table legs

[steamboat]

Has anyone got some advice for me?
I am making a dining room table out of pippy oak. The legs are about 3’x3’ made up of four pieces glued together. Two of the legs have started coming apart along the glue lines (less than 1mm), I suppose the wood wasn’t as dry as it should have been.
So my question is how do I fix it? My initial thought is to cut shallow 45 degree edges along the sides \_____/ that are coming apart and then router the remaining out of the middle, I would then cut a corresponding piece of wood to fit into the gap. This way it would cover up the glue lines and give a nice finished side, my only concern is that the glued in section would stop the natural wood movement and cause more problems.

Thanks in advance

 

[Steve Maskery]

When you say "I am making" do you mean that the table is not yet complete? Are the legs still just a single component?
I'm just wondering why a leg would start to come apart. And a gap of 1mm is huge, really. OK, I know you said <1mm, but it does not sound like a hairline crack, unless I am misinterpreting you. Can you post a photo? Putting a coin in the picture would help up to get an idea of the scale of the problem.
I think I'd be tempted to resaw with a thin-kerf bandsaw blade (see Ian John at Tuffsaws) and glue it up again.

Why do you think water content is a problem?
S

 

[steamboat]

Yes I am cutting the components and the table is not yet put together. I say it could be the moister content as the wood is air dried and has been sat in my workshop over winter, when the wood starts to dry out it can cup a little causing the split.

I will try to send some pictures though last time I did that it took me ages.

 

[Steve Maskery]

If you post pictures, please make sure they are not too large. A resolution of 800x640 is plenty for on here. Bigger than that just makes it more difficult for both you and me.

Furniture should be made of kiln-dried timber rather than air-dried. Either that or left in its final environment to equilibrate before being used.
S

 

[Andy RV]

I'd either separate the lamination's if you can and re-glue, or scrap the components off and start again.

 

[Allubo]

For splits and cracks in timber I use a hypodermic syringe with a 750micron needle to inject PVA/titebond into the area and then clamp back down, you can water the lue down a little to use a smaller needle to but will take longer to fully cure., west epoxy may also be a good choice.

Alex