[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/diy/ - Do It Yourself

View post   
File: 2.53 MB, 3264x2448, IMG_0805.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1232581 No.1232581 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /diy/nosaurs, woodworking noob here. I made a herringbone tabletop for my camper and coated it with 5 coats of water based polyurethane on top and 3 on the bottom. About a month later the seams where the wood meets appear to be cracking. Any ideas as to why this is happening and how i can fix it? Also woodworking thread.

>> No.1232584
File: 1.07 MB, 640x1136, IMG_0802.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1232584

Full view of table.

>> No.1232607

>>1232581
different expansion rates for across the grain and with the grain?

>> No.1232609

Really can't fix, has to do with the grain orientation, humidity with the wood swelling and shrinking. One possible "assist" is to use urethane pour on bar top finish. Will be a very thick coating but you would have to strip all the water based finish (hate that crap)

>> No.1232612

WATER-based finish
expansion and contraction of wood

you dun goofed

>> No.1232620

>>1232612
why did op use water base?

>> No.1232657

>>1232581
You should not have coated all sides and should have left the bottom un coated. Moisture had no way to escape

>> No.1232670

>>1232620
Most of the applied finishes that available in large box hardware/lumber supply stores only carry water based finishes as 99.9% of people don't have the facilities to spray/apply Keytone based finishes...
I have to get my lacquer, sealer,thinner from an industrial paint supply that only sells to other commercial companies like mine...

>> No.1232703

>>1232670
>Most of the applied finishes that available in large box hardware/lumber supply stores only carry water based finishes
What country is this?

>> No.1232710

>>1232612
So when is water based finish ever acceptable? If the answer is never: Why do they even make it?

>> No.1232713

>>1232657
It also had no way to enter so what gives?

>> No.1232778

>>1232670
>large box hardware/lumber supply stores only carry water based finishes as 99.9% of people don't have the facilities to spray/apply Keytone based finishes...

What? There are lots of oil based poly and varnish options that go on just fine with a brush. Open a window, turn on a fan, go go.

>> No.1233494

If this is woodworking general:

I want to turn a 98x25 butcherblock countertop into a folding table that goes from 4x4 squares to long rectangle. Cut two of the square end pieces to be attached to the 48x25 base, attach with 270 degree overlay joints for the swing. Anything else I need to know?

>> No.1235193

If its outside expansion and contraction will destroy and film building finish. You should use something like bona decking oil

>> No.1235535
File: 65 KB, 500x375, Shrinkage.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1235535

>>1232581

>> No.1235584

>>1232710

I've used waterbase.. nothing wrong with it

>> No.1236082

>>1232581
Should have used linseed oil.

>> No.1236373

>>1236082
>Should have used linseed oil.

always use linseed oil

>> No.1236465

>>1232710
Not everything being varnished consists of dozens of different pieces of wood. If you're varnishing something made out of a solid piece of wood, water based is fine.

>> No.1238186

>>1232581
It's a design flaw, you can't fix it. Wood expands/contracts with humidity changes, and does so along the width of the grain. No amount of finish can ever stop this, only slow down the rate. With so many pieces in alternating grain orientation, this splitting is unstoppable.

Solution is to make the herringbone pattern as an inlay, fully glued down to a solid underlying surface. The inlay will be constrained by the surface and won't be able to expand enough to split the joints.

Alternative is to vacuum stabilize the wood so it can't absorb moisture, ever, but this is not really a DIY solution for projects bigger then a mayonnaise jar.

>> No.1238187

>>1238186
or veneer

>> No.1238478

>>1232581
>protip: dead wood still moves water

>> No.1239104

>>1233494

I suggest you use as much water based finish as possible.

>> No.1239232

Not much you can do about it, since it's in a non-conditioned space the wood is going to expand and contract significantly with changes in humidity. Sand off all that poly and oil the wood.

>> No.1239263

>make something out of wood
>drown it in smelly plastic until it's smooth and shiny and you can see your reflection in it
Why are woodworkers always so desperate to turn wood - a beautiful material full of flaws and idiosyncrasies - into plastic?
If you wanted a smooth surface, you should have just thrown down a slab of Corian.

>> No.1239325

>>1239263
I pour epoxy all over my morning wood, what then?