revjdhiatt Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 (edited) I've posted this on the Guild FaceBook group, but thought I would see if anyone over here had any opinions as well. I recently finished a table for our kitchen. One of the glue joints in the top has begun to fail (picture 1). This was a problem with the joint itself. There was too much of a gap and I tried to force it closed with clamping pressure. I'm going to use some epoxy to try and fix it. I've posted a picture of that below. The second and fourth picture below is something new that has just recently occurred. A crack has developed right next to the glue joint. It runs a few inches into the table top. I figure the best way to fix this is with a butterfly from the underside. I attached the top with table top fasteners (picture 3). My question is what did I do wrong? I know the problem with the glue joint, but this crack that has developed makes me think I might have done something wrong. Could it be the heat in the house is causing the wood to crack? If so wouldn't the tabletop fasteners allow for wood movement? Just curious what I need to do differently next time. Thanks for any insight. Edited January 4, 2018 by revjdhiatt Clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 It is not the glue joint, it is a defect. You can minimize the likelihood of this kind of thing, but this is just part of the fact that you are working with a natural product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 I am guessing, but if you had to put that much pressure to clamp you glue joint, its a matter of something had to give. Besides the dutchman on the bottom side of the crack I think I would consider fitting the whole crack with epoxy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Do you remember if that end was the end of a board or the middel. It could be a check that happened from too quick of a dry that started cracking again after it's in place. It's been cold and dry most places so we've been seeing a lot of cracked woodwork on the forums. With it towards the outside away form fasteners i don't think it's from fastening the table top down too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revjdhiatt Posted January 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 5 minutes ago, Chestnut said: Do you remember if that end was the end of a board or the middel. It could be a check that happened from too quick of a dry that started cracking again after it's in place. It's been cold and dry most places so we've been seeing a lot of cracked woodwork on the forums. With it towards the outside away form fasteners i don't think it's from fastening the table top down too much. I don't I had three boards around 12ft long that I used to make the top. I'm not sure where this one came from out of that mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 31 minutes ago, revjdhiatt said: I don't I had three boards around 12ft long that I used to make the top. I'm not sure where this one came from out of that mix. It was a long shot. I think epoxy would be the best fix for a table. If you do a bowtie on the bottom it won't hurt but i'd want to seal that crack up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Just my 2 worth.. I'm guessing there was a small undetected check there when you did the glue up. From your own words, you forced the seams together a bit and this location failed at the check rather than the glue joint. Personally, I would put a Dutchman in it which would give it more support than epoxy alone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 I agree with Kev. My guess is that the check was already there and was so small you didn't see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Either an existing crack or the board dried out significantly since the table was built. Or a little bit of both..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Seems to me that the board wasn't fully dry when the table was built & has since shrunk enough to open that crack up. I think @Chestnut nailed it when he asked what part of the board that was. I'm betting the end that cracked was from the middle of one of the original boards & had far higher moisture content than the ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted January 4, 2018 Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 Did you use cauls for down pressure when clamping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin-IT Posted January 5, 2018 Report Share Posted January 5, 2018 Did you move a few weeks ago this table into a heated house (it is winter, and very cold this year) ? Was the lumber acclimated to a heated house ? Moving furniture into a heated environment with very low humidity will stress the wood. I have a raised panel that I worked on during a summer, and I moved the un-assembled parts into a heated basement for the winter, which develop a similar crack. The lumber was a few years old. Wait a few more weeks, to let it stabilize before you try to fix it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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