Dining table disaster- help!!!

[mouppe]

Today I noticed that a large bubble has formed on my dining table. I think perhaps my wife or the cleaner spilled some water on it and did not realize it had seeped between the leaves. Nobody is admitting anything but my wife can't look me in the eye this evening!

Can anyone suggest how to remedy this? Should I just wait for it to dry out, use some gentle clamping pressure to keep the swelling down, a hairdryer?

The table has real emotional significance for me as it was my late mother's. I would hate to see it permanently damaged.

Thanks
Richard.

[attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#]

 

[Holzhacker]

Sorry to see that
A- I'd wait to see if it lays back down on its own
B- Depending on what your interior conditions are, AC on or hot and humid, I'd consider helping it along.
Usually old wood/veneer will lay back down on it's own as it dries out
I've had problems with it not at times though. I've used paper towels between scraps of plywood and a clamp and gently tightened the clamp down over a day or two. Paper towels need to be changed though. A couple of times it wasn't working so well so we let it mostly dry, put a light bit of glue in the openings and clamped the crap out of it, leaving the edge open for moisture to get out. It worked.
I'm not any kind of expert. A buddy used to have a stripping and furniture repair shop so I just picked up a few things over time.
Hope that helps

 

[DavidCBaker]

Can anyone suggest how to remedy this? Should I just wait for it to dry out, use some gentle clamping pressure to keep the swelling down, a hairdryer?

Are you talking about doing this to your wife...or to the table?  ;D

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Richard, if you believe the swelling or bubble is actually trapped moisture or a chemical, the best way to expel it from within the wood is by using an infrared heat lamp.  The bulb is not expensive.  Just make sure you get a bulb socket rated for the wattage of the infrared bulb, usually made of ceramic.  The infrared rays pass through the top layers to heat from the inside out.  Other methods will just heat the outer surface still trapping the contents deep within the underlying layers.  Just take it easy experimenting how close you keep the bulb to the table.  Test the area you're heating with your fingers to make sure it's not getting too hot.  You'll probably still have damage to the finish that will need cosmetic repair.  You might want to do this in combination with increasing clamping pressure.

 

[mouppe]

Can anyone suggest how to remedy this? Should I just wait for it to dry out, use some gentle clamping pressure to keep the swelling down, a hairdryer?

Are you talking about doing this to your wife...or to the table?  ;D

If it was the wife, I would just stick it on craigslist!

Thanks Ken, I will look into it tomorrow.

 

[Alaska Ranger]

No...Richard - I'm pretty sure sticking wives on Craigslist is against their policy.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

...then try ebay!  [wink]

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Unlike a solid wood material, MDF is not going to shrink when it dries. You will need to compress the surface, but you will also need to re-bond the material too. What might be your best bet is to gently compress the surface slowly over time to avoid too much damage to the finish, and then when it is fully compressed, release the pressure, apply a penetrating adhesive, and recompress until the adhesive dries.

 

[mouppe]

Rick,

I am sure there is no MDF in the table. Also, this morning the bubble has gone down significantly. I am going to let it dry out further, then dry to inject some CA into to the crack with a syringe and gently clamp it.

Thanks for all the advice posted, it has been very helpful.

Richard.

 

[Guy Ashley]

Richard

Have a close look at the table substrata which the veneer sits on. If it is solid wood and the table is fairly old the veneer may have been laid with animal hide glue.

If that is so an iron pressed on it through a heavy duty cloth (old denim jeans) will reactivate the old glue. Then a clamp press for a few hours could solve it.

Guy

 

[Sparktrician]

I'd even go so far as to suggest using a couple of cauls clamped above the bubble to intensify the pressure on the bubble as it dries and hope for the best.  If no success, you could re-use the cauls on the wife's thumbs...  [scared] 

 

[nickao]

Don't touch that for at least two weeks!

 

[chrisrosenb]

Rick,

I am sure there is no MDF in the table. Also, this morning the bubble has gone down significantly. I am going to let it dry out further, then dry to inject some CA into to the crack with a syringe and gently clamp it.

Thanks for all the advice posted, it has been very helpful.

Richard.

Richard,

I am only looking at a picture of the table & you own the table. so do not want to disagree with you.
But I have to agree with Rick that the core of the top is MDF. The way the hump is formed is typical of how MDF reacts when wet.
Solid wood will not swell like that.

 

[nickao]

How old is the table?

Large-scale production of MDF began in the 1980s, if it is much older highly doubtful it is mdf, but probably plywood under the veneer of some sort if it is not wood. I can't tell anything from the pics. I guess it looks like mdf, but the pictures are not very clear.

I have seen solid wood and ply swell so it is tough to tell without having the table in front of us.

 

[Wonderwino]

If it does not flatten out after a few weeks, you could try dilling a series of small holes in the center of the substrate, clamping it level and injecting epoxy in the holes to hold it.  This would be a last resort if all else fails.  Too much heat now could release the veneer, creating another problem.

 

[waynelang2001]

I had the same trouble but with a cabinet, water had dripped from the workshop ceiling over night and  right on a joint between solid wood and chipboard. What worked for me was to clamp it using 2 scraps of wood and alot of pressure. I left it for about 2 days to dry and when i took off the clamps you could barely see anything had happened.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

If all else fails, can you simply use a guide rail and a saw to rip away the damaged section?  That leaf would be smaller than the others, but that would be much less noticeable than other patches....

 

[nickao]

Jesse that would take some balls!

A good repair/finisher could make that repair so no one except the person that knows where it is could find it. Meaning you would have to actually point it out. Hey, it just adds to the history and stories of the table when you hand it down.

Some people actually specialize in these repairs and make a living at it. If you are uncomfortable tackling it check around your town or county if you feel it is really worth the cost because of the sentimental value. We have a person locally that works out of the antique auction house in town.

 

[woodwrights_corner]

Richard, I agree with Nickao.  Unless you are an expert, find a restorer/repair person who is.  It will probably be easier for them to fix the accidental damage without your "fix" added on.  A partial fix on your part will more than likely increase your total cost. 

Your wife is sad this has happened.  Making her admit to it will only give her a reason to get mad at you.  However, if she has been talking about getting a new dining room set...............

Or I guess you could buy a bunch of Festools to fix the table and then take it to an expert "to touch up the finish".

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Rick,

I am sure there is no MDF in the table. Also, this morning the bubble has gone down significantly. I am going to let it dry out further, then dry to inject some CA into to the crack with a syringe and gently clamp it.

Richard,
One of the most important steps in repairing something is to identify the construction. There is nothing wrong with MDF for a table. It is stable (unless wet) and is one of the best substrate types for veneering in furniture. I have looked at the pictures a little more closely and I am very confident that the substrate is MDF with a veneer surface and a 3/8" thick edging at the perimeter. It also appears that the damage was most likely the result of liquid pooling on top of the piece of hardware, so even if the table was opened and wiped down, they would have overlooked this. I wouldn't hold anyone at fault for the damage, because the only way to have prevented it would have been to remove the hardware, and that is something that even I wouldn't have considered doing at the time.

You can try the repair method I suggested earlier, but if that is unsuccessful or the hardware does not stay mounted in the damaged material, there is another option.

If the material will not re-flatten, then you can use a router to remove the substrate, leaving just a thin layer below the veneer. Then carefully size a plug of new substrate and glue that in the hole. This will give you new screw locations for re-mounting the piece of hardware.

It appears the finish has cracked above the blister. You will have to identify what type of finish was used in order to repair this. I don't think it is lacquer, but you might get lucky and find it is shellac, which I believe is repairable with alcohol.