Warping table...

[Argonor]

How the.... do you prevent a table from warping when glueing sand onto it?

I use chipboard (i think - the one made of some millions smal pieces of wood glued/pressed together?).

Is MDF better? Or is there a sturdy material out there besides steel...?

[Westfalia Chris]

There are several methods of preventing warp.

1. Double-glue two layers of wood to form the base, and make sure that the wood´s grain runs in a 90° angle (ie, one board being grained lengthwise, the other widthwise). Weigh this down when drying.

2. Only sand small areas at a time, and use a rather thick mixture - the less water you use, the less warping will occur.

3. Use either spray-paint or spray-glue, then sprinkle sand onto it rather than "painting" the table with a brush and liquid glue. This is expensive, however, and takes practice, since aerosols quickly dry to a point where the sand won´t stick anymore.

[Argonor]

OK, I'll try the 'thick' glue next time, thanks.

[WitchfinderGeneral]

Instead of ordinary sanding (put glue on the table and pour sand over it) you could try to "paint" [right, that's also a 'thick' way] the sand on it, with a mixture of sand + white glue (+ the base colour).

MDF doesn't soak up that much but it is higher in weight and price.

[Westfalia Chris]

Instead of ordinary sanding (put glue on the table and pour sand over it) you could try to "paint" [right, that's also a 'thick' way] the sand on it, with a mixture of sand + white glue (+ the base colour).

That is what I did with my boards, and it worked out well considering warpage, but the sandcoat is a bit irregular. I used some spray-paint afterwards to lighten it up and give some variation, and now it´s pretty good.

[Argonor]

That must be what they call 'textured paint' o'er at yonder small 'shoppe  :wink:

[Argonor]

There are several methods of preventing warp.
2. Only sand small areas at a time, and use a rather thick mixture - the less water you use, the less warping will occur.
quote]

This worked much, much better than the rather thin glue-mix I used before.

Very good advice, there!

I also noticed, that chipboard tend to warp a little, when it is stored standing, due to the weight of the board. When glueing the sand on, I chose to glue it onto the convex side - and now the tension has made the board completely flat.    Had I used the thin glue, it would probably have warped the other way, now... I think...

[Westfalia Chris]

Good to hear I could be helpful! Now, however, you are obliged to present some pictures of the finished table ASAP!

[Argonor]

Good to hear I could be helpful! Now, however, you are obliged to present some pictures of the finished table ASAP!

I will - as mentioned earlier elsewhere on this forum, I'm going to get a website up and running somewhen after christmas/during the winter, where my gaming projects will be displayed in all their missing glory (I do not, to any extent, paint miniatures neither as fast nor as good as those displayed in here, and most of my terrain is bought for petty cash).

Both my 2x2 desert table (with the slight warp due to thin glue) and the 2x2 moon/rubble/Moria/bombed Imperial city/you-name-it grey table with no warping at all will appear - hopefully with some homemade terrain and some gaming going on  :wink:

I have currently 3 more 2x2 tables in mind: A normal earth/grass for almost anything/anywhere on Earth, an asphalt table to place city/airport/sci-fi-bases on, a copplestone table for fantasy/swashbucling/mediewal (and some inter-war) city terrain - if I can only get my hands on some suitable wallpaper - I have been to 3 interior/DIY stores already without success... I am beginning to think of a thin polystyrene/foam layer and then scoring in the paving with something alike to a pizza wheel or something....