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I've got this problem: I was trying to attach with a kreg to make a frame; I've attached all the other hardwood pieces, except this one! It's hard maple and it seems to crack every time. This is the 3rd piece! They are 3/4" from the edge. Is it the wood?

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Comment by Martin Habicht on December 31, 2015 at 8:40pm

To save the wood (~$30 for an 8' piece) I decided that some drastic action was required:

1) I glued the piece back together again with a Cyanoacrylate glue (Lee Valley Tools). Fixing minor chips with CA glue with a pointed popsicle stick is trick I found on the internet. This worked really well for this type of break.

2) I bought a dowelling jig -- time was of the essence and dowelled the pieces together. At first this did not appear to be working because I discover a flaw with the drill bit, but as soon as I had the drill bit replaced it worked like a charm!

3) Next time I will be smart enough to center the hole!! I think that this was my problem all a long as you all suggested. I did not realize that the height was such a finicky parameter.

4) Next time do test pieces!!

Thanks for all your input!

Marty

Comment by Joe V Bolin on December 31, 2015 at 1:25pm
Agree with Douglas, you pockets are not centered which will cause splitting with extremely hard woods. Also move your outer pocket hole more to the other end of the piece. In cases like this I would use the 2 holes closest together & put the right 1 @ c/c, that will move screw further from edge. Most importantly, center hole on thickness. Let us know if this solves your issue.
Comment by Douglas Golding on December 30, 2015 at 2:46pm

You say that you have already completed this joint three times without problems on the same aspect of different pieces of the same wood; also that trying to repeat it using this one pair of pocket holes you've had three identical failures. Bearing this in mind, and from your picture and assuming you used boards of the same thickness, I would suggest the problem can only be caused by, either:

  • the face surfaces of the mating boards were not held in proper alignment when screwing up (is, face surfaces not clamped together with a face-clamp, or clamped face-down to common flat surface.), or
  • pocket hole Jig not properly set up (ie, so that the fixing screws emerge central to the thickness of the board.

My experience is that unpiloted screwing so close to the edge and end of wood-based material often leads to splitting, so it's important to hit the centre. (You might have got away with this if you had used Kreg's 'Micro Jig' - thinner screws.)

Imagining your ears steaming in frustration and wishing you luck!

Douglas

Comment by Douglas Golding on December 30, 2015 at 1:23pm

Comment by Ken Darga on December 30, 2015 at 8:55am

Martin,

The splitting can occur when the screw enters in or adjacent the growth ring in the wood,

causing the separation.

A common occurance when its near the end of the workpiece, like shown in the photo.

Akin to driving a screw or nail into the end of plywood, near the edge of the material.

Take a close look at the end of the workpiece---

you'll notice the wood has separated at the growth ring, in the wood.

Comment by james wilhelm on December 27, 2015 at 5:58pm

Looks like the hole where the crack is may be a bit higher then the other one , are you joining two boards edge to edge  and using a Kreg jig , if so the entry hole should be more in the middle of the board , hope this may help !!!

Comment by Dave Hunt on December 27, 2015 at 5:46pm

I would glue it back in place with a good wood glue,maybe a slight Crack in the wood caused the problem.

Comment by Dave Hunt on December 27, 2015 at 5:45pm

Comment by Martin Habicht on December 27, 2015 at 5:13pm
I really want to finish this piece as this would be the LAST screw! I've now done it a 4th time. Is it the direction of the grain perhaps? I'm open to any suggestions!
Comment by Martin Habicht on December 27, 2015 at 4:12pm
Yep 1-1/4" fine thread. I used 7 of them all over exactly the same way with success, the only one was this corner!

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