Suggestions for repairing a cracked tabletop?

[David Gilbert]

I built a cherry trestle table for my daughter two years ago. The top is 62 x 32 x 7/8” thick and has a breadboard end. I attached the breadboard with a wedged thru mortise and tenon joint in the middle. I put a small amount of glue on the tenon when I put it together. This is the third table I have done like this and until now, I haven’t had a problem. The table survived the first winter in Montreal but a crack formed during the second. It’s about seven inches in from one edge and is almost a foot long. What really surprised me is that it’s about 1/16” wide for the first five inches and goes all the way through the table. I know this is another lesson about how wood moves with humidity, but what can I do about it?

I’ve tried clamping across the end in hopes of closing down the crack but so far without any success. The joint between the table and the breadboard seems to be glued together either with glue or food residue from my granddaughter.

Do I have any options other than cutting off the breadboard and replacing it? This will be difficult since the table in Montreal and my shop is back in the states.

I used Titebond II to glue this up and its finished with wipe-on polyurethane. Is there a way to weaken the joint so I can glue the crack back together? I've tried heat and water but so far nothing has moved.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Another problem is that I am only here for Easter weekend in 2007.

Thanks in advance for your help,
David

[Carl Eyman]

David, please don't take this as expert advice, but if it makes sense and others have no negative comments, maybe you Might want to give it a try. First a question: Did the table shrink in comparison with the breadboard end? That is, do the ends of the bread board stick out proud of the edge of the table in the winter (when dry) and vice versa in the summer. If they do act that way you know your method of allowing for shrinkage is working - at least, to an extent.

In that case, I'd try routing out the crack and filling with a strip of new wood. The danger is you might get some buckle in summer, but if I saw evidence that my sliding mortise & tenon was working to an extent, I'd take a chance that the joint didn't allow enough tolerance for shrinkage but did for expansion.

[Jamie Buxton]

When you put "a small amount of glue" on the tenon, were you gluing only the middle -- y'know, only six inches or so? Or did you glue nearly the whole 32" of width?

[David Gilbert]

I'm afraid I put some glue all the way out to the edge. Not as much as I normally would have used but obviously too much.

I hadn't considered routing out the crack. The table did expand in the summer and shrink in the winter. Right now the table top is narrower than the breadboard. I think the small amount I used on one end must have been too much.

I'm hoping that the soaking I'm giving it right now will soften the joint a bit so I can help it to slide over and close the crack.

[Chris Friesen]

I'm afraid I put some glue all the way out to the edge. Not as much as I normally would have used but obviously too much..

Normally with a breadboard end you would only glue the middle section. The outer sections can be held with screws in oval holes, by springing the joint a bit (so that holding the inner section tight forces the breadboard ends against the table), or even by using a sliding dovetail for the breadboard end.

One interesting design that I may have to try sometime has a sort of reverse breadboard thing going on. The table is split down the centre with a small gap made to look decorative. The breadboard is then glued on the outside edges, such that all expansion is towards the gap in the centre. That way the outside edge of the table is always lined up with the breadboard ends.

[Ken Werner]

David, been there done that. I'm sorry this happened to you, and is most likely because the entire tenon was glued.

As for a fix, I recycled the table top into a [smaller] piece and replaced it. You might try maiking a thin shim, trimming with a hand plane, and gluing it into the gap, then planing it flush with the table surface. That however, would be a long shot for me. Good luck, and please share your solution with us. Thanks,
Ken

[Steve Kohn]

I had the same problem with a dresser top. My solution was to cut off the breadboard edge (on both ends of the top). Then I ripped the top to remove the split and replaced the damaged section with a new strip of wood. I reinstalled the breadboard edges with a loose tenon construction (milled a slot in both the breadboard ends and the end of the table and installed a spline).

The loose tenon was only glued at the front of the dresser. The back was held with a dowel and allowed to move seasonally. Finally I refinished the piece.

[Ralph Barhorst]

I would do what Steve advised. It is the most difficult but you can depend on it lasting forever.