I have a pretty piece of wood that was given to me 30 or 40 years ago by a close friend. It is supposed to be Cocobolo, but all I know is that is hard and dense with some good sized cracks. I was hoping to turn it into a light duty table top and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how to evaluate it to see if it is thick enough and has enough integrity to be able to get it flattened and squared up?
I am generally familiar with squaring a board, but I am a little skittish due to the hardness/density, the amplitude of the twist, and wanting to preserve the original contour on one edge. Trying to figure out 1) if I have enough thickness to get it flat on at least one side given the amount of twist and 2) what tools would be best given how hard it is.
The dimensions are 36.25 inches long by 15-15.5 inches wide, by about 0.75 inches thick. The final dimensions should be about 36 inches long, 14 inches wide (with one edge live and some variation) and as thick as possible maybe 1/2 to 5/8 inches.
Any insight would be appreciated
