10/01/2022
Wood is a good lesson in physics and potential energy... When a tree is growing any energy it ever used to stabilize itself against wind, gravity, etc is stored in the wood... When you're cutting up a piece of wood that stored energy is released, sometimes dramatically. I remember once ripping a 2" thick piece of white oak on the table saw and the board bending so wildly I had to stop and drive wedges into it just to get it off the saw. when I finished the cut with a band-saw the off-cut looked more like a shepherd's crook than the straight piece I wanted. Tonight I was making some pieces for the top of the Puzzle Table... I ripped some Cherry that was 1-1/8 thick. Flattened a face on a jointer.. Checked it with a straight edge and it was flat. Ran it through the planer. Two of the pieces were still flat... One might be salvageable... One bowed a quarter inch! My final thickness is 3/4" and I planed to 7/8 and am letting everything rest overnight to see what happens. worse comes to worse I have more cherry. I was really hoping to be done with construction by Sunday!
