# how do I stop a crack from spreading



## APJ (Nov 10, 2009)

Hi guys I'm still new here and I haven't been wood working very long , still learning daily, especially from this site. 


I have a log , sliced about 3" thick and it's about 4' feet across . In other words a large cookie with the bark still attached . It has cracked while drying, pie shaped crack, the wood is Maple.

My question is , how do I stop the crack from spreading any more than it is. It's a pie shaped crack, from the edge to about 4" from center 
I'm going to use it as an end table my basement "TV' rec room. 
Can I attach something underneath ,I know I can't close the crack , it would probably break . I just to stop it from going any further.
Does anyone know what I can do?

I could upload a picture if needed


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Theres a thread here with a video on closing a crack using a bandsaw. You should search for that.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Gary Beasley said:


> Theres a thread here with a video on closing a crack using a bandsaw. You should search for that.


Yeah, that thread shows a really great technique but I believe it is totally unsuitable for what APJ is trying to do. It's for planks, not plaques.

Paul


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Is this the thread?*

http://charlesneilwoodworking.com/category_player.php?type=1&cat=1&video=checkrepair.flv
It may not be directly applicable for this situation?


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## APJ (Nov 10, 2009)

phinds said:


> Yeah, that thread shows a really great technique but I believe it is totally unsuitable for what APJ is trying to do. It's for planks, not plaques.
> 
> Paul


Plaque , is that what my little project is called , instead of a cookie , ( sliced log ) ...lol..


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## APJ (Nov 10, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> http://charlesneilwoodworking.com/category_player.php?type=1&cat=1&video=checkrepair.flv
> It may not be directly applicable for this situation?


Thats a great technique, but it won't work for my application. I have a round plaque or cookie from a log about 4' in diameter. I know I cant close the crack , I just want to stop it from running any further. 

I was thinking a threaded rod with two nuts at either end , embedded in the underneath and tighten the nuts slightly. Maybe color the rod so you can't see it from above. Some one must know what I mean!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Stopping a "crack"*

One technique is to drill a hole ahead of the crack in the "uncracked" area and then insert a glued in dowel as a plug. It's a simple fix but you may find other cracks appearing and soon enough there will be plugs filling/stopping them all. After the crack is stopped you may want to fill the pie shaped void with a pie shaped wedge, glued in of course. Soon enough you'll have a cookie with plug and pies......:blink: bill


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## APJ (Nov 10, 2009)

woodnthings said:


> One technique is to drill a hole ahead of the crack in the "uncracked" area and then insert a glued in dowel as a plug. It's a simple fix but you may find other cracks appearing and soon enough there will be plugs filling/stopping them all. After the crack is stopped you may want to fill the pie shaped void with a pie shaped wedge, glued in of course. Soon enough you'll have a cookie with plug and pies......:blink: bill


Thats a good idea, but the wedge won't have any age rings in it, like the rest. 
It' going on the back burner until can find a similar plaque or one without a crack


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## Woodcutterron (Nov 21, 2009)

You have an real quandary there. A 4 foot log slice of maple is simply gonna split radially, and forcing it back together is pretty much just gonna increase the stresses and on'll open somewhere else. While it's green, a PEG (Polyetheline glycol) bath might have helped, though it's a fairly pricey option.

Whern I used to 'log tyurn' bowls, one thing I did was essentially "celebrate" the split, since I couldn't really beat it. What I would do is dye some epoxy black or a bright green or something, fill the crack with it. I did this because I found that trying to "hide" this repair was futile, it just looked like someone tryed to hide the crack with wood filler, lol. 

So . . .if ya cant beat it OR "join it" (bad pun, sorry!) Highlight it! You might also try blending epoxy with sand or tiny pebbles, filling the crack, then snading evertthing flat. It's a little tricky, as sanding the sand or pebbles and getting it flush with the wood is a bit of a problem, but it can be done.

This treatment of a crack kind of adds an unexpected and mysterious element to the piece. If you have a firewood pile, maybe go slice of end cut with a split in it and do a little 'sample' so you can see the result. I know with the bowls people tended to like and talk more about the ones with this "surprise" in it than the occasional piece that hadn't split.

Just thought I'd throw this out here, that would have to be an aggravating problem and I'd love to see a pic of whatever you finally build with it.


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## Woodcutterron (Nov 21, 2009)

Another thing that popped into my head just after I hit the send button on the above post is kind of what George Nakashima used to do. Simply break out your chisel and install a few butterfly keys spaced "interestingly" here and there along the crack. Not to hold it together but possibly keep it from spreading further, but mostly just as a design element to 'celebrate' the crack. I'm sure if you do a search on his name you'll find some photos of what I'm talking about. I may have Georges name spelled incorrectly, hopefully Google will correct it heheh.


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## CharlesNeil (Jun 26, 2007)

check this out...just put it up else where here..maybe same question but http://intheworkshop.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/turning-some-stuff/ the two part epoxy coating will not only glue the check ( never say crack), and seal the wood to stop it about as good as any thing i know of ... 

charles 
www.charlesneilwoodworking.com


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## APJ (Nov 10, 2009)

Woodcutterron said:


> Another thing that popped into my head just after I hit the send button on the above post is kind of what George Nakashima used to do. Simply break out your chisel and install a few butterfly keys spaced "interestingly" here and there along the crack. Not to hold it together but possibly keep it from spreading further, but mostly just as a design element to 'celebrate' the crack. I'm sure if you do a search on his name you'll find some photos of what I'm talking about. I may have Georges name spelled incorrectly, hopefully Google will correct it heheh.





CharlesNeil said:


> check this out...just put it up else where here..maybe same question but http://intheworkshop.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/turning-some-stuff/ the two part epoxy coating will not only glue the check ( never say crack), and seal the wood to stop it about as good as any thing i know of ...
> 
> charles
> www.charlesneilwoodworking.com



Thanks guys check here for my other post http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/who-can-answer-question-13360/

Some members have already chimed in here for great ideas, on the same project , just under a different thread ! !

Thanks again for everyones ideas


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