Help needed to fix a cock up

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memzey

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Hi gang,

I've just glued up a frame and panel door for a small cabinet I'm making. The glue must have grabbed as I was driving the tenons home and it split the rail at the end:
Any tips on how to make this good? It's too late to pull it apart and start again and I don't particularly want to remake it if at all avoidable. All help much appreciated!
 
I would rout out the end of the end-grain section, cut a slip of end-grain wood and glue it on, then sand flush. End-grain glueing isn't very strong, but it is only decorative.

Then plane out any bulge in the sides.

Alternatively you could rout or plane down the whole side and glue in a long-grain piece, and pretend it was your intention all along!
 
If you want it to be strong think you are going to have to fill it with a structurally strong gap filling glue like Cascamite or Resin. Quite easy to blend colours into the resin to help disguise it but it's never going to look great.
 
Do you have enough wood to make a replacement?
If you have enough I would make one, you are never going to be happy with a bodge.

This is me cutting a box apart because I made it too big.

Cutting it apart by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

Pete
 
I must say I'm with Pete in thatI would replace the bottom rail - but if that is not possible then I agree rout out the damaged bit and replace
Mark
 
+1 for replacing the split rail. It wouldn't take very long and you'd be happy with a good job.

John
 
Thanks guys. 1,000th post and appropriately enough it's another episode of my never ending cack handedness! If I were to cut it apart I'd have to remake all the parts of the frame as it's completely glued up with haunched mortice and tenons. I think I'll fill it with epoxy mixed with sawdust and plane out the bulge. The crack is at the top of the hinge side so hopefully won't be too visible. I know this probably won't qualify it as top quality work but it's being made by an oaf at the end of the day! Can anyone think of a structural reason for not doing this?
 
Can you not just squirt a bit of glue into the crack and clamp it closed in your vice till it dries?
 
memzey":2wrs1nsd said:
Thanks guys. 1,000th post and appropriately enough it's another episode of my never ending cack handedness! If I were to cut it apart I'd have to remake all the parts of the frame as it's completely glued up with haunched mortice and tenons. I think I'll fill it with epoxy mixed with sawdust and plane out the bulge. The crack is at the top of the hinge side so hopefully won't be too visible. I know this probably won't qualify it as top quality work but it's being made by an oaf at the end of the day! Can anyone think of a structural reason for not doing this?


I would saw down near both sides of the rail, pull the middle bit off and pair away the wood each side of the tenon.
Should be easy to do, and leave the new part long to avoid splitting :wink:

Pete

p.s. happy 1000th post
 
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