How to Fix Bowed Timber?

[sitefive]

''luckily'' bought yday some bowed 8x2 timber I wanted to make a tabletop from, didn't noticed it until I got it home and cut it to smaller size.
One of the boards I ended up getting is now heavily bowed, there's probably ~1.5cm bow in the middle of it,however if you stand on it , it becomes flat.
This would be no job for a planer ( i don't even have one anyways...) as it would require taking off too much material and the board to become useless.
Was wondering is it possible to fix this somehow and straighten it out?

 

[sitefive]

well just put it outside in sun with damp rag on the bow place and put on heavy objects on the bow place as well , think this should do anything or mess it up even more?

 

[marcros]

it may fix it- i have heard of putting it on a damp lawn and weighting it. but it is bowed for a reason- and if that reason is not corrected, then it will return. I suspect that it is inner tension causing the issue, and the answer is to correct it through planing and thickening. But as you say, it isn't thick enough to do that.

 

[Droogs]

You could try steaming it and then using 3 pegs to form it slightly over compensated in the opposite direction. let it dry fully and then release. if you over compensate the bend it wiol allow for the little bit of springback that you'll get.

 

[Alexam]

THis was recently shown on this forum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UONmuQt_98 I thought it was well done and may help

Alex

 

[timber]

''luckily'' bought yday some bowed 8x2 timber I wanted to make a tabletop from, didn't noticed it until I got it home and cut it to smaller size.
One of the boards I ended up getting is now heavily bowed, there's probably ~1.5cm bow in the middle of it,however if you stand on it , it becomes flat.
This would be no job for a planer ( i don't even have one anyways...) as it would require taking off too much material and the board to become useless.
Was wondering is it possible to fix this somehow and straighten it out?

You could try " Kerf Bending on the underside of the table piece and a good glue--- need a thin blade though

 

[custard]

If you need straight boards the trick is to either spend a long, long time at the timber yard, carefully sighting each individual board and diligently checking that they're straight grained and close to quarter sawn so they'll likely retain their shape even when they dry out a little more; or alternatively buy much thicker boards and plane them down to the final thickness you need.

Outside of sheets goods it's been my experience, over forty years of working wood, that there isn't really a third option.

Once a board has demonstrated that it wants to warp it never really stops, a leopard doesn't change its spots and a wayward board will continue to find ever new and ingenious ways of misbehaving. Stick it on the firewood pile and resolve to take more care with wood selection in future. All the other stuff is just old wives tales.

 

[CHJ]

....Was wondering is it possible to fix this somehow and straighten it out?

I think this explanation just about reinforces the last post by custard

 

[deema]

When you buy stuff, you need to stack it properly with equal sized sticks every 2' along its length with the next board placed on top. This allows air to circulate around it. If storing for any length of time seal the ends with PVA glue or wax. Do not stack in any form of heat / sun light or you will get bowed timber.

When cutting and planing and you need to leave it night clamp it down to a flat surface or place two or mire boards together and clamp. Again keep out of any one sided heat sources.

Once a board has warped or bowed, if by storing it sticking for a day or two to allow the moisture content to again equalise and it doesnt return to near flat then as Custard has said its going to keep moving. In my experience however, a flat kiln dried board won't move much if stored properly until you start to cut into it and release and tension within it. From what you've suggested I think it's a storage problem. If you allow air to circulate around the boards for a day or two they will probably flatten out.