Hi Niels



 RM> I heard a radio article on the subject just a few days before I

 RM> read this, kicked myself, went home and stacked the planks. I'd had

 RM> them just standing on edge, and two of the 13 were warping visibly.



 NP>  They will go in all directions as there is nothing to hold them still!

 NP> The timber does not dry at the same rate along the length of the plank.



 RM> They're now in a spaced stack, with a few bricks on top.



 NP>  Put more weight on them



these are he-man concrete bricks, not wimpy little clay ones. But

I'll find a couple more, just to keep you happy





 RM> Could be a bit tight; I'll need about 6 planks for the job, and a

 RM> few of the 13 are a bit thicker than the rest.



 NP>  Get them put through a thicknesser.



I'll enquire, ta. Having all the planks identical in thickness

would be a real bonus.





 NP> in a later house and some 3x2's that were Blue Gum railway sleeper

 NP> offcuts.  (The Blue Gum HAD to be drilled just to get a nail to go

 NP> in) :-)



 RM> sounds familiar. Self drilling screws don't work in this stuff,

 RM> either.



 NP>  How many did you split before you came to that conclusion ? :-)



the timber didn't split, the screws snapped...





 NP> Best of luck ;-)

 RM> Gee ta. I have a secondary project now, a barbecue stand, that will

 RM> use some of the planks I can't use on the benchtop. I plan to cut

 RM> one plank into 500 x 60 x 15mm slats for the tops. I've seen thinner

 RM> offcuts of this stuff warp like crazy, I'm about to learn if 15mm

 RM> thick bits, screwed down at both ends, will warp...



 NP>  They will !!!

 NP>  I'd put a cross member at the 250mm mark or even 2 crossmembers at 1/3

 NP>  & 2/3 distance from the end. Even if they are only temporary
to stop the

 NP>  warpage and are removed later.





The planks worked out to be about 12mm thick, and they're screwed

down like this (* is a screw):



  ____________________500_______________________

 |                                              |

 |     *                                  *     |

 |     |                                        |

 |     |                                        |

 |     35                                       |57

 |     |                                        |

 |     |                                        |

 |-60--*                                  *     |

 |______________________________________________|





I'll see how they go. A barbecue stand is a good test bed, it isn't

critical if they warp a bit. The red timber does look beautiful

under a satin varnish, though.



The reason I built rather than bought was space - the bench on one

side is 600mm wide instead of the pathetic 200 or 300 that the

commercial stands provide, and it hinges down for more compact

storage. Weighs a ton, but looks good and works well.



Cheers



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