Help! My paduak has checked!!

[Joe Unni]

Hey all,

I'm in a bit of a panic. I left the shop today working on a side project and just before I left I checked on another big project in the works. Its a padauk table top with 12/4 coopered soft maple legs. For the picture police, progress photos are forth coming ;)

Well I was fitting the top into a fixture that I made so I can easily shape the edge profile tomorrow and I noticed a check in the end grain that wasn't there last week. It even shows a little on the face.

Now this top has been glued up for several weeks and a re-do is not an option. What do I do now! Is there some way to fill/hide this check and prevent it from continuing? Sealer? Epoxy? A REALLY big hammer!!

I'm looking forward to hear what you all have to say.

Thanks,
-joe

[Jamie Buxton]

The first thing I'd try is epoxy. It does fill gaps somewhat. Don't use the thick-as-toothpaste kind you find at lumberyards. Instead, get the kind intended for fiberglassing. It is as fluid as water, and will wick deeply into the crack. In fact, you may find you have to put a piece of masking tape on the bottom and end to keep the fluid in the crack. You'll also find you must hover over it a bit while it starts to cure. The epoxy will wick into the crack leaving the top of the crack empty of glue. Add a little more glue to fill it up, and you'll be fine. West Systems and System Three are two brands of this kind of epoxy. Woodcraft sells one or the other. Marine stores sell the stuff too.

[Joe Unni]

The first thing I'd try is epoxy. It does fill gaps somewhat. Don't use the thick-as-toothpaste kind you find at lumberyards. Instead, get the kind intended for fiberglassing. It is as fluid as water, and will wick deeply into the crack. In fact, you may find you have to put a piece of masking tape on the bottom and end to keep the fluid in the crack. You'll also find you must hover over it a bit while it starts to cure. The epoxy will wick into the crack leaving the top of the crack empty of glue. Add a little more glue to fill it up, and you'll be fine. West Systems and System Three are two brands of this kind of epoxy. Woodcraft sells one or the other. Marine stores sell the stuff too.

Thanks Jamie. As I've never used epoxy before can the resulting dried epoxy be sanded away from the surrounding wood? Any concerns with end grain and epoxy?

[Russ Filtz]

Cured epoxy is tough to remove without damaging surrounding wood. That's why you see David Marks blue tape most of his joints when using a hard glue. I would clean up the area as much as possible with DNA or MS (forget which! I usually just grab what's close and if it doesn't work, go to the next!).

Possibly a scraper might work, or as last resort a flush trim bit on router for flat pieces. Sanding usually results in low spots in the wood for me surrounding the epoxy :(

[Rob Blaustein]

Will epoxy stop the crack from continuing to propagate? That's what I would be nervous about--that it looks great after you touch it up, but after a few months in the customer's house it gets worse. I wonder if the problem occurred because of how cold it's been around here and the low relative humidity. Hang in there Joe, hope it works out.