Reconditioning a twisted 4x4

[JRobyn]

Hi guys. I didn't really think it was possible to "fix" a 4x4 once it twisted and was dried. I'm building another "flower box" like this



and one of my long 4x4 band boards had about 15deg of twist. Just enough to look bad and make assembly really difficult. Since I had the holes drilled in the ends for the lap joints already, I temporarily assembled two short band boards opposite each other, suspended the whole deal on a couple of horses,wrapped the 4x4 in old towels, and soaked them good with water. It took about 48 hours and a little extra weight, but the twist came out! I assume that when it re-dries it will try to twist again, so I intentionally twisted it about 5 deg too far.

 

[civilian]

Hi guys. I didn't really think it was possible to "fix" a 4x4 once it twisted and was dried. I'm building another "flower box" like this

View attachment 513964

and one of my long 4x4 band boards had about 15deg of twist. Just enough to look bad and make assembly really difficult. Since I had the holes drilled in the ends for the lap joints already, I temporarily assembled two short band boards opposite each other, suspended the whole deal on a couple of horses,wrapped the 4x4 in old towels, and soaked them good with water. It took about 48 hours and a little extra weight, but the twist came out! I assume that when it re-dries it will try to twist again, so I intentionally twisted it about 5 deg too far.

View attachment 513965

I would quickly build into your floor box shape and get it planted. I think once it dries out, it will try to twist again. Jon

 

[crazyal]

Timber frame houses put the beams up wet so they can't twist. Some never do but the ones that would twist check instead. It's not uncommon to see large cracks running down the length of the beam. They are still structurally sound. I would expect that if it wants to twist but can't it'll do the same. But being outside maybe it'll never really dry. If nothing else it will add character.

 

[riptides]

Spray the wood with ammonia. Seems to work for the few I tried.

 

[JRobyn]

Why mess with nasty ammonia? The plain tap water I used worked fine.

 

[SirReal63]

The water will help, as long as it is close to where you want it and cannot move when it dries out it should hold the new shape. Back when I ran a sawmill and treating plant, if we had treated out in the yard that was twisting we put it back in the cylinder and pulled water into it. Once out it was sometimes shuffled and re-banded and left to dry in a cooler location and it was usually ok.