3d carving oak

Hi can anyone provide me with some advice I have been asked to produce a sign for a customer carving a 3d design into oak the only issue I have is I can't get a piece of oak wide enough for the signs dimensions required. Is it possible to glue smaller widths of oak together to make the required width and then do the 3d carving into the glued piece of oak and have a finished item that's one whole piece I mean dose not fall apart.

if this is possible would I need to joint the smaller widths of oak together or just glue them and clamp together and also what glue would be best to use

thanks
mike

I would say go for it, laminating is a perfectly acceptable method of construction i frequently use, just try and match the grain so it reduces the risk of any tearout in the area of the joint.
Regards
Mike

If the sign is for outside you will require waterproof glue.
I find Titebond is the best, you can look about for the cheapest supplier.
Titebond | Axminster.co.uk

You could just glue it but the joint would have to be very good or you could strengthen the joint with dowels, biscuits, loose tongues.

how wide a piece do you need and thickness?

Use you're CNC to clean the edges, and edge glue them together. A good edge glued joint should be stronger than the wood itself.

I have used a simple edge to edge joint for indoor plaques but always used biscuit joints and waterproof glue for anything outside just to be sure. I also use some masking tape where glue may bleed out as sometimes the glue can stain the wood. Don't try to glue end grains, never works well and clamp tight.

I would use biscuits as well as they help hold the pieces in alignment while clamping. I cut the slots with a cutter in a handheld router - doesn't need a special biscuit jointer. I would be happy to do it that way but agree that you need to use a waterproof glue.

@Mikeb By the sound of your post you might be better seeking the services of a local woodworker to make the wide board.

Mike, some idea of the size would be good and how deep is the relief going into the surface ?
Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by longy

Mike, some idea of the size would be good and how deep is the relief going into the surface ?
Mike

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The width of the material has to be 400mm and total depth of it is 35mm with the relief going to a total depth of 25 mm

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mikeb

The width of the material has to be 400mm and total depth of it is 35mm with the relief going to a total depth of 25 mm

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theres 400mm x 50mm here but needs drying out lots of info out there on drying,he may have a dried out off cut Solid French Oak Board Floating Shelf Mantle Fire Place Beam Door Stairs WIDE | eBay

Hi Mike, using a good quality waterproof glue and make up a panel the size you need by edge gluing and clamping with smaller matched bits of timber. I would use over sized kiln dried European or American Oak. Do a surface level on both the back and front surfaces to make sure the panel is nice and flat before doing the final job.

Select some nice matching gain and you'll just edge gluing. You might want to increase the depth above the final finished from 10mm to around 15mm plus, DO NOT use biscuits or dowels as these might show up in the relief carving. As long as the finished job is well sealed it should last for many years. Search on YouTube as there's lots of helpful videos on gluing up panels. 4 Tips for Gluing Clamping a Tabletop - YouTube just miss out the biscuits. Mike :)