Warping Reality

[WoodWrangler]

Oops! :-x

Lesson learned ... during the glue-up little (ok, no) attention was given to the grain direction ... and now look what's happening to the top of my box! :lol:





Note to self ... flip-flop the grain to avoid warp!

 

[NZAPP1]

:BangHead: :eusa_doh: WOW that s_cks

 

[Joe Scharle]

Uhh, never happened to me!

 

[cskipper]

Don't ya' just hate it when that happens?

 

[Travis Porter]

That really is the pits, but I am curious.

I normally don't pay too much attention in rotating the growth rings and haven't had a problem. Did the wood get a chance to acclimate before using it? Did you let it sit for a few days after planing/joining? Just wondering.

 

[sapwood]

Big Ouch Jeremy!

Never happened to me either :slap:

Roger

 

[McRabbet]

Is there any way you can slice it down the center and add a strip of brass as an accent piece? It looks like it might flatten out enough to get away with that type of repair...

Rob

 

[Canuck]

Have had that cuppng problem myself, Jermemy, primarily on glued up red oak and cherry table tops!:BangHead: I have managed to save them though by placing a pail (kids plastic sand bucket) filled with stone on the high spots for a few days out in the shop. Amazingly enuff, the tops finally laid flat! Had to be a moisture problem. (They didn't really start the cupping motion until I added the first coat of finish:slap: !)

I wouldn't scrap that great looking box lid. Try putting some weight on the high spots for a few days. It just may straighten out!

Great looking box lid.........by the way!!! Hope it starts behaving itself!

Wayne

 

[DaveO]

I believe that your lid warped like that because it was on the box, and not had a chance to acclimate. Jointing and planing exposed new surfaces with different MC than the original outer surfaces. Once you made the lid and placed it on the box, the outer face lost some moisture at a greater rate than the side sealed up inside the box.
Turn the lid over, let it rest for a few days and I'll bet it will return back to flat.
I had a very similar thing happen to a glued up slab that is going to be the top of a hutch cabinet I'm making. The cabinet was open (haven't made the doors yet) but the air flow was reduced enough that it cupped up over night. I flipped it and it when back to flat again by the next day.
Alternating growth rings has very little to do with warping and cupping.
Dave

 

[WoodWrangler]

Thanks for all of the great feedback and advice. I am going to try to save this lid!

The wood is Cherry and Ash. Both had been in the shop rough cut for more than a year, however I didn't let the wood site after planing/jointing when building the box. The warping happened quickly ... but has stayed about the same for a while now.

I'll let ya know how it turns out.

 

[Monty]

LOL! I know you're not laughing but that first picture is just AWESOME! You couldn't have planned a better curve!!! If DaveO's idea doesn't work, I'd suggest shaping a matching curve on the front/back of the box so the lid fits as-is... then everyone will ask you how you came up with such a unique design!!!


EDIT: Just to add: I think the reason this may have happened is because your top panel shortened across the grain while the long-grain edge (which I presume is glued on) stayed the same length. What you have made is a good old-fashioned woodworker's hygrometer. When the humidity matches what it was the day you glued up your top, it'll be flat. Any drier and it will be concave, more humid and it will be convex.

 

[Kyle]

thats a nice box and I like Monty's suggestion. I think I have made one or three just like it

 

[Ken Weaver]

Ok - I'll fess up - been there done that! To solve the problem, I had to rip the glue joints and start over.

 

[pcooper]

I've had that problem too, but looking at the pictures real close it looks like there is a cross grain situation on the lid. Is there a section on the bottom where the grain runs the other way from those on the top of the lid? If so you may want to make those parts differently so that the wood doesn't move so much and cause the warp. Cross grains will for sure cause grief if they are glued up, I found that out on something that I though was really nice for a day or so, then it looked like crap.