A drawer front split on me right before a delivery in Seattle

This happened last Thursday, the day I was supposed to deliver a built-in media unit. I was doing the final assembly and one of the figured maple drawer fronts, about 14 inches wide, just popped a hairline crack right down the middle. It was fully finished too, with three coats of a water-based poly. My best guess is the wood was still moving a bit in our shop humidity and the finish locked in some stress. I didn't have time to remake it, so I carefully injected some thin CA glue into the crack, clamped it overnight, and then touched up the finish with a fine brush. It held, but it was a real panic. Has anyone else had a finish seemingly cause a crack like that on what felt like stable stock?

3 comments

3 Comments

iris_mason882mo ago

Water-based poly can be a real jerk like that.

jake_martin162mo ago

Ugh, tell me about it, @iris_mason88.

price.tyler1mo ago

Huh. Finished maple splitting right down the middle sounds more like the wood was still wet inside than a finish issue. I've seen water-based poly cause weird things with grain raising but not full-on structural cracks like that. Agree with @iris_mason88 that it can be a jerk, but maybe the stock just wasn't as stable as you thought. I'd check your moisture meter next time before you start the poly.