my wood warped

E

elasmonut

Joined
Feb 15, 2006
Messages
663
I just cut out and flat sanded two beautiful slabs of stabilized spalted maple,put them on the bench and came back to find one slightly warped:mad:.I tried searching here but can't,but I remember reading somewhere that it could be heated or wet then clamped and it would return to true.Please tell me how I can fix this and prvent it in the future.Thanks Rob.
 
Rob,
If it's not too thin, sand the side that is to face the tang back flat. Then the middle of the scale will still be the same thickness as before it warped, and most handles are a little thinner at the front and back than in the middle.

Todd
 
If you sanded them on a belt sander, they heated up on the bottom as they were flattened, and when they cooled down, they warped. Try hand sanding them back to flat. Go slow and let the paper do the work.
Stacy
 
Thanks for the replys:D.They were kind of thin about 5/16th or 8mm,and yes they did get a bit warm on the belt,I think my biggest mistake was dunking them in water to check the beautiful grain again,it was a few minutes after this I found they had warped.I thought they would behave like dymondwood which is closer to plastic than wood.I might be able to sand them flat and still have enough meat left for contours.But first I've tried wetting them again and then clamped to a flat piece of steel put them in the oven for 15mins,it seems to have worked so far,I'll see how they are in the morning.If all else fails I had forseen the potential for my own stupidity and bought two blocks so I have a spare.
My other question is will they do this again?,the slabs are for a kitchen knife which will of course get wet a fair bit.The handle has dovetail bolsters at the front, a corby screw in the middle and two hidden pins at either end as well as being epoxied.This is the first time I've used this stuff,I understand it shouldn't go in the dishwasher,but I thought stabilized wood was supposed to be pretty well water safe.this peice is for a customer and I dont want it coming back in a month with lifted handle becuase of warping,after I assured the guy this was a good choice for kitchen knives.
Anyone out there use stabilized wood in the kitchen?How does it hold up?
 
I would personally recommend coating the wood, either in a finish or a good healthy waxing.
 
A fiish to seal out the water sounds like great idea.I didn't think this stuff soaked up water but you learn something new everyday. Any recommendations? I don't have a buffer but am prepared for lots of hand work.Iwas thinking carnuba.Is it safe for kitchen use?
 
O.K. a soak for a minute in water clamped to a flat piece of steel and baked for 15mins took 95 per cent of the bend out thanks guys.
 
While it may be straight now, it may well warp and either crack or lift off the handle in use. The setup for mounting you describe will not fair well with a kitchen knife. Look at a lot of photos of professional cutlery. They most always have THREE strong rivets. I install three Corby bolts. The setup you have described is for looks, not strength. The handle material for a kitchen knife should be stabilized,at best, waterproof preferably. Micarta is the number one choice, with tight grained oily woods next (rosewood, ebony, blackwood, cocobolo,etc.). If using a non stabilized wood,the handle should be soaked in linseed oil or some suitable oil (salad bowl finish?) for a long time, rubbed down and allowed to dry, then re-soaked - several times. That will help, but with only one bolt the scale will surely lift on the end in use.
Sorry, I wish I could give you better news. If it is not too late , you should add more corby bolts instead of the hidden pins.
Stacy
 
Where was your wood stabilized? There is a lot of wood available on the net that claims to be stabilized - but is done at home with less than ideal stabilants. There are also many out there using the professional process but who have 'not quite figured it out yet'.

If your scales were done at WSSI or K&G, this is not likely your problem. If they came off eBay, you need to ask questions.

I made a couple hundred steak knives for a restaurant. The handles were stabilized Thuya Burl. They were told no dishwasher, but after about a week, someone accidentally put one through. It survived and the rest went through the dishwasher four times a day for four years before they sent them back to me for refinishing.

They were stabilized by WSSI. www.stabilzedwood.com

Rob!
 
Thanks for the advice guys.I would have designed this piece differently if I'd used this stuff before:o.I only used one corby rivet because the handle tapers toward the back and I thought it looked a bit wrong with a huge corby rivet there,and i was trying to show as much of the grain and color of the wood as I could.Anyway its already heat treated and i dont have a bit the right size that will drill it.I do have a slightly larger one that I will use for a hole to set up an epoxy rivet and see how it goes.
The wood was stabilized by a guy from Staburl.com an ebay seller.The color and hardness seem consistent throughout,but I don't really know much about his process.I might try some from one of the big guys you mentioned just to compare.
I'll finish it as is wax it and hope for the best.But I might get some red micarta or dymondwood in case it needs replacing,as the request was for a red handle.
Thanks again for the great advice,Rob
 
Ive never seen the g10 and micarta together to see the difference.While being awesomely practical neither one has much charachter.Does anyone sell slabs of the homemade mycarta stuff I've seen here,particulary the swirl grained stuff?I'm not really set up for trying to make my own yet.
 
I hate to sound like I am only talking trash but I have found the wood from staburl to be not so good. I had made a knife with some of his wood about 4 months ago. My wife liked how it looked and decided she wanted to keep it for herself. Well about a month goes by and she lost it. when we found it the wood had got wet and split and swelled away from the knife. I have seen non stabilized wood fair better. Now I am not saying that all the wood from staburl is going to be this way but I will be sticking with WSSI myself. If you plan on using the wood from staburl you may want to treat it like it is NOT stabilized.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Not really what I wanted to hear but thanks mate.Being a kitchen knife I've decided to seal it with some good laquer which I dont really like,it's fiddly, time consuming and will wear off eventually.Oh well live and learn I'll go with WSSI next time though
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top