Reply by Sawdust4Blood

If the wood is highly cupped, then Loren’s method will get the lumber trued with the least amount of waste. If it’s bowed or twisted, then I don’t know if ripping it will buy you a lot other than making it fit easier on your jointer. In that case, you can reduce waste by cutting the boards to the shortest possible length before milling.

I don’t know what the current thickness is but let’s say it’s currently 4/4. If a 10 inch wide board is highly cupped, it is very unlikely that you’ll be able to get it trued up at a finished thickness of 3/4” unless you rip it and re-glue it as Loren suggested. If you’re careful with the grain alignment, you can make the finished joint almost invisible. I used this method a while back on a cherry project and as the wood has darkened with age, it is now impossible to tell it was ever ripped. The board I had was almost 15 inches wide and the cupping was so bad that I had to rip it into three pieces and re-glue. I didn’t have much bowing or twist, so I worked it in lengths of about 4 feet because that worked well with my project plans.

Of course there is also hand planing but I just suck at that and don’t have the patience.

-- Greg, Severn MD