HUGE piece of bubinga
I have been eying this giant piece of bubinga on Bell Forest Products (http://www.bellforestproducts.com/hand-picked/2396/).
I have never worked with Bubinga or a piece this large. One of my concerns is flattening the piece as I have never had to flatten a board without the use of a jointer or planer. The other concern is just the over-all size.
I have been looking for a nice board for a table top that is wide enough itself or could be resawn and used as book matched panels. This piece is obviously large enough and would probably use 7 to 8 feet of length for the table top.
I was also considering keeping the live edges on the table which I think would look very cool.
Is there anything I should be careful about with a piece this large? Any suggestions on flattening this board?
Thanks.
I have never worked with Bubinga or a piece this large. One of my concerns is flattening the piece as I have never had to flatten a board without the use of a jointer or planer. The other concern is just the over-all size.
I have been looking for a nice board for a table top that is wide enough itself or could be resawn and used as book matched panels. This piece is obviously large enough and would probably use 7 to 8 feet of length for the table top.
I was also considering keeping the live edges on the table which I think would look very cool.
Is there anything I should be careful about with a piece this large? Any suggestions on flattening this board?
Thanks.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Philip Sharpe on -
That's a lot of bubucks for bubinga but then, that's a lot of bubinga I wouldn't let the size scare me away. If nothing else you can have a commercial shop flatten it for you. If it were mine, I'd build a jig and use a router to flatten it. Has it been kiln dried? if not, leave it alone until it's air dried to 5-6% and hope that split doesn't get any longer. You may have to have someone dry it for you because it can be hard to reach 5% in some environments.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Schaeffer on -
It is kiln dried and I've been told that it has been on the racks in the warehouse for quite some time.
It is somewhat pricey but the Guild discount and free shipping make up for it.
I have read about the router method for flattening a wide board and it is probably a safer bet than having this be the first project that I attempt using hand planes for flattening.
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Permalink Reply by Kenneth on -
I think it looks kinda generic for bubinga, and wonder if you could get a piece that large of a different species so it's not so expensive.
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Permalink Reply by Steven on -
Kenneth said:I think it looks kinda generic for bubinga, and wonder if you could get a piece that large of a different species so it's not so expensive.
I agree, dont you guys think a table top would look realy good if you could get a black walnut flitch (live edged) that size with the great contrast in heart wood and sap wood..............
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Permalink Reply by Vic Hubbard on -
Wow..they do free shipping? That's incredible for a piece that big!
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Permalink Reply by Doug McKirdy on -
If they are getting $2000 for a single stick of wood, they should ship it for free! Bell Forest Products says they are a full service wood mill, so they should be able to flatten it on one or both sides for a nominal fee.
I don't think they normally do free shipping.
I think it would be an awesome table. Good luck.
Doug
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