Repairing Tearout (pic)

[Irvin Cooper]

Good evening.

After gluing ends on some panels last night, I unclamped them tonight, not realizing that one of the pads from the clamp had gotten onto the glue line underneath. I felt a dreaded tear of wood as I took the clamp off. :(

Does anyone know of any way to repair this? Only options i know of are one of the following:

1. glue tearout back in with pad attached, sand down flush, clean up with scraper.

2. soak in water to let glue softe enough to remove tearout from pad and re-glue. clean up with scraper.

3. some sort of filler?

4. live with it.

Any help would be appreciated. The wood is cherry.

http://www.astate.edu/executive/cio/img_7011web.jpg

[Mark Singer]

The best is the same piece...if you can get it off ....just re glue it. If not make a dutchman from the same piece and cut it to fit....match the grain and sand it or carve it until it fits real good...then glue

[Jamie Buxton]

A slightly different version of #1 can work.... Glue the whole thing back on, and use a router to remove the pad. A router with a straight bit and a good depth-setting knob can clean off the pad down to where a scraper is easy. At least for me, the router is less likely than the sander to leave gouges to the sides of the pad.

[Ron Coleman]

I'd glue it back on and then plane down the block and scrap to finish it.

Ron

[John Michaels]

I new to woodworking, but here's my two cents. Let the glue dry and cut that bottom piece off with a table or circular saw, then start over and glue and new piece on. The new piece might need to be a little wider to make up for what you cut off, but it might not be that noticable.

[Dan Oliphant]

Welcome to the creek Irvin, the correct solution would be to cut the end off and mill a new one. I realize that is most likely not what you want to hear. If you used a tinnon to attach the ends, reverse the processs allowing for your end piece to expand and contract across the width of the surface.

[Mike Armstrong]

Hi, Irvin, and welcome!

You've got advice on your first problem, but Dan's post reminded me of your other problem.
Don't know how wide that glued-up cherry panel will be, but while it will expand and contract in width, your end piece will not be growing or shrinking in length.
Might this be an issue?

Mike

[Joe Jensen]

I have a suggestion for the future. I made a pile of clamping blocks out of UHMW plastic. No more problems...joe

[Gary Breckenridge]

;) I use a lot of wax paper to prevent this. (Guess how I learned this trick?) If its the back side of a panel I'd just glue it in and sand it off. But if its to be an heirloom piece I cut it out and do it over.;)

[Steve Wargo]

Not to sound rude, but should you really be worried about the very little piece of tear out when there is a big dark knot that has a 3 way check right next to it?

[Hans Braul]

I second what Mike said. Unless you've incorporated some way for the wood to expand along the breadboard, you will have problems. I've seen pieces that have done this and have developed serious cracks. I hope I'm wrong.

As for the tear-out, I'd glue the piece back on with the block attached, then plane down.

Regards
Hans

[Alan Turner]

Irvin,
There are a number of good suggestions given, and most will work fine. For the next time you are using cauls to protect the surface from a clamp mark, just take some cheap packing tape, $1 per roll stuff, and cover your cauls with the tape and you will not have any sticking problems. The use of wax paper is fine, of course, but it is just another thing that can slide around when you are rushing to do a good glue up, what with clamps, cauls, etc.

As one poster noted, however, it looks like you might be in a pretty severely cross grain situation with that construction, and no glue will restrain wood movement. Take a look at the "shrinkulator" (use Google) and you will be able to calculate the movement your panel will experience.

In Pa., where I am, I use 6% and 12% for the moisture difference from winter to summer. Don't know your location. If your panel is 24" wide, then you can expect about 3/8" of seasonal movement, at least in Pa.

[John Bailey]

Welcome to the Creek Irwin.

I don't know about you, but I learned a bunch with this thread.

John

[Jim Becker]

Fixing the problem...I'd also just reglue the block back on and plane it down with a block plane. That way you get an exact match that will be nearly invisible if it shows at all. (you need to be careful in your gluing for alignment and clamp it securly overnight)

But Alan (and others) makes an extremely good point...you have a big risk of cracking with the construction you used. That end-cap shouldn't be glued; rather a "breadboard end" technique that allows for cross-grain movment is advised. This would require removing the existing ends (saw them off with a guided saw or on the table saw if you can manage it), grooving the end of the table surface (a router with a jigged up base for stablity will work) and installing a new end-piece with pinned tenons that can float. I do have a short article on breadboard ends on my website if you aren't familiar with the techniques.

[Irvin Cooper]

Thank you all for the sound advice.

I am going to be cutting the ends off, putting a new groove in on each end of the panel, and then milling up new ends to match.

Two steps forward and one step back.....

Irv