Advice on processing a chunk of wood

[Dave Novak]

I picked up a small piece of 8/4 mahogany roughly 14" square a couple years ago simply because it caught my eye. Been storing it for at least a year now. My wife just stumbled across it (she routinely comes out to vacuum my shop) and asked me if I'd make her a small side table using it for the top. She thinks the 14" square size it is now is about perfect, but is flexible. Problem is there's a crack running through it at about the 5" mark.

Inasmuch as 8/4 is way too thick for a table top this small, I was thinking that I would rip it at about 9" (crack free), resaw it into 2 pieces roughly an inch thick, and glue them together giving me roughly a 14" x 18" piece of wood to work with.

Is this how'd you guys would proceed?
Would you be concerned that the grain of the glued up board runs perpendicular to the longest side?
Is there any way to fix this crack "elegantly" with glue and clamps and make the top roughly 14" X 14"?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Steve Kohn]

I've learned long ago to make whatever SWMBO wants, exactly how she wants it made. In this case I'd rip the 14X14 blank on the crack, clean up any roughness, and glue it back together. Then I'd use this as the top, exactly as was requested. Present it as a Christmas gift along with a request for whatever new tool would have made the construction of the piece easier/better/faster.

[Dave Novak]

What a perfect solution! Thanks.

[Jamie Buxton]

+1 on Steve's approach.
You've mentioned you can resaw 9", so you must have a bandsaw. I'd use it and a fence to rip the blank, to try to get the narrowest kerf possible. Then I'd joint and glue. The narrower the total kerf (saw plus joint), the better the grain match across the discontinuity, and the less obvious the fix. After I glued it up, I'd scrape/sand a face and put some finish on it, to see if the seam is unobvious enough. If it is okay to your eye, proceed. If it is too obvious, drop back to Plan B -- the resaw approach.

[Jerry Miner]

If you can't get the crack to come back together clean, why not rip at 7"+ , resaw, bookmatch, and end up with a 14 x 14 x 1" bookmatched top?

[Jim Matthews]

The ribbon figure looks like Sapele.
If so, the grain lines are also "fault" lines.
On a table top, I would be hesitant to use Sapele unsupported.

I built some loudspeaker cabinets with the stuff, and it has developed long cracks along the grain.
If you resaw these fairly thin (shop veneer, around a 1/8") these could be set on a plywood substrate.

It's an extra step, not without pitfalls, but with a material prone to split like this, I would consider it cheap insurance.242278

[Prashun Patel]

I vote for ripping at 7", and resawing to get bookmatched faces. 8/4 is a little thick for a small top like that.

Man, sure you don't want to make a stool out of that? that'd make a wonderful seat.

[Carl Beckett]

I always like the way some of those butterfly insets looked. You could put a smaller one, and then a larger one where it opens up more.

Might not be the style you are looking for - but some of the larger/thicker tops you see this done regularly and gives it some character.

[Mike Wilkins]

Forget the wood. Your wife comes out and vacuums your shop. After that, you need to make whatever she wants. By the way; the resaw and reglue method sounds fine.

[Dave Novak]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

[Jim Rimmer]

Check out this video by Charles Neill. He is working with almost the exact same issue you have in a piece of walnut.

http://www.cn-woodworking.com/invisibly-repair-a-check/

[Terry Beadle]

Just my opinion.... I'd go with a 1 1/4 to 1 3/8 th's thick top. 2" is not going to look as good.

Enjoy the process. '!