possible to straighten warped wood? (Full Version)

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at_leo_87 -> possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 19 2010 20:58:04)

i hope you luthiers can help me out here.

one of the dance floors i made got warped from being left in the cold, dry car in a awkward position.

is there any way to fix this?

it's half inch 5 ply pine, i think...



cathulu -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 19 2010 23:00:11)

I expect the moisture content of the wood has changed from top to bottom, and shrinkage has resulted in warping.

I assume the bottom has dried out and shrunk and the top is still at the same original humidity as it was sealed?

Supposedly you can carefully apply moisture with a moist towel to restore the moisture content in the wood and apply a clamping force (maybe heavy weights) to bend it back straight. But that will take days of effort and might not work satisfactorily enough.

Unfortunately, I suspect you are hooped and might have to make a new floor panel.

Good luck however it goes for you...



cRobson12 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 19 2010 23:02:26)

Go to a construction workshop and send it through something called a Planer. It makes the top of the wood perfectly square. Just make sure you cut it down by very little amounts at a time. If both top and bottom sides are warped, plane one side than the other, etc..



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 1:45:07)

i tried the humidity thing with smaller pieces of wood in the past with no luck. [:(]
the planing idea sounds good but i think it's so warped, it's beyond that.

looks like i'll have to make a new one. [:(]



cRobson12 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 2:18:54)

What kind of warped wood are we talking here? :P
Post a picture



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 2:32:30)

it's the first one here:
http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=137395&appid=3&p=&mpage=1&key=&tmode=&smode=&s=#155740

but i got rid of the hinges in the middle.

i'll post a picture of the warped wood in a bit.



Andy Culpepper -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 2:42:37)

Flip it over in a reasonably humid area so that the concave side is down. It should flatten back out with its own weight. If not just put some weights on it



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 4:00:18)

quote:

Flip it over in a reasonably humid area so that the concave side is down. It should flatten back out with its own weight. If not just put some weights on it


sounds easy enough. i'll give it a try!



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 4:13:04)

ok, i just set my humidifier to 75%. i'll hope it'll sort itself out over the next couple days. the wood is warped in a way that a side is about 2 cm off the ground when laid down flat.

are there better alternatives to plywood? what do you guys think about mdf?



cathulu -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 5:50:08)

Well, as I understand it, the thing about wood is that it has fibers and an orientation. The length of the fibres don't shrink much with humidity change, but the diameter does. That is why wood joists can shrink a lot in the cross dimension but still be the same length.

I believe and I am guessing cause I don't want to look it up, but plywood varies the orientation with each ply so that it is reasonably stable - reasonably.

MDF has no fibres, it is small chips of wood. So I think it would be more stable and less prone to warping. But it has little strength and it is easily damaged by moisture.

Maybe a wood laminate floor glued to MDF would be best?

Off to bed for me, just got back from watching a student flamenco show and I am tired!



Stephen Eden -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 8:17:34)

A good way to straighten and flatten wood is to add moisture. a lot of it. Then press the wood with somthing that is known to be flat. If possible add some heat. and let it dry for a fairly long time perhaps a week or two. If you can add heat you can shorten the press time



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 8:26:44)

quote:

Maybe a wood laminate floor glued to MDF would be best?


there's something called mdo which is a combination of plywood and mdf that i might search for and try.

quote:

A good way to straighten and flatten wood is to add moisture. a lot of it. Then press the wood with somthing that is known to be flat. If possible add some heat. and let it dry for a fairly long time perhaps a week or two. If you can add heat you can shorten the press time


i will take out my iron and try this tomorrow. i have to use this dance floor in two weeks, so hopefully it'll be straight again. thanks for the tip!



Stephen Eden -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 8:31:01)

quick note It has to be pressed and heated at the same time making the drying as even as possible



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 17:29:05)

well, no change yet from last night.

i'll try laying it flat on the floor and ironing the other side later.



Ron.M -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 18:22:18)

quote:

possible to straighten warped wood?


Yes.....but the wood has got to REALLY WANT to staighten...[:D]

cheers,

Ron



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Dec. 20 2010 23:06:20)

quote:


Yes.....but the wood has got to REALLY WANT to staighten...


maybe some torture with a hot iron will persuade it? [:o]



Steve Wright -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Sep. 10 2011 1:08:13)

Wow! You've had plenty of ideas thrown at you. I wouldn't advise MDF as it wont stand up to being gigged around and it hate moisture - it blisters.

If you calculate what the position of the wood was in when it began to warp, you can simulate a reverse situation - for the same period of time. No weights should be necessary and it should rectify. If left any longer of course, it will warp the other way. As far as I am concerned, ply is the best option for your purpose. It's a nice idea you have there. I may make one for my wife as she loves dancing with taps shoes.



at_leo_87 -> RE: possible to straighten warped wood? (Sep. 10 2011 22:08:39)

quote:

I may make one for my wife as she loves dancing with taps shoes.


check out this thread.
http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=137395&mpage=1&p=&tmode=1&smode=1&key=diy
there's a lot of different ideas and variations. the last floor i've made has worked out really well so far. the only thing is that it's bulky and heavy to carry around. it also fixed my warping issue.

be careful with your nails when woodworking![:D]



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