Avoiding wood movement of hardwood

[onap]

Hi dears,

From up to now I generally do woodworking (kitchen,desk, some other furniture) with melamine, plywood and MDF. I used hardwood and more precisely french oak panel to do some goods like top of low wall in my kitchen,...

I don't owned a planner and jointer (Raboteuse et d?gauchisseuse in french), and plan to do some furniture with hardwood like french oak,solid beech,...
The only way from me to get this hardwood planned is to buy it (more expensive and hard to find here in Belgium).

But I'm asking myself how to avoid wood movement due to the moisture variation between the wood supplier and my home:

-) Owning a moisture meter and check at the wood supplier that the wood moisture level is nearly the same that in my house.
-) prying a lot that the wood will not move. :

-) getting a planner and jointer to prepare woods just before doing my assembly

Thanks a lot (and sorry for my poor english)

Onap

 

[roadking06]

Just bring the wood home and store it for a month before using it. It will acclimate to  the moisture of your home.

 

[nickao]

It is IMPOSSIBLE to avoid Hardwood movement. At best you can try to minimize it and better yet, design the pieces with wood movement in mind(so the wood does not cup or worse crack), knowing the wood will move.

Though acclimating to your home or shop is a great idea and a must for me, all you have to do is open a window on a humid day for a few hours and that may be enough to make the wood move.

In short:

Acclimate the wood a few weeks to your space and make sure you keep the environment the same through the building process.

Design with wood movement in mind - there are methods for almost every instance you will come across.

Know that the wood 99% of the time will move back to the original position when the environment goes back to the construction environment, so do not worry about it.

Every winter projects can get gaps here, then comes summer and the projects gaps are tight as a drum and gone.

With antiques in a museum the most important consideration is a constant climate control of the facility, because the wood WILL move.

 

[Ted Miller]

It has not been mentioned but paying attention to how the grains run and how you will be glueing grains to each other will make a huge difference on movement.

Of course where you live is major as well, the drier the climate the less or no movement you will have...

 

[CharlesWilson]

I think the original post was mainly due to the poster not having a jointer or planer, and thus being at the mercy of the wood selection and the humidity.

The best you can possibly do under those circumstances is to try to select quarter-sawn lumber, which will also shrink and grow, but is less likely to cup, bow or twist during the process. Quarter-sawn is usually limited in width (due to the way it is cut from a log), and premium priced. The grain patterns may not be anywhere as interesting as with plain sawn, but it will be structurally more predictable.

Even with a jointer and planer, wood selection is still important. Some boards will joint and plane dead flat, and then cup, bow or twist afterward with moisture changes. Also, when moved from a dry place to a moist place, they may temporarily cup and bow until they reach a new equilibrium.

Charles

 

[nickao]

Charles I tend to like the look of quartersawn lumber better for more species than not.

I guess if you are talking grain lines like a cathedral grain in Oak, yes flat sawn is nice. But with Oak I prefer the increased ray flecks and you get with the quarter sawn and the lack of cathedral a Rift sawn Oak gives you.  Many species look far more figured in the quartersawn variety too.

I like figure more than grain lines. I just do not like the regular grain patterns anymore. My wife likes the traditional grain lines(Cathedral etc) and not the wood that "glows". I guess its personal preference on what look you prefer.

For stability of course quartersawn is the way to go. Because I want to minimize movement in my floor inlay designs I use 90% quarter sawn lumber and have grown to love the look of it over the flat sawn lumber.

Nickao