# Cedar board splitting. Please help!!



## EnRouteWoodcrafts (Oct 23, 2012)

I have a 2'x2'x3/4" piece of cedar that I have glued and clamped and made a marble board out of. I usually use pine wood for my boards but was given this wood by a friend. I always put some carpet feet on the bottom of the boards (like on chairs and tables) that I install by predrilling then hammering in. I did this to the cedar board and I ended up getting two hairline cracks in the board. Both cracks go from the edge of the board along the wood grain to where to carpet foot is put in to board. I haven't had any problems with it as far as feeling like its about to break but since it is for a customer I don't want it to break. Any help on how I can fix these cracks?
Thanks


----------



## Neil Tsubota (Mar 20, 2010)

I just bought some "Elmer's" Structural Wood Repair Epoxy at my local HD.

This stuff is NOT cheap. It cost me $ 15.00 for 2, 3 ounce plastic containers. This has the consistency of a very thick tooth paste. The instructions say let it dry overnight. Once hardened I sanded the crack and then stained the wood. (Redwood-end grain exposed)

I will try and 'scan' the box and post a picture of the box.


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

You have to be very careful with red cedar. It is very prone to splitting along grain lines if you wedge anything into it. If the foot went in tight you may need to pull it out and shave it down to a comfort fit. 
To repair the damage you can try pulling the cracks back together and if you can they may stay closed with glue; you can fill the crack with colored filler; saw thru the crack the length of the board and glue it back together; or you can drill a long dowel in from the side for reinforcement and that might help keep the crack closed up with glue. If you have some tapered plug cutters like the ones that Lee Valley sells you can cover the dowel almost invisibly.


----------



## paduke (Mar 28, 2010)

Charles nailed it dowel and plug


----------



## Web Shepherd (Feb 8, 2012)

Charlie ~ Thanks for posting this question and including a photo. This is instructive for the rest of us. Charles provided some good info. Please come back and post your solution for fixing your cracked cedar. A photo or two would be nice for comparison. Good luck.


----------



## Marvingee (Nov 9, 2012)

I would also go the route of dowel, glue and plug and try to stay off the surface.


----------



## mardav111 (Oct 17, 2012)

If I were going to use a plug anyway , why not use a screw instead of a dowel?It would be hard to get glue to a dowel in such a deep hole as you would have to drill for it.I would get a long enough screw , then drill a hole deep enough for it and the plug , clamp it and screw it.
Whatever you do , good luck with the cedar wood. It can be finnicky.


----------



## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

Or, you could do what I've done and just resign to never use cedar again. In the early 1980's Joy and I bought a cedar-sided house. It was a great house, except for the siding. We vowed to each other after that house was sold and agreed to NEVER buy another cedar-sided house again! I am convinced that red cedar is best left as a tree!..And have you ever seen it burn? It is very scarey - no other dry wood that I am familiar with burns so rapidly. Brick or rock veneer from now on - for me..


----------



## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

All of the posters gave good advice, especially Chuck. Cedar is more prone to cracking than most other species. Try to get the clearest cedar you can if you want to use it. Kiln dried if possible. To fix cracks I like to mix sawdust from the board with glue or epoxy to get a good color match. Most big box fillers won't match. If you want store bought fillers buy from a woodworking supply store. They usually have a better grade of filler (especially if they build things). Best I have found comes from a cabinet shop. As Chuck said the art of woodworking is covering up the goofs so no one_ else_ knows they were ever there.


----------



## senebraskaee (Apr 29, 2012)

*How about "Super Glue"?*

I have used so-called "super glue" for similar cracks, a trick I learned from the wood turning community. Glue and clamp. The glue gets into the smallest cracks and if you have an acetone wetted rag handy you can remove it from the surface so it does not show. Not as elegant as a dowel and plug but it does work.
Be sure to have good ventilation, both super glue and acetone have strong fumes.


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Probably too late now, Charlie, but sawing/routering a slot across the ends of the boards, and gluing in a full width hardwood spline should prevent the Cedar grain from splitting.
I use Cedar all the time, but not for anything elegant!


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

As Dan suggests, you have to be careful what you use red cedar for. It generally isn't used for furniture because it dents very easily, it splits very easily, and it is hard to glue because of the aromatic resins in the wood. Those resins help it to tolerate weather very well. It is good for fencing and outside decking although still needs weather treatment. It also carves very easily and makes good signs. I used some thin cedar T&G paneling above my bath tub surround and oiled it with Behr Scandanavian Oil Finish and it looks as good now as the day I did 15 or so years ago.
You can make a very deep groove in cedar with a fingernail so it doesn't take a beating. The fact that it splits so easily along grain lines is one reason why it has been used for roof shakes and I have made many of them in my younger days with fro and mallet. (The other reason is the aromatic resins that make it weather resistant.) If you make a joint using cedar it has to have a relaxed fit. Hammer it together and it will split. It is a very attractive wood so it certainly has uses.

One other important thing to remember about red cedar is that the dust from it is more toxic than most other species of wood. A little bit of exposure won't harm most people but it is a good idea to take precautions. There are many people in the logging and sawmilling industries who had their livelihoods cut short by too much exposure to cedar dust.
Hope this helps in the future.


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

As Dan suggests, you have to be careful what you use red cedar for. It generally isn't used for furniture because it dents very easily, it splits very easily, and it is hard to glue because of the aromatic resins in the wood. Those resins help it to tolerate weather very well. It is good for fencing and outside decking although still needs weather treatment. It also carves very easily and makes good signs. I used some thin cedar T&G paneling above my bath tub surround and oiled it with Behr Scandanavian Oil Finish and it looks as good now as the day I did 15 or so years ago.
You can make a very deep groove in cedar with a fingernail so it doesn't take a beating. The fact that it splits so easily along grain lines is one reason why it has been used for roof shakes and I have made many of them in my younger days with fro and mallet. (The other reason is the aromatic resins that make it weather resistant.) If you make a joint using cedar it has to have a relaxed fit. Hammer it together and it will split. It is a very attractive wood so it certainly has uses.

One other important thing to remember about red cedar is that the dust from it is more toxic than most other species of wood. A little bit of exposure won't harm most people but it is a good idea to take precautions. There are many people in the logging and sawmilling industries who had their livelihoods cut short by too much exposure to cedar dust.
Hope this helps in the future.


----------



## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

Make sure you use a good quality "super glue". I use the glue when turning and have found that the bargain brands (over time) will become fragile & fracture. Sometimes the cracks in wood is due to the release of compression when the board is cut. For that kind of repair epoxy will provide a stronger joint. Super glue is best used as a stabilizer for wood with shallow surface cracks. IMHO


----------

