Neighboors oak table repair - Help

[Jerry Crawford]

One of my neigboors has a kitchen table made by his father some time ago. The table split this winter and now he's ask me if I can help fix it. It's made from oak and as you can tell the wood movement caused the joint to fail. It parted along the glue joint till it hit a weak grain line then took off along it. The other problem is the Dad glued and screwed a brace across the bottom. Probably to help keep the top flat ( )? Two screw are centered in each board and I have to assume that there is also glue under there. The maker used 5 or 6 dowel's in each seam too. In spite of the maker alternating grain orientation there is also a warp about midway of the top. Only the top is finished - underside left raw.







So, what's the best way to go about salvaging this thing? Luckly it's ordinary oak so if I have to insert a piece to regain original width it will be easy to match. Is there any known way to soften the glue under those two cross braces if it's there? I'm thinking once I get it apart (if, in fact that is the best approach) I'll use biscuits to reassemble. Luckly, the oak is quite ordinary so if I have to patch in a piece to achieve origiinal width it will be easy to do.

Any suggestions appreciated - don't assume any offering is too basic or obvious. Is there any known way to soften white wood glue under those two cross braces if in fact the maker did use glue? Thanks

[Charlie Plesums]

It looks like the cross braces caused the split, believe it or not. Since they are firmly tied to the tabletop, as the top shrunk across the grain, as all wood does during the winter, the braces held the edges apart until something gave. You have to get rid of the braces... the other boards are just waiting for their turn to split.

If the builder used ordinary carpenter's glue, then a long soak with warm water will eventually soften the glue, but then you will have a long wait while the wood dries again. If they used a waterproof glue (like Titebond II) forget trying to soften it with water in a reasonable amount of time. You might want to remove all the screws and plane or chisel the braces off - you will be discarding them anyway.

I have never had a problem with oak (or anything else) glued long grain to long grain. Biscuits and dowels can help with alignment, but don't add to the strength. Ordinary yellow carpenter's glue is fine - you don't need epoxy or other fancy glues. If you can't get the boards back together "pretty" then try running a single saw cut down the offending part... it will remove 1/8 inch and just look like an extra board was used.

When the top is glued up again, finish both the top and the bottom the same way. The uneven finish is probably the cause of the warp.

The top should be attached to the aprons between the legs with a connection that can move as the boards expand and shrink across the grain (the aprons will be long grain, which basically doesn't expand and shrink, so we have to allow the cross grain of the top to move along the long grain of the aprons.) "Norm" would drill a hole in the apron and wiggle the drill to make a slot that allows the screw to move. Others use wooden or metal clips set into a groove in the apron. Others use "figure eight" connectors screwed to the tops and aprons. And there are other tricks as well.

If you feel that the top needs to be stiffened (it rarely does), then you could use a breadboard end. The ends of the boards are put in a slot in a new board that goes cross-wise, but is only glued in the center (expansion again).

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Charlie...take off the the boards that are cross grain to the table top and reglue the top to restore it. Leave the middle screw hole in each brace as-is and enlarge the holes in the braces for all the other screws so that the fasteners can float as the top increases and decreases in width seasonally. Be sure this is true for however the top fastens to it's base, too! There is no problem using the braces as long as you account for wood movement...and that purely was the original mistake in construction.

[Jerry Crawford]

I had contemplated breadboarding the ends - will probably offer that to the owner as an option. My first thought was to remove those cross pieces (somehow) then glue up just the part of the split where the wood parted - not the original glue joint because that would be just glue-on-glue. Then taking a kerf-wide cut down that joint to cut away the dried glue garbage so I had a wood to wood joint for the repair. Thanks for the warp info.

[Curt Harms]

Here's something to try if the glue used on the cleats was water based. I've used it, and at least on recently applied glue joints (week or so) it softened titebond pretty well. I have no association with the manufacturer, just use it for aw craps http://www.vandykes.com/product/02348098/
The stuff is available at many woodworking supply stores.

HTH

Curt

[thomas prevost]

If it is white/yellow glue, not Titebond II, it can be softened with heat and water. A very slow process, heating one board at a time with a heat gun and chisels or screwdrivers to pry a little at a time as the glue softens. Similar to softening hide glue.

[Norman Hitt]

You might also try soaking it with Vinegar.

[Brad Knabel]

The other folks here have a lot more experience than I do. I just wanted to throw something out though. Given that the table was made by your neighbor's father they might be a little attached to the "crafted by" brand on the cross-pieces.

If you are able to remove the crosspieces, could you potentially re-attach them by first widening the screw-holes to horizontal slots? I agree that they have no business being there from a structural standpoint, but it might be nice to salvage them somehow if those brands mean something to the owner.

[Jerry Crawford]

yeah - I had planned on doing some thing about that signature to keep it then just glue it back on underneith somewhere