Table Top Split

[Bruce Melton]

I built a custom hard maple table for a customer almost two years ago. This Jaunuary it decided to split. I know wood moves but after 18 months why now? The next question is how best to repair it? Will glue and clamps do the trick? Would pocket screws from the bottom work with glue? Do I cut in keys and refinish? Need some advice from the more experienced.

[glenn bradley]

A little more info, diagram or a pic would help. If the split is a result of restricted movement, simply repairing the split will only delay the inevitable. If the environment were rudely changed on the piece (an un-tended spill, rampant dehumidifier left on all weekend or some other oddity) that would be a different story.

[Van Huskey]

I am gonna ask a stupid question so don't be offended. You did finish the bottom the of the table too didn't you.

[Bruce Melton]

Yes I did finish the bottom of the table. It is 10 below here in NW Indiana and the humidity is next to nothing. The house is new (the table was built for the open house) so I assume the humidifier in the furnace is OK. I have not yet seen the split myself so haven't got pictures.

[Bruce Melton]

I haven't seen the split yet so do not have pictures. It was 10 below here this morning and the humidity is next to nothing. A new house so assume the humidifier is working. I'll get pictures as soon as I can.

[George Bregar]

Wood splits in panel glue ups like table tops happen not because one side is finished and not the other (thats more a twist or warp situation) but because the ends of the wood lose and regain moisture greater than the middle. The board likley had a very small check or split already...a few wet/dry cycles and you have it open. Hard to say what to do to repair it without seeing it. You can reglue and clamp, use an epoxy or even super glue to fill, or rip the board at the split and reglue it. I made a coffee table out of QSWO that developed a split...it closed up and is invisible before I got around to repair. A client may not appreciate this procratin...I mean patience.

[Frank Drew]

Bruce,

Once you see the piece, it would be interesting to know if a glue joint opened up or if the wood split/cracked away from a joint. Another consideration, how did you fasten the top to the table base (that can suggest an alternative explanation for the problem from the one George mentioned.)?

[George Bregar]

Bruce,

Once you see the piece, it would be interesting to know if a glue joint opened up or if the wood split/cracked away from a joint. Another consideration, how did you fasten the top to the table base (that can suggest an alternative explanation for the problem from the one George mentioned.)?

I assumed anyone with a "client" can glue up a table top and account for movement in attaching it to the base.

[Steve H Graham]

If I paid a pile to have a table made, and it opened up after two years, I'd be looking for a refund, not a patch.

[George Bregar]

When gluing panels I try to use the middle of longer boards if at all possible. Of course this becomes more difficult on longer tops. Splits happen at end of boards during the drying process for the same reason they occur in glue ups...boards lose moisture more rapidly at their ends than faces. You can take the precaution of cutting off the end to eliminate the split, but sometimes the remaining board is under stress and a split happens. Checks can open over time when they become the new "end" after cross cutting, but in my mind they are easier to spot.

[Stephen Cherry]

One thing I have been doing is cutting off quarter inch strips from the ends of boards and trying to break them. Invariably the strips from the very end will break easily if any sort of crack is there. The surprising thing is how far these weak areas can reach into the board, even though the board looks fine. Eventually the quarter inch strips will be sound, and it's safe to assume that the board will stay together.

[Chris Fournier]

If I paid a pile to have a table made, and it opened up after two years, I'd be looking for a refund, not a patch.

If you paid a pile of money for a Corvette Z06 and took it off roading and tore the undercarriage out would you look for a refund too?

A furniture builder needs to build for the environment that the piece is going to inhabit. If the furniture builder did so but the client didn't maintain their humidifer in a serious cold snap and a piece of furniture delaminated due to the buyers neglect then I guess that the buyer just learned an expensive lesson about humidification. The chapped lips and nose bleeds should have been a bit of a warning that something might be wrong.

I had a customer travel with one of my guitars in the winter time. He left it in his car and then carried it into a warm building and opened up the case right away destroying the finish. Not my fault and no I didn't offer to fix it just because I built it. And yes I do have a product card that I send out with the guitar that covers care and use.

I highly doubt that the OP is to blame for this problem so why should he assume any responsibility for someone elses mistake?

[phil harold]

I

A furniture builder needs to build for the environment that the piece is going to inhabit. If the furniture builder did so but the client didn't maintain their humidifer in a serious cold snap and a piece of furniture delaminated due to the buyers neglect then I guess that the buyer just learned an expensive lesson about humidification.

Our enviorment is Earth
40 years air conditioning and humidification were not common in the United States
Quality furniture was bulilt before then and has passed the test of time
Why should we build furniture to only survive in a controlled climate condition?
If there is a power interuption for a week or two all our craft will be destroyed?

[George Bregar]

Our enviorment is Earth
40 years air conditioning and humidification were not common in the United States
Quality furniture was bulilt before then and has passed the test of time
Why should we build furniture to only survive in a controlled climate condition?
If there is a power interuption for a week or two all our craft will be destroyed?

+1. Design for the environment? Frankly, using sound stock selection and proper joinery furniture should be just fine through normal swings. I have furniture that goes from warm and humid to cold and very dry in my place in northern WI. We don't use air conditioning and the only dehumidifier is in the basement. In the winter we generally do not add moisture as our stays are usually weekends and we will have a fire going which makes it impossible.

We work with wood. It sometimes splits regardless of our efforts.

[Chris Fournier]

Of course our environment is Earth and this Earth is a greatly varied place. Would you dress for Death Valley the same as you would for Anchorage? Would you build furniture in the same manner for both environments?

We need to build for the conditions that a piece is going to reside in so that it survives the rigours of those conditions. Survival is the point.

As far as the older pieces of furniture are concerned, a bit of sudy will show you that build techniques were used to ensure survival in the conditions prevelant at the times that they were built - usually huge swings in temperature and relative humidity; RH being the most important consideration for wooden objects. We rarely use the lowly yet flexible nail in our furniture these days, it was common (pun intended) some time ago in the finest and highest expression of our craft.

Go to a museum with old furniture in the dead of winter and then return at the peak of summer and you will notice that the temp and humidity are the same at both times. This is done to preserve these old valuable pieces.