Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
A twisted board looks flat…until you set it down. If it rocks corner to corner, that’s twist. Twist happens when the wood fibers inside the board don’t run straight from end to end. If you twist a bundle of sticks, you can see the fibers spiral. That twist is baked into the stock before it’s ever a board.
Twist becomes less of a problem as boards get shorter, which is why you should avoid twisted stock for long parts like shelves or bookcases.
I need to make a small picture frame from this walnut stock. Because there’s twist, I’ll break it down closer to final length.
The frame is 12 by 10 inches, so I’ll add about an inch and carefully crosscut it first.
At this length, it’s safe to use on the jointer...but we don’t want the board rocking during the cut.
So instead of trying to hold one corner down and running it across, I’ll hot glue a scrap piece of stock along the edge. And you don't need to waste a lot of wood...a very thin strip of straight pine is enough for this. That gives the jointer a stable reference and keeps the board from rocking as it passes over the knives.
Once it’s been jointed and dimensioned, I can remove that glued-on edge, rip it to final width, and then head to the planer to make the opposite face parallel.
And if you do need something long for a project, rift- or quarter-sawn stock is a much better place to start.
Check out my other channel! → @makethingswithrob
Become a patron! → patreon.com/makethings ←
Huge thank you to my patrons that keep this thing going!
*MAKER TEAM*
Michelle B
Keith Current
Rich Lightfoot
Tutor the Barbarian
Aubrey G.
Nukebert
Sam W.
Aaron Knows DIY
G. Salazar
David B.
Marc B.
Richard B.
Ben. K
Bill Patterson
Make Things
#MakeThings #mtbitesize
A twisted board looks flat…until you set it down. If it rocks corner to corner, that’s twist. Twist happens when the wood fibers inside the board don’t run straight from end to end. If you twist a bundle of sticks, you can see the fibers spiral. That twist is baked into the stock before it’s ever a board.
Twist becomes less of a problem as boards get shorter, which is why you should avoid twisted stock for long parts like shelves or bookcases.
I need to make a small picture frame from this walnut stock. Because there’s twist, I’ll break it down closer to final length.
The frame is 12 by 10 inches, so I’ll add about an inch and carefully crosscut it first.
At this length, it’s safe to use on the jointer...but we don’t want the board rocking during the cut.
So instead of trying to hold one corner down and running it across, I’ll hot glue a scrap piece of stock along the edge. And you don't need to waste a lot of wood...a very thin strip of straight pine is enough for this. That gives the jointer a stable reference and keeps the board from rocking as it passes over the knives.
Once it’s been jointed and dimensioned, I can remove that glued-on edge, rip it to final width, and then head to the planer to make the opposite face parallel.
And if you do need something long for a project, rift- or quarter-sawn stock is a much better place to start.
Check out my other channel! → @makethingswithrob
Become a patron! → patreon.com/makethings ←
Huge thank you to my patrons that keep this thing going!
*MAKER TEAM*
Michelle B
Keith Current
Rich Lightfoot
Tutor the Barbarian
Aubrey G.
Nukebert
Sam W.
Aaron Knows DIY
G. Salazar
David B.
Marc B.
Richard B.
Ben. K
Bill Patterson
Make Things
#MakeThings #mtbitesize
