Repairs to damaged table

[Ben R]

Hi

I wonder if anyone could help me.

I've just taken our dining table out from the garage where it had been stored during renovations to the house. To my horror the top of the table has split down about 1/5 of it's length - the split is about 8 inches long and 1 inch wide at its widest point, with the table top being about 1 1/4 inches thick. The table top is made of solid oak in three sections (main central section which is split, with a narrower piece of wood on each end, tongue and grooved in). The whole top of the table can be removed because the table is extendable.

I know it was stupid to keep it in the garage but I am gutted because it is a lovely table (the only bit of furniture I have really saved up for).

So, any ideas for how I can at least try to sort it out? Is there some sort of clamp that I could use or is that a waste of time - any ideas would be appreciated.

Cheers

Ben

[dom]

At an inch, that's a very wide gap to close. A professional joiner can do this for you (possibly by sawing the whole length and inserting a piece or by inserting a v-shaped piece), but I doubt gluing and clamping would close it very satisfactorily. Smaller gaps, you could certainly use probably a polyurethane glue and sash cramp it (and you need really good long clamps that would prob cost more than handing over the job) - but such a wide gap and your first go at glue repairs in timber - get a joiner to do it.

[Lobster]

My immediate reaction is that you've got no chance with a gap of that size, but I wonder whether it's worth putting it back in the room from whence it came to see if the damage wrought by the garage conditions are reversed, or at least partially so?

David

[The Natural Philosopher]

I'd be tempted to take it back whence it came and complain.

If anything, it should have expanded in damp winter garage conditions.

First of all get it inside and stabilize it in internal humidity - that will take a few months.

Then its time to start thinking about how to fully close, or fill the gap.

One trick that can work is to really solidly screw a couple of bushes (something like the socket parts of two simple draw bolt) underneath at the widest point of the split, and connect them by a threaded steel stud, with some washers and nuts on, and tighten them up, and keep tightening over a period of months. The wood WILL in time deform permanently under stress.

The table SHOULD have had a couple or more of transverse pieces underneath it to stop this happening in the first place. Once stabilized, consider adding some..use coach type screws that can be tightened with a socket set.

[Stuart Noble]

Once

With a change in humidity that thickness of oak will just take off and leave the fixings behind