If a blank is bowed in such a fashion that squaring it up would make it too thin and it happens to be bowed in a direction of cast off. What would be the best way to establish a center line? Or perhaps my thinking is skewed? I have a seedling english blank that is about 2.25 thick with a bit of a bend in it, not a lot but enough to make me wonder.

I took a REALLY exceptional Koa blank that was warped as you describe and soaked it in water for a few days and then propped the ends on bricks and weighted the middle and re-warped it the other way. Took about a month as I remember. Believe it or not it worked! I don`t know if it`d work on Walnut or not. Worth a try?
Aloha, Mark

The closest I've ever come to building a stock was nailing a couple of 2X4's together but I won't let that stop me from passing on an idea. Duane Wiebe, who has actually built a stock, said that he has used a generous amount of Bondo on a warped stock and then planed down the bondo to get it square. This has allowed him to get a centerline on a squared stock without having to remove anymore wood than neccessary.

I've done a few of these. If the warp is correct for the cast, you are already to first base. Lay out a centerline accordingly and go from there. I would mill a parallel flat on the sides for the forend and take all my measurements from that. It really does work out quite well.

If you do a search, you will find a pretty long thread on this from a couple of motnhs ago. I weighed in and said I was on the side of letting a blank find its "happy place." Yes, you can bend it where you want it. You can also watch the wood bend back to where Mother Nature told the wood fibers to position themselves. If a blank is stable and has stopped moving, then a lot of time warpage won't bother me too much. Depends on the particulars of the blank, of course.

I'm all for the happy place, that's where I'd work from.

I think bending a stock after it's been made is an all together different animal than bending one before you go cutting on it and expecting it to stay that way.

I've got a blank from a walnut tree that fell into a cold river and stayed submerged for a couple of years - some folks I know recovered the tree and sawed it. It's still morphing like some slow motion horror movie monster. There are bumps emerging on the planed sides of the blank and it's warped by 3/4". In a couple more years of drying there may be enough straight wood for pistol grips and knife handles.

I should probably clarify my post; I don't think you should work on a blank until it has aged for a quite awhile and should be dry.

Thanks for the suggestions. I pulled the blank out to look at it again and it's bowed in the opposite direction of what I thought. Perhaps a blank for a lefty. I think it'd still be two inches thick once planed straight and I think I can make do with that if I don't screw something up. I really like it and will give it a try.

If you want the blank straight use either steam or hot water soak it or steam box the blank . Before you start mark the warped side predetermine how much the warp is . Now bend the blank the amount of warp Plus 1/2 distance of the warp . Clamp it using an Aluminum beam or something along that line .

Place it in a dry box . A 75 - 100 watt light bulb in a painted wooden box works .

The blank will be as straight as it's ever going to be and by over bending the blank to start with it will be near perfectly straight once dried . You can do it much faster if you have access to an evaporator .

A quality moisture meter is the key in knowing when a piece of wood has equalized to either kiln or air dried specs .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

quote:

Originally posted by Bohica:
I took a REALLY exceptional Koa blank that was warped as you describe and soaked it in water for a few days and then propped the ends on bricks and weighted the middle and re-warped it the other way. Took about a month as I remember. Believe it or not it worked! ...

Hey Mark, What keeps it from re-warping?

By over stressing the direction of the wood fibers it tends to stay closer to neutral .

Now this doesn't always work 100% of the time . How ever more times than not it will .

Please don't confuse warp with twist or chant. You don't fix that !. Cupping is another problem which is difficult even with mechanical fasteners .

Merry Christmas too ALL of YOU . ...