How To Repair

Maybe just a mild restoration

If the table has family connections to the requestor, it may just be more appropriate to do a mild clean and refinish. Let the character alone. If they want it to look like new I would just run a router bit down the crack off a straight edge and inlay a strip to fill the crack. That rim is a sneeze away from disaster, I wouldn't want to take that table top apart!

Maybe just a mild restoration

If the table has family connections to the requestor, it may just be more appropriate to do a mild clean and refinish. Let the character alone. If they want it to look like new I would just run a router bit down the crack off a straight edge and inlay a strip to fill the crack. That rim is a sneeze away from disaster, I wouldn't want to take that table top apart!

Keep it simple

I suggest using a straight fence to run a skilsaw kerf down through the crack, full depth, and gluing in a tight-fitting filler strip. You will have to get creative with some stain to imitate the funky look of the surrounding wood, including the knots, but at least the repair should be solid enough. Leave everything else the way it is: the rustic look is apparently what appeals to this customer. A couple coats of Minwax  (Gloss) Spar Urethane will seal the deal. You might want to finish up with a coat of satin, or steel wool to the sheen you like.

Another option, of course, is to sand and stain the table after repairing the crack. That would negate the antique character of the piece.

Ellis

PS I suspect you'll want to add a couple cleats across the underside of the top to keep everything stiff, depending on how the legs or pedestal interface with the top. 

Re: Keep it simple

Thanks Dick & Ellis for your suggestions. I haven't spoken to them regarding any refinishing. I have no idea what kind of wood it was made with and matching the color and patina will certainly be challenging.

I assume the only way to clamp this repair is with a band type clamp?  

Depends...

A band clamp isn't going to pull those sections together. If you fill the crack -- either with an inlay strip as Dick suggests, or with a thin strip as I suggest -- you shouldn't even need to clamp the top, but if you do, make a couple cauls and use bar clamps. As for matching the patina, you can carefully paint over the repair with a little artists brush and some dry pigments in shellac if you want to really disguise the strip. That is the way professional refinishers do it.

Ellis

Re: How To Repair

Having done furniture repairs in a past life.....some thoughts.....

What is the grain orientation of the top wood?

One of the toughest problems was educating the customer regarding wood movement....the humidity in their house having a potentially drastic effect on the wood....and potentially assuring future failure of any repairs.

Of course....I could go on and on and on....

Maybe, need an excuse to park at the curb with...

... a 'free' sign taped to it? That's simple too. Brian is the most attuned to reality so far. Considering the surrounding furniture I'd guess it is covered and any seal will be suitable.

Re: How To Repair

Can't be sure from the photo, but if the rim is cross grain to the table top it miht be the cause of the crack, and the crack may want to open in dry conditions and close in more humid conditions.  If that is the case, inserting a filler strip at the end of a dry season may cause new problems when the relative humidity is higher and the table top wants to expand.

Re: How To Repair

Looks like Southern Yellow Pine to me, sawed on a bandsaw mill and got blue stain from mold.  The crack appears wider in the middle than at either end.  Bottom side appears worse/more cracked than the top side.  The wood may not have been thoroughly dry when the top was assembled.  I think the top is going to be really fragile with the applied rim on the bottom holding it together.  The patina is the important thing.  If the owners bought it they bought it because they like the way it looks and if you refinish it it will ruin it for them. 

The lines on the bottom of the table indicate the X was applied at nearly a ninety degree angle to the boards.  That may have been a mistake.  If the board running across the top boards was securely fastened it may have restrained the top and caused the cracks.  The applied rim should have been applied with the same grain orientation as the top and it was not, that may have contributed.  I doubt you want to remove the rim and reorient it.  When the top is reinstalled you should make the X at forty five degrees  to the top or be sure there are slots in the X to allow the top to move seasonally. Make sure there is room between the X and the rim, 1/4" or more.

