need advice on glue for tabletop

[aaron]

I'm making a table top out of 3 large boards.Each board is 15 inches wide, 3 inches thick, and 4 feet long. They're Big Leaf Maple. I want to plane the edges and glue them together. After the first go on the planer, there's a bit more of a gap than I wanted. each edge has a slight bow of about 1/32 or less. I was going to try and glue them with TB3, but I know it won't tolerate a gap like that. so, should I go back to the planer and try to close the gap , or use a glue that works with gaps ? I think I can improve the planing, but not sure I can get em tight enough for TB3.  What glue would you use?

[mullet]

Aaron; I'd go back to work with the planer. Tightbond would look ugly in the gap even if it held, and everytime you looked at it you would probably wished you had planed it some more.

[bubby]

Get the fit proper and I would use biscuits and tb

[bubby]

Also before you plane it clamp a straight edge to it and true it up with a skill saw

[aaron]

ok, thanks, guys. I am going to try making it better with an electric hand planer, rather than the bench planer. I started on the bench planer, but the pieces are so big and heavy, it's hard to get a good clean pass without side-to side wobble as the piece slides.
bubby- the skill saw idea is good, but I think they're already flatter than I could make them that way.
I thought of biscuts too, but I was hoping to get a good glue line and not need them. I probably will biscut or dowel it for insurance.

[paulsemp]

Big lumber will move and nothing you do will stop it. That's why butcher blocks are made out of multiple little pieces. I would replane and dowel or biscuit it

[lebhuntfish]

Big lumber will move and nothing you do will stop it. That's why butcher blocks are made out of multiple little pieces. I would replane and dowel or biscuit it

Great advice here! True it up or you will always wish you did. Patrick

[silverfox]

Those sound like some great boards. I agree with Mullet, a glue line in boards like that would be a shame, and it will haunt you every time you look at it. I have worked with some big lumber myself, and have had trouble getting a good seam as well. That is a lot of material to match up perfectly. I get them as close as I can and glued them together. I then run them through the table saw, taking out the glue/seam line with the blade. This should cut out any gaps and match them up well. I then mark them so I know they go together and move to the next seam and do the same. After I have done this to all the seams I will lightly sand them just to take out any saw marks the blade might have left. This has worked for me several times and gave some nice tight seams. I also use dowels with something this thick. I agree with paulsemp, large lumber like this will move/ breath no matter what you do. I sometimes go days or weeks between working on a project. I like to seal them up on all edges and surfaces as soon as I get them glued up. All this sealer will get sanded off before to start your final finish, and seemed to reduce the movement during the project. I don't know if these are the right answers, but they have worked for me several times.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Id suggest cutting it into many more narrow boards, like a butcher block or bowling alley. Keeping three 15" wide planks flat at the glue lines will be tough. Biscuits would help, but you have some big planks.

[aaron]

thanks, guys. I tried to replane with the hand planer, but still getting some gaps. I really don't want to sut them into smaller strips, even though that would probably make it easier by giving them some flexibility during clamping.
I realize that wide boards like this will want to shrink and expand, but I'm not sure how that would affect this project. Mostly, the finished product will shrink and expand width-wise, so my design will allow for this. I do not intend to "restrain them" with any cross-wise braces, but will let the top kinda "float" by using oversized holes in the cross wise pieces. Does this make sense? Am I missing something about the shrinking and expanding? will it somehow jeopardise the glue line?
I really like silverfox's idea- never thought of that. I may try that.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Usually a project like this would get glued together in a way the glue lines were tight and then ran through a large planer or drum sander to be made flat and parallel again. It will hard to do with hand tools, but possible. If you see where gaps will be you may have to toss shims under various slabs to flush the glue lines. Then run a  belt sander or hand planer over the surfaces.

[stickbender]

     I would use dominoes on planks that big, and cross members on the bottom, and bread board ends,  Man where in the world did you come across those planks?  My neighbor has an Alaskan saw mill, and is going to make a table out of some  lodge pole pine.  One is from my property.  You can plane the boards flat, with a long hand plane, but it needs to be very sharp.  I think it would be easier to do the top, after the planks are glued together.  You need to check the planks after each shaving, with a straight edge, side ways, and length ways, and that way, you will be able to see the humps and bumps that need to be taken off.  Good luck.  Man I would love to find some planks like that!
                                   Wayne