Expert: Jamie Yocono - 5/18/2009

Question
I have been making furniture as a hobby for over thirty years but never faced with this situation.
I have one pieces of 2"x7"x6ft Black Walnut flat sawn undressed lumber that I will plane & glue up to give me 4 pieces 3.5 x 3.5 x 18". After glue up I will finish dress to 3.25x3.25. These will be legs for an oriental style bench
Should I rip the 7" width first before glue up, and if so does it make any difference which way the annual rings are oriented. I would have bought 12 or 14 quarter but in addition to being very expensive it was also not available.
I would very much appreciate your direction on this.
Thankyou.  Barry.

Answer
Barry,

I've learned a couple of tricks about making legs like yours, I hope I can help. First, if you just cut that board in half, so it's three feet long and then try to clamp it into a 4" thick block, there are two things that are going to be difficult. First, I 'm guessing your tablesaw won't cut though 4" stock. So cutting those will mean you'll have to cut on one side of the board, then flip it and cut the rest of the way through. It's not a bad thing, but it's just more work, so I wouldn't do it. Also, when clamping a 7" wide board, it's a little tough to get even gluing pressure in the center of that board. That's another reason to rip the board in half first.

Here's my "money" tip, though.... cross cut the board to the lengths you want the legs to be... 18". Then take that 7" wide by 18" piece and rip it in half. As you cut it apart, fold those two boards apart, thus bookmatching them. The grain will match perfectly, and it'll make at least three sides of that leg match perfectly. The other glue lined side may or may not match that great, but the two flat faces and the one bookmatched side will looks sweet. If the last side is really unattractive, then orient it toward the rear of your piece.

So to answer your question, no - it doesn't matter how you orient the annual rings. You want the legs to be bookmatched.

Gluing up a leg out of two pieces isn't hard. In fact, I usually clamp all four of my legs in the clamps at the same time. Just be careful that they don't slip out of place when tightening the clamps. Sort of like when you squeeze a watermelon seed between your thumb and forefinger.

OK, hope this helps. Write back if you have any other questions. Good luck!


Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com
My woodworking blog: www.wooditis.blogspot.com