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I have a couple of cracks in a fairly new oak dinning table. I was wondering if I could fix it myself. My initial thoughts is to fill the gaps with wood glue and then clamp the table? The cracks have begun to appear from the end of the table. Advice welcomed thank you
Hi @pauly85,
Fixing hairline cracks along the length of solid timber boards can be tricky. The main issue is that the cracks aren’t usually wide enough to get sufficient glue deep inside to resist the natural stresses in the wood. To properly glue and clamp the crack, you’d need to widen it slightly so the adhesive can penetrate fully and hold the timber together.
Sometimes these are just seasoning cracks and may stop progressing on their own. However, if the timber wasn’t fully seasoned before manufacture, the cracks could continue to open over time – it’s hard to predict. Given that it may be difficult to get enough glue into these cracks, a practical approach is to fill them with a Waxstix crayon designed for wood, which will disguise them and prevent dirt getting in.
From your photos, the first crack looks like it goes through the full depth of the board, while the second may only affect the laminated top layer – it’s hard to tell if it’s a defect or an actual crack. Either way, it seems there may have been a seasoning issue with the boards. Since your table is fairly new, it’s worth contacting the manufacturer to see if this is normal and to ask for any advice on preventing further movement.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
