Replies

1. 
   sapwood | Sep 11, 2007 07:11pm | #1

   It's not a monstrosity, just a novice's mistake. Dog knows I've made my share. I made a doozy once way back when.... How you gonna fix it?

1. 
   Jfrostjr | Sep 11, 2007 09:36pm | #5

   Sapwood and DoorboyThanks for the suggestions - my choice was/is to SCRAP it. Now comes the rest of the story: I made a really nice new top. 3/4" thick, of maple. Applied Dark Mahogany Transtint WB dye; 1 coat of shellac. Then a Deep Red Mahogany glaze, followed by three coats of WB Poly (There might be an alcoholic spill on the top)When I mounted my new top on the sub-top I used 1 1/4" screws.
   (3/4" sub-top plus 3/4" top = 1 1/2") You're ahead of me already - the 3 screws came through the face about 1/32" ! I guess the countersinks were deeper than I thought. I tried to patch it but was never satisfied with the qua;ity of the repairs (shellac stick) so I just finished making a second top.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922

2. 
   doorboy | Sep 11, 2007 07:26pm | #2

   It must have looked a good idea at the time. If you're soliciting ideas on how to fix it, then my opinion is to leave the splits alone, but insert a couple of butterfly joints to stabilize it and dress it up a bit.

   "She wrote a long letter, on a short piece of paper." Traveling Wilburys
3. 
   9619 | Sep 11, 2007 09:23pm | #3

   Frosty,
   That looks like an early design for a manhole cover. As they evolved, they went to a round shape. Do you know why? Think about it, then scroll down.

   Because that is the only shape of cover that cannot fall into the hole.

   I hate to admit it, but I didn't know the answer when first asked.
   Ask people that at a party. You will be a big hit (if everyone there is an engineer).
   Mel

   Measure your output in smiles per board foot. 

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Sep 11, 2007 09:30pm | #4

   Mel,

   Now, do you know whay they call 'em manhole covers?

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   Hastings | Sep 11, 2007 10:01pm | #7

   Bob:Now that's easy. The purpose of the shaft is to provide access for maintenance and repairs. The shaft was always big enough so that a man could get down, hence man holes, hence manhole covers.Today, of course, they would be called something else because of the sex thingy. Or is it gender? Though gender is a linguistic term - not biological. A Monsieur Table would have a noun whose gender is feminine, but his sex would be male.Regards,Hastings

1. 
   9619 | Sep 11, 2007 11:06pm | #8

   Hastings,
   They would now be called "Person hole covers."
   I have a list of other non sexist words which eliminate the term "man".
   Think of:
   compersonned
   persondolin
   persondate
   Personilla (name of a place)
   persondatoryThe list goes on.
   Mel
   Measure your output in smiles per board foot. 

1. 
   [email protected] | Sep 12, 2007 08:22am | #10

   The water disrtict I worked for and the other local entities all agreed to just call them access ways, utility access entries, or utility access points.  Everybody out in the field still called them manholes. 

   My favorite silly name was HMI, which stood for Human Machine Interface, which is a really long way to say on/off switch. 

2. 
   Jfrostjr | Sep 11, 2007 09:39pm | #6

   I'm an engineer - I figured it out - but I don't know the answer to Bob's question.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922

4. 
   frenchy | Sep 12, 2007 12:39am | #9

   jfrostjr

     I'm not so sure I would condemn that approach. I suspect improper glue up or too green a wood as the real culprit.. My logic is that plywood is made exactly that way with slightly thinnner "boards" and it doesn't have a problem.  Especially marine grade plywood. 

1. 
   Jfrostjr | Sep 12, 2007 03:18pm | #11

   You make a good point. But, perhaps plywood is stable because the plys are so thin they can't summon enough force to cause failure.This thing looks like it might have been assembled with VERY DRY wood and then, at some time, placed in a humid environment. Some of the cracks look more like 'upheavals'.But who am I to criticise? I made a screw-up too.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922

1. 
   saschafer | Sep 12, 2007 03:32pm | #12

   "But, perhaps plywood is stable because the plys are so thin they can't summon enough force to cause failure."

   That's the key. Plywood is a battle between forces. The battle takes place along the shear plane--the glue--between two plies. The wood wants to move, the glue wants it to stay in place. When you make the ply thicker, you give the advantage to the wood (more wood, more shear force generated). Eventually, you reach a point where the wood wins, and the glue fails. That's the practical upper limit on ply thickness.

   -Steve