Must be a detailed job. That bend was workable for most of my projects. I plan on building a set of home theater speakers in the future with a rounded back so i find this info useful
I'm trying this on a 3/4in ply board with just some cold water applied with a rag, and some 45lb barbell weights. It's winter here, about 40-60f all day, so I I got no heat. I'm depending on the heavy weights and moisture. I'll let it sit for a day or two, maybe reapply some water if needed and let you know if it works out!
Uncommon Redesigns yes it did! It was early winter when I did this 2 months ago. So I wasn’t able to use heat like in the video, so I tried with wiping on some regular cold water to the board with a rag (to the bow side facing down towards the floor) and added weights on top. It actually worked so well that it bowed upwards. So I flipped the board and repeated the process, wetting the newly bowed area with less water this time, facing it down and placing weights on the top. Now it’s perfectly straight, and did not have to use any heat. Just experiment with the right amount of water for the wood you are using and let it air dry. My process took about 3 days overall and it turned out flat enough to touch up with the hand plane, or even to use as is depending on how perfectly flat it needs to be. The total weights I used was just some spare weight plates for bench press that I had in my room - total of 100lb.
@@Geoff Thanks for sharing that...I wonder if a heat gun would make any difference on the wet wood. I've got the same thing now- fall in NY...not enough sun to help.
@@sharit7970 Let me know how your project turns out. The plywood I flattened has been indoors since I first did this process, 2 years ago now and it has kept its shape. It’s currently in use as a book shelf and my piece is still flat after 2 years. So as long as conditions remain fairly stable, the wood should remain the same. Steam heat would work best, so a heat gun would probably evaporate that moisture too fast or dry it out and make the cup worse on that side. But I have seen people wet and wrap sections of wood in a cloth and foil and go over the cupped section with a clothes iron so that’s also an option if you’re wanting to use heat. I like the way shown in this video, of just allowing ambient temperatures and weights/clamps do the work. Slower process, but simple and less setup work for me. I just have to keep an eye on the work and the internal moisture seems to equalize itself overtime, maybe making it more stable, i dont really know. I’ve since seen old-time carpenters do the same (just water and board flipping, resting on wood slats indoors -no heat) and it works for them. I’ve seen some major cups come out very flat this way. I was suprised.
@@Geoff Thanks for the response! I've got this project on the back burner now... too many other projects. I tried wetting and weighting the piece, [a drawer bottom] but it didn't work. I'm going to note your comment here for when I get back to it, and I'll try to remember to let you know what happens. Thanks again!
This works well. Also you might try burning the plywood with a torch on the convex side. Though burning is a much quicker process it can easily be overdone as the shrinkage will continue after the initial burn.
This was useful because it means I can reverse this when I begin experimenting with bowing ply for my projects. Ill be able to waste less in the process and have a more realistic expectation of timeframes and such. Im assuming a thinner ply would bow quicker with less time?
Thank you for showing the before and after. Do you know if it works on finished ikea shelves? Meaning I'm not sure if the water gets absorbed into the finished surface
funny, i would have assumed it was the other side that should be wetted down, and then when it dried the wood fibers contracted to fix the warp. shows what i know!
Most of the time I would say no as most tables are normally made from 6-8 individual boards glued together rather than one slab of wood. Table cupping / warping can be fixed if the cause is due to the horizontal support rails being warped in that case just replace them but not all tables have them. Sometimes it is possible to repair a thicker table (over 3/4" thick) surface planing / milling with a CNC bed or you can use a router sled but you lose at least 1/4" of table depth in the process.
I have a wood framed mirror and the frame has warped. This distorts the mirror resulting in a fun house effect. How do I straighten the frame without removing or breaking the mirror?
Very useful, thanks. If someone is doing this on a “non-sunny” day, they can always just take the board inside and put it near a heating throw (duct). Cheers!
I will try this thanks. I got two sheets of 18mm outside that warped over the winter when they blew over and were resting on just one end. Now I want to use them I just noticed they are twisted. I've just laid them on flat concrete and parked a trailer of around 200kg on them. I will try wetting them if this dry method don't work.
@@brieftodo It did work quite well thanks. I know I didn't do it exactly the same as you said and I was going to pour some water over them if it hadn't worked dry, but then we had a couple days of rain and that seemed enough to have made it work. After taking the trailer off them and standing them up, they were pretty flat. I wouldn't say what I did has made them dead flat, there's a slight bend still, but for my project of needing some 2ft squares cut off the sheets, it's certainly done the job and saved me having to go and buy more new ply. I will definitely remember your method for next time I get this problem. 🙂👍🏽
After scouring the internet, I didn't find what I needed. What I came up with is to use a router to cut a slot in the plywood. The slot is on the concaved/hollowed side, perpendicular to the direction of the curl. The depth should be about half the thickness of the plywood. Then you hammer a strip of hardwood into the slot. The strip should be a few thousandths of an inch too wide for the slot. The fit should be so tight, you don't even need glue! Repeat as necessary, every so many inches from the previous slot, in the worse part of the curl, until the plywood is flat. If the curl is complex, you can criss-cross previous slots, but wherever you cross another slot, you can end up with a slight bump around the intersection. A good sharp card scraper can alleviate that. I came up with this to fix the warp in my bandaw sled. You can't have a back fence on a bandsaw sled. After cutting the sled in half, the plywood curled and one corner stuck up half an inch. I lived with that for a long time, then finally tried this idea. It worked brilliantly.
