Nope.
One of the early things you learn in woodworking is that you cannot stop wood from doing wood stuff.
If it wants to warp or twist, it will. You take out the culprit wood (never ever include pith in anything that's supposed to stay flat), and make sure that crucially opposing surfaces get to breathe to absorb and release moisture evenly.
You can't hold wood still with metal. It'll just crack instead.
Wood does wood things, we are but humble servants trying to shape it to our will.
The middle one is surely the most problematic because you can actually see the pith. The two on the sides are in the questionable territory. If it were hardwood and expensive to cut it out of the size boards, maybe you risk it. If it's cheap soft wood? I don't play around. My time is worth far more than trying to fix these sorts of problems.
I specifically shop for 2x10 and 2x12 14'-16' SYP lumber because I can find nearly the center pith piece like you have in the middle. See, that's not a bad board, it contains two amazing boards... You just have to rip the pith out.
The two boards this produces are nicer than any other soft wood you can regularly find on a shelf.
Edit: photo to illustrate. That pith did not come from the two boards in question, I'm not sure what I did with the exact cut from those boards. I often cut the other pith pieces up to make stickers or one time use sanding jigs and stuff.
Thank you so much for the detailed answer. It's made from ash, not super hard but I do like to preserve things as much as possible. I'm still learning things and very much appreciate your time here!
Oh wow. On the contrary, ash is on the harder end of domestic hardwoods, and its elasticity means it tends to warp and cup pretty badly when drying out.
How long did you acclimate this wood to your shop before making that top? It may not have been long enough.
This top was made by someone else about 8 months ago and remained solid until recently.
I'm gonna check again soon to see if the C bars do anything. If not then removing the pith it is. It just doesn't feel comfortable jointing on site, gotta bring my No.7 plane, find something to hold it while planing...
Take the top off and rip the pith out. Tilt the base on its side and clamp the pieces on both ends just like you have in the picture, but extend the rough edge out the side (which is now facing upwards).
That should hold it just fine while you plane it. I realize it'll be a little skewed which will make getting 90 degrees harder, but the rip cut should already have you damn near 90 and you can pinch grip the toe of the plane while using the backside of your pointer finger as a reference against the board to try and anchor yourself to 90. You should only need really light passes.
0
u/alcxtran 5d ago
I flipped it on the first pic. Can i do shallow cut now and let the bottom side stretch then install C bars?