hi

Anonymous · 27 Aug 2005

i have a problem i have just made a lovely garden gate with a arch top to it, the problem i have is that in the arch i have a split developing in the the top potion of if it is only on 1 side of it , but i can see it is starting to open out can anyone offer any solution to stop it getting worse before all my hard work goes to waste
cheers
sean

jonny boy · 27 Aug 2005

Hello Sean,

If the crack is developing from end grain, make sure there's plenty of paint on it. Also, what timber have you used?

cheers,
jon.

Anonymous · 27 Aug 2005

hi j,
the split is running 3/4 of the lenght and it is running through a tenon i think, it was split before i machined it , and not wanting to make a another , i asked my local joinery shop to reproduce it but they wanted 80 quid , 60 if it didn't have the rebate for the t&g in it , so i took the chance that it would not get any worse , it looks like it is , i have not varnished it i am thinking about glueing the seem and trying clamping it back and then maybe varnishing it , but at the end of the day the timber was slightly cupped when it was delivered, i was told it was because it had been tannelised .i am not painting it i have used a tinted wood preserver.
i just dont know what too do
i can send pics to a email address if anyone is willing to help me out that way
cheers
sean

jonny boy · 27 Aug 2005

Hi,

If it is a wide split and you can get a sash cramp on to pull it back together, then using some poly- urethane glue to fill the split and cramping back up should fix it. It will depend on how much force is pulling it apart to use a PVA effectively so I would go down the PU option to be sure it holds.

cheers,
jon.