Most of today’s lumber you can buy is pretty narrow when you compare it to the stuff pulled out of the virgin forests more than 100 years ago.

Entire table tops could be made from one board. That’s what makes wide boards such as these two 16 ” wide cherry specimens I had in my shop a few years back something very special.

When it comes to using them, there are two schools of thought. One is to use the board as is in all its glory. The other us to rip the board into smaller widths and glue it back together to reduce the likelihood of warping.

So, which camp do you fall in to?

How would you go about making a table top from a wide board?