Warped Teak Cabin Hatch

[SailorDave5050]

I have an approx. 30x30 cabin door hatch that is made if 1/2" teak (not plywood). It simply slips up under a rim and into a recessed area, then padlocks at the bottom. Problem is the teak is warped bad enough that the "board" won't go up into the slot and into the recess without a lot of force. Wondering if there is a do-it-yourself way to flatten this out again? Thanks!

 

[DeniseO30]

It's a common problem, we ran the ones on my boat through a planner but they were thick enough and had a reduced end to drop in the slot. You could saw slots in the back of the board/s but not all the way through the board. Fill the slots with epoxy (hope it holds) and flex them flat. (it's a wood workers trick but they may split anyway.)

 

[rgranger]

What Denise suggested is called kerfing. You can read more about it here

http://www.allwoodwork.com/article/woodwork/methods_of_bending_wood.htm

 

[DeniseO30]

many drop boards have a breadboard edge to keep the boards from warping. I'm not a fan of kerf cutting to un-warp a board though. I'd rather rip and re-glue.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Could probably be steamed and bent back into shape. Google "steam bending wood" or something to that effect.