten a straight board to it as an edge guide and rip it on your table saw to get a good edge. Either way your final board will be somewhat narrower. Ultimately, if it’s too severe you may have to just sigh and crosscut it into shorter pieces.
- Crack – the grain separates from internal stresses. The board will be weak at that point. You can cut it into smaller pieces but if the board is riddled with cracks it may not be salvageable.
- Check – cracks that run across the grain. Best bet is to cut that area away if possible.
We never even got to defects caused by knots, disease or bugs, although some of those ‘defects’ actually enhance the beauty of the wood. Just be aware that you can still use that challenging board – you just have to try harder.
After all, without the wood… it’s just working!
