I've heard and seen that moisture causes different layers of wood to expand at different rates, and thus the wood warps. But it seems that if you dry the wood back out it doesn't un-warp, usually it cracks.
Here's why I wonder: I'm working on a small end table with my wife. We bought a sheet of layered (don't know what you REAL wood workers call it) oak and maple. We've gotten quite a ways into the project, but this sheet, which is for the table top, has significant warp. Probally close to 1/4" in some dimensions. So I'm wondering how to unwarp that so we can secure it to the frame of the table.
The ideas we've had to date: (1) Right now, so it doesn't warp more we have clamped it to scraps of oak that run across. (2) There's a lot of different clamps out there. Since the plan calls for a railing to run around the edges of the top, we are thinking that we can just clamp it to the railing. This may not take out all the warp, but it will warp with the railing. Better in some ways. [The railing will be pegged to the top. And the top will be pegged to the frame. No visible fasteners, right?.] (3) I've read quite a few post about planing the top. I'm not too wild about that since, the top layer of oak isn't thick enough so that all the warp could be planed out. I suppose we could plane the bottom, but it seems like a bad idea to plane through the laminate layers.
Suggestions? I'm very new to wood working, so I'm very open to ideas, comments, and suggestions.
Emil