Popular Woodworking 2003-04 № 133, страница 71

When gluing panels,you'll get the best color and grain match by finding boards that were sawn consecutively from a tree. Look for knots, bark, saw kerfs and other clues that the boards were next to one another in their previous life. Look carefully at the photos and you'll see a sap streak that is consistent from one board to the next in this pair.

Sometimes the best way to find out if a board matches its neighbor is to look at the grain patterns. Take a block plane with you to the lumberyard to skim a little of the rough-sawn stuff off to get a look at the grain.

door panels, desk lids and small tabletops. (And despite what you've heard or read, you actually can keep those wide boards flat - but that discussion is the subject of another article.)

However, in spite of my stash of lumber on steroids there are still times that I need to glue several boards together to make a wide panel. Large tabletops, sides for casework and bottoms for drawers all come to mind. When I combine several boards to make a tabletop or other large panel, I want the finished panel to appear as one board as much as possible. After all, one of the many reasons I enjoy woodworking is be-

cause of the natural beauty of the material. I don't want to spoil the qualities of the wood by gluing together boards with distracting mismatched grain and color.

Matchmaker, Make me a Match

When selecting boards for a panel, you'll find that the best color and grain match comes from boards sawn from the same tree. In fact, I prefer planks that were sawn consecutively.

You can purchase matching lumber from one of the small, specialty hardwood dealers that advertise in the pages of Popular Woodworking. (You also can check

the "searchable links" section of this magazine's web site.)

The prices are higher from these merchants, but I think it's worth the extra cost for the premium lumber. If you're searching for matching boards at a large, commercial lumberyard, be aware that the boards are usually all mixed together with those from other trees. It requires a lot of organization and effort to keep the boards sorted by individual trees. Nevertheless, you can still find matching boards.

As you sift through the stack (ask permission and keep the stack neat), look for defects, saw kerfs and width. Knots, worm holes and other natural defects will all line up in consecutive boards. You also can look for short kerfs left over from the logger's chain-saw. As you spot boards with interesting figure, set them aside and search for their relatives.

Although it's not as easy to spot as knots or saw kerfs are, the grain pattern itself can be a way to identify matching boards. If you're looking at rough lumber you'll find it helpful to skim the surface with a block plane. (However, to avoid being kicked out of the lumberyard, before you try this technique, check with the lumber dealer first.) Another good match can often be had by cutting two shorter lengths from one long board.

Whatever method you use for matching boards, be careful to match the figure along the glue joint. Some types of figure match well while others don't. Although there are many types of grain or figure, cathedral grain and radial grain are the two most common. The two types are primarily a result of how the log was sawn; sawing "around the log" will yield cathedral grain, while plain sawing (not rotating the log) will yield boards with cathedral grain

in the middle and radial grain along the edges.

I prefer plain-sawn boards because it's easier to match the straight grain that appears along the boards' edges. Besides, boards sawn in this way typically are wider, and the resulting figure appears more natural to my eye than the figure from lumber sawn using other methods.

After selecting boards for the panel, the next step is to arrange them in order for glue-up. My old high school woodworking textbook stated that the boards should be arranged so that the annual rings on the ends of each board alternate up and down. The idea was that as the boards cupped either direction they would keep the overall panel flat.

This outdated idea typically results in a washboard surface with disjointed grain and color at all of the seams. Instead, I arrange the boards for the best color and grain match, and I ignore the annual rings. Warpage isn't a problem because I use dry (pre-shrunk, pre-warped) lumber and allow it to acclimate to my shop before milling it. Afterwards the construction of the piece will keep it flat.

For example, a door panel is held flat by the door frame and a desk lid is restrained by its two breadboard ends.

Mill it to Size

To create a flat glued-up panel, it's essential to begin with flat planks. And be aware that rough lumber is seldom flat. Neither is "dressed" or planed lumber because it was not flattened on a jointer before it was planed. You can flatten the boards on a large jointer (I have a large 16" jointer for this purpose) or use a long handplane such as a #6, #7, or #8. But first, cut each board approximately one inch longer than

72 Popular Woodworking April 2003