Flattening wood

[jscott2]

I have a 1/4" thick piece of bamboo about 10 by 12" that was glued up from strips about 1 to 1.5" inches wide.  It has developed a bow (about 1/8") parallel to the glue lines that I would like to remove.

Any suggestions on how to flatten it, or to at least minimize the bowing?

Thanks,
Jim

[daliclimbs]

Not much I have found to do that. You could pack heavy weight on it and flatten it out but odds are it would be temporary. There are a lot more options to take bowing out of heavy stock, but I'm afraid there are not to many options for 1/4". Thin glue ups tend to bow as the glue dries and warps the cells in the wood.

[scorpionrider]

i have had some luck flattening out plywood by misting the wood on both sides with water in a spray bottle and then putting heavy weight on them. it took several weeks and repeating the spray bottle several times. i also did it in a cold garage on the concret floor so the wood wouldnt dry out too fast. basically you are retraining the wood and glue to lay flat.

hope this helps. good luck

[dgman]

The trick is to keep it from cupping in the first place. You need to keep air circulation around all sides of the board. The biggest mistake folks do is laying a board flat on a work bench. The top surface will absorb moisture, and the bottom surface will not. That will cause the board to cup.You can lean the board against a wall to get equal air circulation around the board or stack many boards with stickers between the boards to allow proper air circulation.

[Rapid Roger]

I agree, it is a moisture problem with one side dryer than the other. Leaning it against a wall or put  a clamp on it so that you can stand it on edge on the work bench or simply jack it up off the bench with small squares of wood or using "bench cookies" or "painters pyramids" so that air can circulate on all sides. I too will spray or wipe some water all over it with a rag or paper towel before setting it up to dry equally allover. I suggest you leave it to dry for a day or at least overnight.
I am in the process of making a head board for my granddaughter's bed and have four pieces of popular between 48" and 60"long with a twist in every one of them.  I've had them standing on end for two days now and there is very little change. Now, there is a problem for you! LOL 

Rog