Un-warping / Un-twisting Walnut

[Peter Aeschliman]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning on making a dining table for my best friend sometime in the next year. The project actually has a good deal of sentimental value- although it's a wedding gift, the main purpose of it is to honor and remember his father, who died suddenly in a tragic accident a few years ago.

He is providing all of the lumber- walnut which his father cut down from their property before he passed away. My friend was raised in that house- the tree was in their front yard. His father, who was also an avid woodworker, had the tree removed from his front yard because it had some kind of disease. Of course he knew its value and had a portable saw mill process the tree into rough lumber.

Now, on to the problem. My buddy just drove the remaining stock all the way out to Seattle from Boise, ID yesterday. I already have some of it in my shop from a previous trip he made. Although his father was a woodworker, it appears that he didn't know how to properly stack and sticker the walnut. He just stacked the boards up in a corner of his shop. As you might expect, the boards are very twisted and cupped.

Most of the stock is 4/4.

I'm wondering if there's a way to re-introduce moisture into the boards, force them back into a straight condition, and let them re-dry properly.

I explained the sentimental value of the wood so hopefully you guys understand that I'm willing to make extraordinary efforts to use this walnut in particular. Luckily as you'll see in the pictures below, I have more than enough to choose from... I haven't seen this batch yet, but I hope there are some pieces that aren't beyond repair.

Thanks in advance!!!

Peter

[Sean Kinn]

I would honestly just try to work around it, rather than straighten it. Even if you manage to straighten it, it may go right back over time. I think the sentimental value would make up for any possible negatives from using shorter pieces.

[Harvey Pascoe]

No, you can't straighten warped lumber, all you can do is plane it flat. The amount of warp/twist determines what you can do with it, based on the amount of wood you loose flattening it. Some of the boards in your pictures don't look too bad. In making a table, you want to be real careful in which ones you select as the best grain patterns will tempt you to use a bad one, but if they're too bad off, you don't want to ed up with a wasted effort. In your case, I would use the alternating crown up/crown down technique. And after flattening the boards don't forget to let them "rest" for a couple of weeks to see if they stay flat.

[David Kumm]

I would plane and joint until flat ( actually I would probably substitute and not tell ) and hopefully get 1/2 or better and then glue up the " veneers " until oversized and let sit for a time and then resaw. A lot of work and you need a good jointer to deal with twist. Once you get close a drum sander can help you get the last as can glueing up the veneers so as to cancel the bow. Dave

[Peter Aeschliman]

Thanks guys. I think you're probably right. We're taking the wood out to my shop tonight, so my fingers are crossed that I'll find good, usable pieces in there. I think this might also be a good excuse for me to buy a nice jointer plane!! ;-)

[John TenEyck]

I agree with the others. There appears to be quite a bit of usable lumber in that big pile. Once you cut it down to the approximately lengths you need for the parts maybe you can joint and plane it flat and free of twist if you're lucky. If you can't then a couple of ideas come to mind. First, you could joint one side flat on two boards then face glue them together. Now you've got a board probably more than 1.5" thick to work with. The other option is to cut it into 1/8" (max.) veneer and then glue that onto store bought walnut or, heaven forbid (just kidding), MDF or similar. Slip or book matched veneer for at least the top of the table could look pretty cool if you've got a couple of boards with real character. You've got plenty of wood it seems, so there certainly is a way. Post some pics when you make some progress. Good luck.

[Chip Lindley]

To add to what has been already said, WYSIWYG! What you see is what you get when green lumber is stacked improperly and left to dry. But, from your pics, the boards don't look all that bad! Survey the boards and use the most crooked boards for the shortest parts of your project. Often, crooked boards can yield shorter pieces jointed and planed to 3/4". Select the straightest boards for longer pieces. With roughsawn 4/4 lumber about 1" thick, you have quite a bit of leeway to surface a board flat, finishing up with 13/16" to 3/4" stock. Enjoy your special walnut.

[Larry Fox]

I think the idea of resawing it into some veneers is a good one and is the first thought that came to mind as I was reading your post. Interesting project and I will join the other posters in asking for pics.

Good luck with your project. Just remember, whatever you come up with will be a treasure to your friend.

[Ryan Hellmer]

Keep in mind that the smaller the piece is, the more likely it will be that you'll be able to flatten it without rendering it too thin to use. I would try to do some very detailed layout work carefully choosing stock to avoid serious warp/twist/cup/knots and then rough cut all parts 1/2" or so oversize (in all dimensions) and flatten (face joint) and plane each piece individually. I bet you'll find that some of those 10-12' long pieces that appear too twisted to use for anything will render some 4' pieces that are really pretty straight.

I wouldn't sub out the lumber in any case. If you can't get enough straight stuff, I would strongly consider veneers.

Ryan

[Peter Aeschliman]

Thanks guys- some great thoughts here. Part of me is relieved to hear that there's no way to make the boards flatter without planing and jointing. Getting the wood wet and then re-drying it seemed like a huge pain.

I agree that some of the boards look pretty good in the pics. I guess I'll know for sure in a few hours when he comes over with the truck tonight.

Man, I can't believe he drove all the way from Boise to Seattle with all that stuff hanging out of the back! Scary!

[Peter Aeschliman]

Thanks again for the replies.

I loaded the walnut into the shop last night. Sorting through it, there are some pieces that are usable for sure- plenty to make a dining table. Some of them have really interesting grain patterns and colors (purples, pinks, blues), but I think I'll heed Harvey's advice and steer clear. And some of them should probably just be tossed out.

It's really sad to me- I wish my friend's dad had done his research and had dried the walnut properly because a huge amount of nice hardwood is going to waste. On the flip side, I'm really excited to use what I can of it since it has some meaning for my friend.

I really hope they're pleased with the result- they want a table that will last them forever. They want it to have extension leaves so that they can have huge dinner parties. We'll see if I can pull that part off- I've never made a table like that before, so I'm sure I'll be asking questions on this forum when I start designing.

Anyway, thanks guys. I'll be sure to post pics in the Woodworking Projects section when I get cracking.

Peter

[Chris Fournier]

The only guy I knew who could unwarp and untwist walnut could also unring a bell. He was that good! Use the straight lumber and avoid the crazy stuff. There's tons there for your project.

[Brian Kent]

Setting aside the unusual stuff also opens the doors for future projects - besides the table - that need smaller pieces.

[Mike Cutler]

It's nice looking wood, and as others have said it's easiest to work with what you have, than try to straighten it out.

I will say one thing about "straightening out lumber". It can be done, but controlling the process would be an art.
I've been watching the same board sitting outside for 4 years now. It twists and bows and then I turn it over and it flattens out and then bows and twist in the opposite direction. It's pretty cool.
The board is used as the ramp to push the wheel barrow up the manure pile. It bows up and away from the manure, so I wait for the bow to be about right and turn it over and it conforms to the contour of the manure pile, and the process repeats itself.
After 4 years in the rain/snow/heat that board is still entirely usable. No rot at all. It's weird.

[Jim Becker]

Keep in mind that the smaller the piece is, the more likely it will be that you'll be able to flatten it without rendering it too thin to use.

This. Lay out your components on the wood and cut them out to rough dimensions before you joint them flat and plane to thickness. That reduces the amount of material that you have to take off to get a component that is flat, straight and true.