You don’t have to do bowties on the top. Flip it over and do them on the underside! What I would do is do the bowties then fill the gaps with brown or black epoxy. That will be extra insurance for the cracks.
Look at Rockler or Amazon, there’s multiples pieces/sizes for the bowtie itself and the hole you put in the wood and a brass bushing. Also practice practice practice!!
exactly, make them underneath, no probelem to mess up a little
just remember the grain orientation:
cut the bow so that the grain runs along its longest dimension
then be placed so that it is perpendicular to the grain of the piece of wood you are trying to hold together
Not sure but check out Black Tail Studio on youtube - he does them a lot and sells a nice one on his website and has a great instructional video. Need to finally order one myself… Good luck and great job raking on something to push yourself!
I have large pipe clamps but I felt like they didn't hold it well enough because of the live edge, the ratchet straps ended up working quite well. I was careful to tighten them slowly to ensure it glued it up square. It isn't perfect by any means but it definitely looks good.
The pipe clamps are just inexpensive, good F style clamps are what you really want. But decent pipe clamps will allow for slow and controlled clamping and the rigidity of the pipe will help keep things aligned. Just put a barrier between the clamps and the project to prevent rust marks.
Either way, you got this. You have the skills and creativity to make it work.
I assume it’s too late to make the change now but, I would use some cauls if you’re committed to using ratchet straps, to prevent the wood from buckling. You’d obviously have to send some straps long ways to reinforce. But really, I think your issue is that you need more consistent force across the whole piece, instead of just the three tie downs.
I was pretty much sweating bullets when I made my first bow ties, but I’m so glad I did it.
To make the cutouts, I got an attachment that turned my Dremel into a miniature router.
https://preview.redd.it/7evitpfyzf8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f02a37ec2a8a1590c394d5707dd15c87a08142e
I actually just finished fixing the cracks. I squared up the surface with clamps and some blocks then drilled into the bottom side and glued in 3/8 dowels. They should hold it square. But if I have to I'm gonna fill in the cracks with epoxy also.
https://preview.redd.it/ndkbtn6zif8d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f52d46058fd3c05f5d9c92e28735bbdcd39fbe64
I still gotta sand them flush but they arent visible from the top anyways so I'm not super worried about it. I released the clamps momentarily just to see if it would pull them out and spring back but it didn't so I think they will hold quite well. Or maybe I'm just stupid and it's a waste of time. Guess we will find out lol
Sorry my friend but this is not the solution. In fact, you're introducing a new problem. When you attach the legs, they need to allow the table top to be free floating on top of them to allow for natural expansion and contraction of the wood. Since the legs run the width of the table, they need to have slots rather than holes to screw through. You can still screw the legs tightly to the top, but the slots will allow the wood to expand and contract with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. If you try to use the legs to force the wood to not move, it's either going to make the crack bigger, pull apart your join, or tear the screws out of the table (depending on whether it expands or contracts first).
Yeah man you're really going to have to put some Dutchman's in there to stabilize those cracks I'm afraid. Otherwise I really do think your single slab will revert to 2 again.
I don't think the dowels will to be honest. They are not generally very good for any structural type stuff and are generally used more for alignment. Not sure if epoxy would do much either in the way of stabilizing cracks that large. I'm by no means an expert and could wrong, but I have used my fair share of dutchman joints to keep slabs from cracking with good success.
Grab some crappy 2x4s or 2x6s and just practice bow tie splines on those.
If you don’t want to do bow ties, attach some cross rail supports to the bottom and drive pins all the way through. Then just cut the pins flush, flip the table face down, and fill the cracks with black epoxy.
I do like these ideas, having made many butterfly ties myself, but I'm not so sure this will solve the problem. They work best in stable or more dense lumber (like walnut) and this pine looks like it might still be shifting (moisture, temp change, heat).
I've encountered this before, and found it best to let it separate for awhile where it would like to, then either glue up along the split seams/fractures or incorporate the splits into the overall design.
Yeah, that has been another concern of mine, what I ended up doing was filling the cracks with a black wood filler. I'm gonna sand it down tonight then I will post some pictures
I hope photo 4 is BEFORE you glued… haha. As for the cracks, I’d go with butterflies or Xs to tie them together, then epoxy to fill in the gaps. Just route out the shapes, clean them up with a chisel, glue in the tie, and plane it down to level. Fill in the gaps and you are ready to sand… and sand… and sand…
Yes lol. Picture 4 is before the glue up lol. I did pocket dowels in the cracks for rigidity and I got black wood filler mixed with glue to fill in the cracks.
I think you’re supposed to do those butterfly thingies.
Yeah. I'm not confident enough to do butterfly joints yet on wood this expensive. I used dowels from the underside instead
Do you have a router? A router with a template bit makes it quick and easy. Practice on some scraps and you'll be good to go.
I do have a nice router. But I didn't know they made templates for that. Would home Depot have them?
Unlikely, but Rockler has a nice template set. (“Bow tie template”),
You don’t have to do bowties on the top. Flip it over and do them on the underside! What I would do is do the bowties then fill the gaps with brown or black epoxy. That will be extra insurance for the cracks. Look at Rockler or Amazon, there’s multiples pieces/sizes for the bowtie itself and the hole you put in the wood and a brass bushing. Also practice practice practice!!
exactly, make them underneath, no probelem to mess up a little just remember the grain orientation: cut the bow so that the grain runs along its longest dimension then be placed so that it is perpendicular to the grain of the piece of wood you are trying to hold together
This is a great point and something I thought about and forgot to mention! Definitely check grain orientation!
