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Need some help with a woodworking/repair project... have posted to a woodworking forum as well, but figured someone in TubeNet-land might know about this stuff too! Thanks!

About 2 years ago I got married, and a relative made a cakestand for us out of a tree from her property. The top is a 3/4" slice from the stump, and as it has dried, it has started to crack from the center outwards (no surprise). I think the wood is unsealed, and I'm not sure what kind of wood it is. Something from central Michigan.

I have found info on how to prevent this from happening, but need some advice for how to repair this crack. It's nearly out to the edges (crack is about 10" long, diameter of the slice is about 12"). The crack is not very wide. Please see these pictures for more info.

My questions:
* How can I repair this? Wood filler? Dovetail joint?
* Should I repair it now, or let it naturally crack in half? Which is easier to repair?
* Is there a way to prevent it from cracking any more (like in another direction from center)? Or does that not really make sense?

I live in NYC and have few tools, but can get what I need pretty easily. Thanks for your help!

Here are the pictures:

Thanks Joe... I'd prefer to keep the original top if at all possible (even if just repaired... we put stuff on top of this anyway, so it'd be pretty well covered up. Just need something structural and not totally ugly.

So long as it's stable, why does it need to be fixed? Can't it just tell its own story?

Good question... Thing is, I'm not sure if it's stable of not. Might be, but seems like it'll crack all the way to the ends if I let it go.

ummm. Maybe time to change the sheets?

There is virtually no way to stop a tangential crack, especially from a slab only @3/4" thick--it will crack all the way across.I would suggest securing it to a good grade of plywood [7-ply Baltic Birch comes to mind] on the bottom of the slab with a good adhesive, then cover the whole unit with a top-grade gym seal or even a very thick resin coating you pour over it and let it harden. Hold the plywood back an inch or a little bit more from the edge so you will not see it; I would not try to screw or nail it on--that will make the cracking worse, in all likelihood--just a good epoxy adhesive. This should stabilize it; add more gym seal as needed to the cracked area.
Good luck!

cjk wrote:ummm. Maybe time to change the sheets?

Ha! Old couch where the dog sleeps...should have cropped that out!

Plywood, now there's an idea! Hrmm...maybe I'll try that out!

What about slicing along the contour of the crack with a bandsaw or jigsaw and then glue and clamp it back up? Then finishing it with something like walnut oil.

Stefan

My prior question having been answered, yes, it probably does need to be fixed. Another alternative: the thick urethane coating you see in theme restaurants that take such items as old barn boards or old ship boards and work them into tables to match the theme decor of the restaurant. The table tops are durable and easy to keep clean.

What about slicing along the contour of the crack with a bandsaw or jigsaw and then glue and clamp it back up? Then finishing it with something like walnut oil.

Ding! Ding! The first response that has any evidence of having done any real woodworking.

Mojo workin' wrote:

What about slicing along the contour of the crack with a bandsaw or jigsaw and then glue and clamp it back up? Then finishing it with something like walnut oil.

Ding! Ding! The first response that has any evidence of having done any real woodworking.

Not going to work with a piece in the round--it will check everywhere. If you secure 1 crack that way, it will simply check somewhere across the tangent.All you can do is stabilize it and fill the cracks as they appear, with the poly or resin.
PS--I have made a pretty good living woodworking these last 40+ years, despite your lack of evidence.

Thanks guys! I'll check this out and see what I can figure out to fix this. A project for next weekend.

Speaking of woodworking though, is BigBob still out here? I haven't seen him post in quite some time now...

Hmmm. I sometimes use clear epoxy - no colour added so that you can see into the wood.
This whole thing is a bit of a nightmare. It will always be trying to pull itself apart everytime the humidity changes.

Regards

Gerard

(I think Big Bob works in metals).

termite wrote:Hmmm. I sometimes use clear epoxy - no colour added so that you can see into the wood.
This whole thing is a bit of a nightmare. It will always be trying to pull itself apart everytime the humidity changes.

Regards

Gerard

(I think Big Bob works in metals).

Agreed. The least stable piece of wood imaginable is in the round, due to all the forces trying to pull it apart.

I just stumbled across this thread. I don't know that I really have much definitive to offer, but I do think that scottw's and bloke's (last) comments are pretty much on target. I just spent a long time trying to convince one of my sons not to use a butcher block countertop as a cutting board and that there was no finish that would really work for that. Oh well.

I can understand and empathize with your desire to preserve this thing. So the question is how to do it.

First, you need to stabilize this piece of wood. Almost impossible, given what you've got, but ... If I were to do it I would first cut a "base" for it that would be attractive. This in itself is difficult because the damned thing is so big. But there are a couple of possibilities. One is (if you've got a decent planer) to create a large enough base out of several boards edge-glued (or tongue and grooved) together. The other possibility is to use a good grade of 3/4" plywood (say birch or oak) and then put an edge on it so it looks decent. (If you don't have a lot of tooling to do this, you could use the "iron-on" edging you can get in places like Lowes. It works fine if you're not trying for really high-end products.)

Then glue the stump slice to the plywood with epoxy.

Next, you have to do something about that crack. Instead of trying to cover it up or make it disappear, emphasize it! Same for any other more minor cracks that have appeared in the interim. Take advantage of it as an "artistic feature". Fill it with lab metal (http://www.jdindustrialsupply.com/labme48ozcan.html" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank) which will turn it into a silver "accent". Sand down the surface. Then seal the whole thing (top of the stump slice, edge of the stump slice, exposed portions of the plywood base, whatever) with some sort of sealer. Probably water-based poly would work as well as anything and be easy.

So ... the result could look pretty good. But is it "food safe"? No. Not strictly speaking. You couldn't use it as a cutting board (which I presume you don't want to do anyway). I wouldn't put food directly on it. But you sure could put a plate on it and it would probably look pretty good.

Just some thoughts.