"WillR" wrote in message
.. .
Stan wrote:
Help! I've been building a dining room table that is 5ft square made of
hard maple. I've followed the directions in my FWW mags and books to
the letter. I've alternated the grain but with the climate change, my
table top has curled up ALOT. Now there are 4 separate areas where the
6inch wide boards, which were biscuited, glued, and clamped, have
become separated at the ends, perhaps 1 to 4 inches into the table from
the edge. A gap exists between 1/16 and 1/8". Now what? The only
thing I can think of is to somehow get glue back in this tiny crack and
then re-clamp. Please offer me your good suggestions. Thanks,
-Clueless


Stan:

People would need a lot more information to help.

How thick is the wood?
What type of glue?
How much climate change? What was the humidity change -- best guess...
Kiln dried wood? Air dried? (And if so how long (i year per inch?)...)
Did you let the wood sit in your workshop before you cut and glued? How
long if so?
How long did it take to come apart? Immediately, a week?
Is it (was it) installed in the frame of the table or just sitting out
somewhere...



Thickness - immaterial as long as acclimatized
Glue - Certainly
Humidity change - had to sometime, will again
Kiln/Air dried - immaterial, so long as it _was_ dry
Acclimatized - possible problem if it wasn't stickered, leaving some wood
much wetter
Speed of Self-Destruction - possibly significant


When you say 4" from the ends of the glueups - assuming glueups, no
breadboard - then I tend to think that the biscuits are centered about inch
five, and you've had glue failure. If it were cold when you glued up, you
might have problems. If things have become damp since, especially if the
parts that have separated have been near the floor where it changes most,
might also have a problem. If boards were poorly joined and squeezed into
submission, especially hard maple, which doesn't soak up glue much, could
also be a player.

Now, if the wood was inadequately acclimatized, you might have some problems
as well. Tension relief on the drying boards might have pulled them away
from the others - but only if the glue failed.

Alternating "smiles" are really not important. More important is broad to
broad grain, quarter to quarter.