Fixing a popped open joint.

[Matthew Haraminac]

I'm in the process of remodeling my bathroom. I was going to build a vanity out of some walnut I've had around but my wife found one she liked and I was on board since it is similar to what I was going to make and is made out of one of my favorite woods; teak. We ordered it, and then I injured my hip (torn labrum), so it sat for 8 months until I felt well enough to dig back into the project.

Tonight we took the vanity out of its box to find that the top 1) doesn't fit due to blocking that was fastened in the wrong place (annoying, but easy enough to fix) and 2) has cracks where some of the boards were glued together. The wood clearly warped after gluing. The vanity was supposed to have a lifetime warranty, but I'm getting the runaround.

I've never worked with teak but I was thinking that I could fix this by cutting apart the top, planing the pieces, jointing the pieces, gluing everything back together and then taking the reassembled product to my local lumber yard so they could put it through their timesaver. Is there a simpler way? Could I just squirt gorilla glue in the cracks, clamp, sand and call it a day?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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[Mel Fulks]

The boards are pretty narrow, so I blame poor jointing. Not shrinkage. Since you want to use it inside the house in a room not likely to get overly dry I would fit a sliver in it. But you could try filler you think you can live with that. I would demand some money be refunded.

[Matthew Haraminac]

Thanks, Mel. I appreciate your insight. I hadn't thought of a sliver, but that sounds like way less work than what I was thinking. Do you have a recommendation for glue?

I'm quite the perfectionist, so I don't know that I can live with filler. It's for our master bath, I'd hate to have to look at an imperfection every morning and be reminded of how this company wouldn't honor their warranty.

[Mel Fulks]

I don't think glue type is critical for that. Gorrila polyurethane glue would be "gap filling". But I wouldn't buy it without promising myself to use it all up ,not let it go bad and get thrown out. You might find it easier to run a hand saw thru the damage to make a kerf of uniform width ,rather than trying to fit to a wedge shape.

[Bohdan Drozdowskyj]

Gorilla glue will fill the crack but when it expands to gap fill it loses any strength.

Teak is an oily timber that oozes oil and most glues will not stick unless you pretreat the joint.

This involves removing the oil that will contaminate the joint. Do this by wiping the joint just before gluing with a solvent such as thinners or white spirits. When I used a lot of teak I used epoxy to guarantee the joint.

The best option is to cut the panel apart and reglue with epoxy then have it sanded smooth by a cabinet maker with a wide belt sander.

[Wayne Lomman]

For it to be perfect, rip it apart and rescue those joints with epoxy. I wouldn't contemplate any other glue with teak. You will probably be able to align it well enough that you won't need a widebelt.

If you can live with a sliver, do that with epoxy. You won't need to clamp. Just wedge it in firmly. It only has to look good top and edge. Put a piece of tape under the joints so that the glue stays in there to fill any gaps on the bottom edge. Cheers

[David Utterback]

I have not worked with teak but the excess glue in the joints clearly indicates poor jointing. The twisted board in photo 4 will be quite difficult to correct. Vendor should make good on these types of defects. Good luck!

[Lee Schierer]

I would look closely at how the top is attached to the frame under it. Is it free to move if it expands and contracts. Teak like all woods does change dimension with ambient moisture changes. While I had the top off, I would apply a finish to the hidden side of the top to control moisture to the underside better. Then I would probably try to work woodworker glue into the crack using a shop vac and dental floss to work the glue into the crack and then clamp it flat and back together. If that fails to repair it I wold then rip the top into two pieces and re joint and clean the surface and the two parts together.

[Pat Barry]

I don't think you can fix it, other than by gluing in a sliver or using epoxy to fill the gaps. To fix it properly you would need to take the top off and recut and joint ALL the joints because a simple glue failure like this is likely present everywhere on this top. Maybe they didn't prep the surface properly before gluing or used the wrong glue entirely. Anyway, this method will leave you with a skinny tabletop. I would go the route of demanding your money back

[Grant Wilkinson]

If you don't follow your first plan, it's always going to bother you and you will always see the repair. Rip it, joint the edges and glue it back up. If you can't keep it aligned, as you said, take it to someone with a timesaver and flatten it.

[glenn bradley]

I have not worked with teak but the excess glue in the joints clearly indicates poor jointing. The twisted board in photo 4 will be quite difficult to correct. Vendor should make good on these types of defects. Good luck!

I'm with David. One reason that I would pay for teak would be for use in an environment where moisture may be a factor. If the piece is indeed warranted, a separating glue joint is certainly within the realms of 'materials and workmanship'. If the warranty period is still valid have it fixed or replaced.

[Robert Engel]

This is due to the ends of the boards drying out and shrinking.

A spring joint is supposed to eliminate this issue.

Its really not hard to fix. Rip the boards apart, joint and reglue.

I would use waterproof glue or epoxy and make sure the ends of the boards are sealed well.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I'd hate to have to look at an imperfection every morning

I'd have a bigger problem looking at those skinny remnant boards.
I'd start over with some more substantial timber.

[Matthew Haraminac]

At this point, it appears that the retailer is going to honor their warranty. They still sell the vanity, but not the top (gee, I wonder why?) so they are going to let me pick a stone top. I'm happy with the resolution even though I was looking forward to a teak top.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and advice, I'm going to cut it apart and re-glue it. I have another vanity I can use it on, but at least now i'll be on my own schedule with the project instead of my wife's . A close inspection revealed that the jointing is indeed terrible so I think it makes sense to take the time and do it right.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

[...]

I've never worked with teak but I was thinking that I could fix this by cutting apart the top, planing the pieces, jointing the pieces, gluing everything back together and then taking the reassembled product to my local lumber yard so they could put it through their timesaver. Is there a simpler way? Could I just squirt gorilla glue in the cracks, clamp, sand and call it a day?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am sorry to listen that. It is frustrating, of course.

If you can take off the top apart, the simplest way I can imagine to fix that is to rip saw the top at the exact point of break. If one of the sides is strait and parallel to that glue line, with a table saw and a good rip blade you will not need to join the surfaces before re-glue them as the resulted cut will do that.

Best luck!