I am working on a small kitchen island 2' x 3'. They purchased a very nice piece of Brazilian Cherry to use as the counter top. The board they brought me is 15" x 84". The top will need to be 27' x 39".

 

So here is the question for you, would you just edge join the two pieces and trim off the excess to get the 27" wide, or would you rip into smaller boards and glue it back up keeping the orientation of the board as they were before cutting?

 

I'll post a picture of the board later tonight.

 

 

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

I would consider doing it in 3 pieces as opposed to 2 as it would be more visibly appealing.

 

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Allen Worsham
Corona, CA

allenworsham@earthlink.net

http://www.awcreationsandwoodcrafts.com

'Graze in every man's field, but always give your own milk' J. Vernon McGee

In my opinion,

If you can get an excellent color and grain match that makes the joint invisible then 2 pieces.  If not do what Allen suggested and do 3 pieces.

John2..

As you would expect, I do have some opines, but would like to see the wood before I commit suicide.. 

Larry

One cut,  rotate the one piece 180 degres and match the FLOW of the grain.   That is how I made that top for the Cedar Chest i made.     Rotate and flip as needed.   You might just end up with a book-matched piece.

 

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'and may the road raise up to meet ye'

It's a bugger when the client supplies the lumber for the main attraction of the piece.     That's usually a sign that right off the git go you are probably facing a budget issue. Plus they took away the fun part of wandering around the lumber yard.  and you did not get to select the quality of the material.

My guideline (not a rule) is to work with 8" or less widths. I find it makes it easier to keep the piece flat.  If it is a stable looking and thick enough  hunk of wood I'd just half it for times sake. 

With the BC I've worked with, matching the grain was never a problem.

Sorry I had hope to have these up last night but just didn't work out. The pictures are not great but it is what I have.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

 

They were taken with the board standing up so the top picture is the top of the board and so on.

 

I'll be working on this over the weekend so I appreciate you suggestions.

 

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

John2..  Here's what I would do.  Remember 15" x 84".

 

Joint one edge and cut the piece to 7 1/2" x 84."  (Don't worry about the width of the saw blade. Center the cuts.)

Cut the two 7 1/2" x 84" into 7 1/2" x 42".

Remember, each of the four boards can be repositioned 8 different ways.  Pieces can be flipped over and end-for-end.  Arrange the boards for the best look.  Always look for grain patterns that blend into the next board.

Now, if you really want satisfied customers, call them over after you have prepared the four boards and get their opinions before doing the final milling and glue-up.  BTW, two boards at a time.  Better control of flatness.

Larry

 

Hey John,

I used to make cedar chests a while back. I would rip the board into 5" wide strips and cut them to length, then swap ends and turn every other one over, that will help to keep the warpage down and also use titebond III wood glue. A good rule of thumb is that the more glue joints you have the stronger the top will be. This is how I would do it if it were mine. just a suggestion.