Now, to fix the top...I might run a saw or router guided by a straight edge through the crack and then reassemble the top.  As you have noticed, clamping will be a problem.  I might uses dowels, dominos, or biscuits to keep the top level across the crack but first I would try a single clamp right across the middle. If necessary I would put cauls on both sides and clamps to those.

An alternate approach would be if the crack is closed at the ends I might try to router a slot on the bottom side about ninety percent of the thickness of the top with say a 1/4" bit and then slip a filler into the slot.  This would not have to be full length if the ends of the crack are close.  Stain the top edge of the filler strip darker than the table.  It would leave a shallow groove in the top that would be easy to clean.  There are several other cracks on the bottom that might benefit from the same treatment.  

As an aside, that dent in the top that is a straight line bothers me and does not look like the patina of the ages.  It looks like shipping damage.  The top appears to have very little finish.  I might lay a towel over that straight line and steam it with a steam iron.  Gently and minimally.  Or try just putting a line of water in the line.  Actually, I like spit for this job, but nobody need to know.

Also, Watch Thomas Johnson on YouTube and take lessons from him.

Re: How To Repair

Barry, thanks for the detailed post & suggestions.  Forgive my ignorance but your second paragraph references "X" several times.  Is that the applied edge?

Re: How To Repair

Ralph the top sits on a relatively substantial round pedestal.  I believe it is held with 6 screws.  I've only seen the pictures posted here so obviously an "in person" inspection may necessitate some changes to the approach.

Re: How To Repair

Ken, look at the third picture,  the one of the underside.  There are pairs of  lines that go nearly vertical and a pair that are nearly horizontal that to me look like there was a cross of something like four inch wide pieces that were attached to the top from the base. In other words there is a pedestal base that has a ninety degree cross secured to it and that cross is in turn attached to the top.  Looks like somebody stained the base and got a little on the underside of the top. The lines that are nearly vertical are close to being exactly cross grain and if they were screwed tightly to the top they would put a strain on the joints between the boards.

I am suggesting you reattach the top after the repair with those boards oriented at a forty five degree angle to the top boards and have the screws in holes or slots.  Or leave them the way they were and use Z clips or figure eight fasteners to hold the top so there can be some movement.

Re: How To Repair, PS, more

I went back and looked at the pics again, and blew them up a bit.  If you look closely you can see holes in the "cross area that appear to be screw holes.  Those holes do not appear wallowed out which suggests the X or cross pieces have slots or oversized holes.  Or that the top did not move as a whole and the joints failed early and relieved the strain.

Here is a third option for a repair.  Clean the cracks thoroughly, even scraping the walls a bit to allow for a good bond.  Apply excellent aluminum tape very tightly along the length of the cracks on the top side pressing the tape very tightly and leaving it slightly concave into the crack. From the bottom side, with the top upside down and level pour some excellent epoxy tinted to be slightly darker than the top into the cracks and let it set. Peel off the tape and you will have a nicely concave filler.  I just did a smaller one yesterday using West System epoxy.

If you decide to do this, practice first.  Be aware the epoxy is devilish about finding a way to leak out.  For instance, cover the knot nest to the crack carefully with the tape, leaving a little channel to the crack and you may get a 'Twofer".

Of course, if your client wants the top completely refinished, go for it, but if that were my table it would hurt my feelings.

Re: How To Repair

Now I see the X - hiding in plain sight !  I think a visit is needed to go much further in deciding how to proceed.  Thanks everyone for all your feedback.

Re: How To Repair

Unless the rim pieces surrounding the boards that separated have also split, closing the gap would require a very invasive disassemble and reassemble. The gap is between two of the laminated boards, not a split in the wood.

If I were restoring this, I would install a row of bow ties at the bottom and fill the gap by wedging a strip of similar wood.

The X outline is from the table base. You may need to re-orient the table top and modify the way the top ataches to allow for some movement.

Rafael

P.S. That dude, Thomas Johnson, his restorations look good on YT, but they're very invasive.

Re: How To Repair

Do a dutchman where the dent is, and hand sand the edges by the dent.