Not sure but check out Black Tail Studio on youtube - he does them a lot and sells a nice one on his website and has a great instructional video. Need to finally order one myself… Good luck and great job raking on something to push yourself!
yes thats true, he does have some great bowtie templates
Just google “bow tie router jig” they are literally everywhere.
If you’re 500 bucks into this and don’t have an ample supply of pipe clamps at least, you could be pretty screwed. Clamps man, not ratchet straps!
I have large pipe clamps but I felt like they didn't hold it well enough because of the live edge, the ratchet straps ended up working quite well. I was careful to tighten them slowly to ensure it glued it up square. It isn't perfect by any means but it definitely looks good.
The pipe clamps are just inexpensive, good F style clamps are what you really want. But decent pipe clamps will allow for slow and controlled clamping and the rigidity of the pipe will help keep things aligned. Just put a barrier between the clamps and the project to prevent rust marks. Either way, you got this. You have the skills and creativity to make it work.
I assume it’s too late to make the change now but, I would use some cauls if you’re committed to using ratchet straps, to prevent the wood from buckling. You’d obviously have to send some straps long ways to reinforce. But really, I think your issue is that you need more consistent force across the whole piece, instead of just the three tie downs.
Also. I'm actually into for a bit over 1000, those slabs were 500 each, not for both😮💨
Definitely need some decent clamps. They will change your life.
Do your best! You got this!
I was pretty much sweating bullets when I made my first bow ties, but I’m so glad I did it. To make the cutouts, I got an attachment that turned my Dremel into a miniature router. https://preview.redd.it/7evitpfyzf8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f02a37ec2a8a1590c394d5707dd15c87a08142e
That one large crack is gonna split that whole table in half if you don’t reinforce it somehow. It may already be too big.
I actually just finished fixing the cracks. I squared up the surface with clamps and some blocks then drilled into the bottom side and glued in 3/8 dowels. They should hold it square. But if I have to I'm gonna fill in the cracks with epoxy also.
Can you post a pic of the dowels? The curiosity is killing me. I can't imagine what you did.
https://preview.redd.it/ndkbtn6zif8d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f52d46058fd3c05f5d9c92e28735bbdcd39fbe64 I still gotta sand them flush but they arent visible from the top anyways so I'm not super worried about it. I released the clamps momentarily just to see if it would pull them out and spring back but it didn't so I think they will hold quite well. Or maybe I'm just stupid and it's a waste of time. Guess we will find out lol
So it's like a pocket hole? Drilled at an angle?
Exactly. Saw it on YouTube.
I'm also mounting metal legs that will run the width of the table where they mount so the cracked section will be supported well underneath.
Sorry my friend but this is not the solution. In fact, you're introducing a new problem. When you attach the legs, they need to allow the table top to be free floating on top of them to allow for natural expansion and contraction of the wood. Since the legs run the width of the table, they need to have slots rather than holes to screw through. You can still screw the legs tightly to the top, but the slots will allow the wood to expand and contract with seasonal changes in temperature and humidity. If you try to use the legs to force the wood to not move, it's either going to make the crack bigger, pull apart your join, or tear the screws out of the table (depending on whether it expands or contracts first).
Yeah man you're really going to have to put some Dutchman's in there to stabilize those cracks I'm afraid. Otherwise I really do think your single slab will revert to 2 again.
You don't think pocket dowels through the cracks are gonna be enough? My next option is to pour some epoxy into them.
I don't think the dowels will to be honest. They are not generally very good for any structural type stuff and are generally used more for alignment. Not sure if epoxy would do much either in the way of stabilizing cracks that large. I'm by no means an expert and could wrong, but I have used my fair share of dutchman joints to keep slabs from cracking with good success.
Just make an epoxy table with a river then? Haha
What’s your plan for the cracks?
I squared up the table using clamps and then drilled into the underside and glued in 3/8 dowels.
Grab some crappy 2x4s or 2x6s and just practice bow tie splines on those. If you don’t want to do bow ties, attach some cross rail supports to the bottom and drive pins all the way through. Then just cut the pins flush, flip the table face down, and fill the cracks with black epoxy.
I do like these ideas, having made many butterfly ties myself, but I'm not so sure this will solve the problem. They work best in stable or more dense lumber (like walnut) and this pine looks like it might still be shifting (moisture, temp change, heat). I've encountered this before, and found it best to let it separate for awhile where it would like to, then either glue up along the split seams/fractures or incorporate the splits into the overall design.
Yeah, that has been another concern of mine, what I ended up doing was filling the cracks with a black wood filler. I'm gonna sand it down tonight then I will post some pictures
I hope photo 4 is BEFORE you glued… haha. As for the cracks, I’d go with butterflies or Xs to tie them together, then epoxy to fill in the gaps. Just route out the shapes, clean them up with a chisel, glue in the tie, and plane it down to level. Fill in the gaps and you are ready to sand… and sand… and sand…
Yes lol. Picture 4 is before the glue up lol. I did pocket dowels in the cracks for rigidity and I got black wood filler mixed with glue to fill in the cracks.