Mahogany Transom for Haven 12.5

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  • cejenkinsjr
    Member
    • Oct 2016
    • 84

    Mahogany Transom for Haven 12.5

    Hi All, I fear I may have a problem. A couple of months ago I bought three American Mahogany boards. They are roughly 1 x 12 by 6 feet. Tonight I was trimming them square running through the table saw and I find that they are kind of warped. I had figured to rip these down to maybe 6 or 8 inch boards. I guess my question is, can I steam these and flatten them out, get the warp out? And if so, how? I have a steam box, but once I would steam, then what? Could I put the steamed pieces on say my flat concrete garage floor and set cinder blocks or something on them to hold them flat? Would this work and if so, how long after steaming should I wait? OR, any other ideas, or am I just screwed? Thanks for any help
  • DeniseO30
    Thinks too much..
    • Jan 2009
    • 4674

    #2
    Re: Mahogany Transom for Haven 12.5

    twisted, edge or face or bowed? You may go pale at the thought, but ripping them down the middle may save more stock then trying to plane them flat at full width, that is, assuming you have the thickness you need to even do that.

    Not sure about steaming cured lumber.

    here's another discussion on the problem http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-How-to-unwarp
    Denise, Bristol PA, retired from HVAC business, & boat restoration and building

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    • pcford
      boatwright/film/video
      • Jul 2002
      • 9875

      #3
      Re: Mahogany Transom for Haven 12.5

      The way this is normally done is to run them a jointer, then a thickness planer.

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      • Bill Wiegmann
        Senior Member
        • May 2010
        • 179

        #4
        Re: Mahogany Transom for Haven 12.5

        What kind of warping do you have? Sometimes boards will bow as a result of storage conditions, such as if one side is exposed to the air and the other not. This has happened to me when I failed properly to sticker wood that ended up being stacked longer than I planned. Sometimes it is possible to warp the boards back by wetting the drier side and using supports and weights to try to reverse the bow. I would not lay them flat on a concrete floor, however. Get the air circulating all around them. If your warping is more in the nature of a twist, this technique would probably not help.

        Comment

        • Dusty Yevsky
          Senior Member
          • Jun 2007
          • 946

          #5
          Re: Mahogany Transom for Haven 12.5

          An old woodworkers trick for dealing with warped boards is to wait for a sunny day. In the morning place the board cupped side down on dewy grass in a sunny spot. The moisture will swell the wood fibers on one side and the heat of the sun will encourage the wood to move. The board must be monitored lest it warp the other way. I've tried this on several occasion with great success. You might be able to do in a shop by wetting one side and exposing the other to a uniform heat source. i've never tried it but imagine it may work as well as the outdoor method.
          Last edited by Dusty Yevsky; 02-11-2017, 12:20 AM.

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          • John Meachen
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2004
            • 10488

            #6
            Re: Mahogany Transom for Haven 12.5

            I wouldn't say you have a problem-you do have a challenge.Wide boards,unless quarter sawn,are always going to tend to warping.My approach would be to split the boards in half and having noted or marked the original orientation,end for end one half so that the warpage of one section is on the opposite direction to the other.I would then glue the necessary width together and as soon as practical plane the assembly flat on both faces (with hand planes if you don't have a monster machine) and then fasten fashion pieces in place around the transom periphery.

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