Can this be salvaged? Cracked wood

[Matt Schroeder]

The attached pictures show a headboard made with wood taken from a relative's farm. As such it has sentimental value to my sister in law's family. I did not make it. It was given to me to repair if possible.

It appears the panels were glued in place (not allowed to float) and changes in humidity cracked the stiles. The cracks are on the mattress side and do not go all the way through (yet), but the back is almost as nice as the front. My thought was to stabilize the cracked areas if possible and then move the bed rail hangers to the other side so the uncracked side becomes the mattress side. I am not sure if this might be a losing battle however--I might get these two fixed only to have others open up, or these try to close and create other problems. I could be the little Dutch boy at the dike, and run out of fingers before I run out of leaks.

Might these two cracks have given enough play to the whole piece and keep any more cracks from opening? If so, I should just leave them alone (don't fill with anything that will keep them from moving to accommodate future changes in humidity). However, the cracks go at least halfway through the stiles, so it may just be a matter of time until they show through, so maybe a little glue or other filler would be wise to stop these from getting any bigger. I have not dealt with this before and would appreciate suggestions from anybody in the repair business, or anybody who has seen this and can shed some light on the best course of action.

I hope the pictures show what is happening. The larger crack is about 1/8" wide and runs top to bottom. The second is not quite as wide, and only runs about halfway top to bottom, in the middle (1/4 each above and below uncracked so far).

If we still had access to the wood I would ask for a supply and make them another one myself, but that is no longer an option so anything we can do to preserve this piece will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

[johnny means]

Would it be correct to assume that the panel is glued to the rails and stiles?

[Matt Schroeder]

I believe it is. I did not make it to be sure, but it they all feel very solid. I think the panels shrunk and for some reason the stiles were the weak link to crack. I am surprised the panels didn't give; maybe there was a weakness in the wood used for the stiles.

[glenn bradley]

Unfortunately that looks like the panel was not allowed to float. I fear and repair that forces it back into position will only fail again or lead to the next weak link in the chain. If the piece is not seen from the rear you may be able to route into the stile to a depth that would give you access to the panel. In other words, turn the groove into a rabbet. If you can free the broken piece you may be able to perform a repair and then leave it free. The remaining overlay on the front of the stile could hide the modification. That's my first wild guess.

[johnny means]

looks like the stiles may have split at the groove. I would machine the entire face of the stile off and replace it with an applied stile only fastened on one side. Of course, I would consider that a high risk repair and not something I would take on lightly.

[Chip Lindley]

The cracks are part of the personality of the piece; how it was made and who made it. Any attempt to disassemble the headboard in order to repair the stiles will probably do more damage than you are fixing. I would chalk it up as just part of the piece.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Matt<

Do you have access to a Fein Multimaster or knock off? You may be able to cut the panel free from the style with little to no damage (try the scraper blade first). Does it look like the crack is at the bottom of the groove? Is there maybe only glue on this side of the panel and that is why it didn't crack clean through? Does it appear that the groove is closer to this side than the back?

HTH