@@mildyproductive9726 The hardwood strip goes the full width of the plywood? I might have to try that. I built a bed platform for a SUV camper out of radiata pine and it is frustratingly warped. The trick in the video worked OK, but the middle is still ~1/4-1/2" higher than the side.
![Cabinetry Basics Part 1 [video 435]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3N_T-YpkBCg/mqdefault.jpg)
One of the rare videos on the topic that's clear about which side gets watered. (The cup, not the crown.)
Thanks again I just read what you said and followed what you said to do and voila ...perfection
How durable was this result? Can you please make another video showing how it looked after some time?
Must be a detailed job. That bend was workable for most of my projects. I plan on building a set of home theater speakers in the future with a rounded back so i find this info useful
Wow, what a jokester
Hi! quick question if I may... after cutting the wood or playwook, could it bend again or this fix is definitive? or for how long?
Thanks! I'm glad I found this! I was about to go back to the hardware store and get a sheet of MDF instead. Cross fingers 🤞🤞
I'm trying this on a 3/4in ply board with just some cold water applied with a rag, and some 45lb barbell weights. It's winter here, about 40-60f all day, so I I got no heat. I'm depending on the heavy weights and moisture. I'll let it sit for a day or two, maybe reapply some water if needed and let you know if it works out!
Did it work?
Uncommon Redesigns yes it did! It was early winter when I did this 2 months ago. So I wasn’t able to use heat like in the video, so I tried with wiping on some regular cold water to the board with a rag (to the bow side facing down towards the floor) and added weights on top. It actually worked so well that it bowed upwards. So I flipped the board and repeated the process, wetting the newly bowed area with less water this time, facing it down and placing weights on the top. Now it’s perfectly straight, and did not have to use any heat. Just experiment with the right amount of water for the wood you are using and let it air dry. My process took about 3 days overall and it turned out flat enough to touch up with the hand plane, or even to use as is depending on how perfectly flat it needs to be. The total weights I used was just some spare weight plates for bench press that I had in my room - total of 100lb.
@@Geoff Thanks for sharing that...I wonder if a heat gun would make any difference on the wet wood. I've got the same thing now- fall in NY...not enough sun to help.
@@sharit7970 Let me know how your project turns out. The plywood I flattened has been indoors since I first did this process, 2 years ago now and it has kept its shape. It’s currently in use as a book shelf and my piece is still flat after 2 years. So as long as conditions remain fairly stable, the wood should remain the same.
Steam heat would work best, so a heat gun would probably evaporate that moisture too fast or dry it out and make the cup worse on that side. But I have seen people wet and wrap sections of wood in a cloth and foil and go over the cupped section with a clothes iron so that’s also an option if you’re wanting to use heat.
I like the way shown in this video, of just allowing ambient temperatures and weights/clamps do the work. Slower process, but simple and less setup work for me. I just have to keep an eye on the work and the internal moisture seems to equalize itself overtime, maybe making it more stable, i dont really know. I’ve since seen old-time carpenters do the same (just water and board flipping, resting on wood slats indoors -no heat) and it works for them. I’ve seen some major cups come out very flat this way. I was suprised.
@@Geoff Thanks for the response! I've got this project on the back burner now... too many other projects. I tried wetting and weighting the piece, [a drawer bottom] but it didn't work. I'm going to note your comment here for when I get back to it, and I'll try to remember to let you know what happens. Thanks again!
This works well. Also you might try burning the plywood with a torch on the convex side. Though burning is a much quicker process it can easily be overdone as the shrinkage will continue after the initial burn.
Thanks man. Getting straight to the point and what to do. Unlike other wankers who have a 10 minute video and waste your time
I want to straighten veneered plywood flooring. But this would mean wetting the veneer, and I am expecting that not to work well. Correct?
This was useful because it means I can reverse this when I begin experimenting with bowing ply for my projects. Ill be able to waste less in the process and have a more realistic expectation of timeframes and such. Im assuming a thinner ply would bow quicker with less time?
Thank you for showing the before and after. Do you know if it works on finished ikea shelves? Meaning I'm not sure if the water gets absorbed into the finished surface
Excellent advice thanks God bles you for teaching me this technique. Great video instructional
In Seattle, we can only unwarp boards during August based on needing sun.
great method, so hard to keep & store big panels straight
Thank you! This is very helpful! Now I’ll try on my board. Also do you think I’ll work on warped wooden floor by any chance?
Very unlikely it would work on a wood floor. If the floor has thick boards they could be retified on a planer.
Excellent! A good fix for the South African sun :)
This is exactly what I needed to see.. I've become somewhat wealthy now that my stacks of plywood have increased in value hahaha
funny, i would have assumed it was the other side that should be wetted down, and then when it dried the wood fibers contracted to fix the warp. shows what i know!
Thanks for sharing. Do you think this will work on a pine table top (100x80x2cm)?
Most of the time I would say no as most tables are normally made from 6-8 individual boards glued together rather than one slab of wood. Table cupping / warping can be fixed if the cause is due to the horizontal support rails being warped in that case just replace them but not all tables have them. Sometimes it is possible to repair a thicker table (over 3/4" thick) surface planing / milling with a CNC bed or you can use a router sled but you lose at least 1/4" of table depth in the process.
I have a wood framed mirror and the frame has warped. This distorts the mirror resulting in a fun house effect. How do I straighten the frame without removing or breaking the mirror?
THANKS YOU HELPED A LOTTT
how soon can i paint the wood? i thought you weren’t supposed to paint wood that was recently wet
Hi so I have a 3/4 in thick, 23x65 in birch plywood and I don't have time to wait until summer, is there another way I could fix this defect?
I saw one guy trying to do the same with blow heaters but it didn't work so I guess you'll have to be patient and wait for Summer.
Very useful, thanks. If someone is doing this on a “non-sunny” day, they can always just take the board inside and put it near a heating throw (duct). Cheers!
I saw someone in a video used a heat gun but it didn't work but you may get lucky.
@@brieftodo Did they wet the wood first...do you remember?
I will try this thanks. I got two sheets of 18mm outside that warped over the winter when they blew over and were resting on just one end. Now I want to use them I just noticed they are twisted. I've just laid them on flat concrete and parked a trailer of around 200kg on them. I will try wetting them if this dry method don't work.
Good luck!
@@brieftodo It did work quite well thanks. I know I didn't do it exactly the same as you said and I was going to pour some water over them if it hadn't worked dry, but then we had a couple days of rain and that seemed enough to have made it work. After taking the trailer off them and standing them up, they were pretty flat. I wouldn't say what I did has made them dead flat, there's a slight bend still, but for my project of needing some 2ft squares cut off the sheets, it's certainly done the job and saved me having to go and buy more new ply. I will definitely remember your method for next time I get this problem. 🙂👍🏽
Can we apply this on mdf panel?
so can i use this technique in reverse to bend/curve the wood, im making a shield
No. You can't. It's disallowed.
Can i do this same procedure on a Beech Wood?
Harder woods are less flexible so less chance of success but no harm in trying.
very useful showing some love for the algo
thank you, indeed it was very useful 😉👍
I gave you a double like 😅
Glad to hear that!
Only possible one or two weeks a year in Blighty!
Thanks for making this video
and what if you live someplace that is below freezing?
One could argue what’s the point of removing the bow if you’re screwing it down any way.
I will try this on my warped ramp
Any suggestions on when the plywood warps after it's finished and on a project?
It is super variable sometimes it does and sometimes doesn't. I recommend using it where it requires to be screwed down.
After scouring the internet, I didn't find what I needed. What I came up with is to use a router to cut a slot in the plywood. The slot is on the concaved/hollowed side, perpendicular to the direction of the curl. The depth should be about half the thickness of the plywood. Then you hammer a strip of hardwood into the slot. The strip should be a few thousandths of an inch too wide for the slot. The fit should be so tight, you don't even need glue! Repeat as necessary, every so many inches from the previous slot, in the worse part of the curl, until the plywood is flat. If the curl is complex, you can criss-cross previous slots, but wherever you cross another slot, you can end up with a slight bump around the intersection. A good sharp card scraper can alleviate that.
I came up with this to fix the warp in my bandaw sled. You can't have a back fence on a bandsaw sled. After cutting the sled in half, the plywood curled and one corner stuck up half an inch. I lived with that for a long time, then finally tried this idea. It worked brilliantly.
@@mildyproductive9726 The hardwood strip goes the full width of the plywood?
I might have to try that. I built a bed platform for a SUV camper out of radiata pine and it is frustratingly warped. The trick in the video worked OK, but the middle is still ~1/4-1/2" higher than the side.
@@scotth5503 yeah, but the curl in mine wasnt a bowl shape. It was simpler. You might have to get more creative!
Will it work in carton board
Unlikely but you could give it a try
@@brieftodo I mean carrom board
Nice, thank you!
I did this 3 times with a 4x8 sheet and it did not work !
Hi, would this work next to a stove? Need to navigate the English winter with no sun 😂
what liquid did you give sir?
Soapy water
Very useful I'll try it
Thankssss it the best video ❤❤❤
Thank you
Well it's 20 below freezing here so this may not work
Proper job
Cool👍
thanks.
You're welcome
I wouldnt do it on the ground...
Its snow outside...
Nice
It's not permanently solution . Only temporary for few hours or days.
thanks
Am done this before 10 year's ago..