Prevent Your Boards From Splitting- STOP Cracks in Their Tracks! 

It’s always very impressive to see the amount of patience it takes to do this kind of work with hand tools

thank you for speaking slowly and clearly so I can understand English.

A year after you posted this and it was a fix I was looking for. Thank you

trimming back things like that key are the perfect reason to drag out the multitool my wife bought me one year. only thing i have found it useful for lol

Yeah, Chad! Bonus points for setting your audio levels perfect between music & voice. No need to turn down blaring rock music between voice segments--hooray! As always, great video with valuable info. Everybody could learn a thing or three from you ;-) Best, @HoneyOnWales

In 2013 I cut 5 slabs 5 inches thick for a friend from a freshly fallen sycamore. Sycamore is notorious for going its own way as it dries, especially if it is slabbed thin as it dries, hence the reason for the slabs being so thick. The fellow I slabbed this for used a brace and very auger long bit to auger threw from side to side then drove 1" dowels into the auger holes. After which he slathered on many coats of latex paint. In the spring of 2019 he started breaking down one of the slabs, end cracks were non existent and the slabs had not cupped, there was minimal twist. He said that is how his grandfather had done it for years.

Just say no to crack......good vid. My noob self cut down a tree planed my wood started building...everything looked beautiful till next morning.......crack city

What would be the minimum thickness you would use this on? Thanks in advance.

As useful as lovely method to stop the cracks. Sometimes, the old methods are always the better ones. Chad, I'd like to know the sizes of a dovetail key ( H, W, L ) one should use in proportion to the/a board. Thanks and all my best. Giuliano, Italy.

What an amazing video to watch. I am só envious of your skills!

I've seen this before but I didnt understand why til now, thanks lol

What about a 1 inch thick board with a crack?

I'm thinkin' this may help my brother...he's a plumber..

Terrific, but what if the cracking runs on the horizontal and not the vertical?

Have you tried as an alternative to use a oscillating tool to clean up the edges? I'm seeing the introduction of an oscillating tool for assorted applications in detailed work and thought I'd ask.

Nice video. Always appreciate the bowtie inlays!

Okey simple and nice

Very impressive. I make 48cm wooden chesspieces. Out of wet logs. They dry up and crack in my apartment. I'm experimenting with not letting them dry before I apply wood glue on them. Which turns transparent. But if I forget it takes about three days before they crack. Ive herd 'beout ppl wetting minor wooden pieces made for fishing and then painting them. Then put hooks on them. I guess oil might prevent the endgrain from drying so fast. It appears to me as if the watersoluable wood glue can be applied after the oil. The wood simply consumes so much fluid.

Pretty cool. Nice job.

Aren't they called shakes? The finished key looks very rustic and appealing too. iGreat vid.

Superb mate, thank you. 😎🇬🇧💪

Thanks. I learned something new today. What would you use to fill in the cracks?

Very good Chad! Thank you.

thnx, well done. I'm gonna try it.

Hi there, what about the crack this side of the camera / at the end grain?

THANKS CHAD!

At least we have a fix for the cracks. It's a pain in the proverbial when you get a nice figured board and a crack develops. the Bow ties can add an attractive feature

Save your money on sealing products, they are expensive and they do not stop cracking. Sometimes they may reduce it a little bit but usually there is no noticeable difference from untreated logs/boards.

HI I like the video and details for repair break wood best regards

I had a piece of black walnut cut 13" x 36" x 1.25" for a counter top on a small cabinet. Within a couple of days it started splitting. if I oil it will it close up. I was going to put polyurethane on it but was afraid to after it started spliting.

Shouldn't the butterfly be a bit shorter than the mortise? If the would continues to shrink it will induce extra stress and possibly new cracks will start.

I've been looking to buy a Kung Fu wooden dummy and cracking of the wooden post seems to be a big problem with some of them. I'm not sure what they coat that center wooden post with but could keeping that main body "oiled" reduce or eliminate that cracking. Moisture (water) evaporates quicker than a linseed oil so would that help prevent cracking?

Nice tip. You forgot to mention that grain direction of the key is across the grain of the board.

That was interesting

Thanks chad that helps

thank man!!!!

But, how do you know it fits!?! I noticed you marked the hole with a PENCIL, not a knife or chisel. I really like your video, and I need a way to stop cracks in my fresh-cut sweet gum panels. They are 1"x20"x22" and if they split, I might as well not have cut them.

Nice thanks Chad

Wow !! Nice

Looked like a perfect fit.

If I used the butterfly technique I also would fill the cracks with fine sawdust and glue afterwards, but sometime later. The butterfly looks so unnatural with the grain of the wood.

just put a nice coat of linseed oil on the outer 5 inches of that plank.

Thanks Chad. Here is a question. Can we try this on a cracked bamboo pole. I know it's not straight forward, because bamboo would have a curved surface; but is it possible to cut a curved depth cut some how. If so, then a curved bamboo butterfly piece can be fitted in to it. What do you think?

Always interesting!! Thank's!!!

I work with sections of fresh Branches, usually about 3 in' x 6 in'. (Art). They start splitting a day or two after they've been cut, how would you recommend i store them when I'm not working on them. "Please and thankyou"

Thank you Chad that was very informative and useful. Here is a question. How to cut holes, say2 3/8 inches, without buying the expensive Fostner bits? Thanks

Would you tighten down some clamps across the piece to keep it from being able to spread and crack?

Excellent demonstration video Chad. Thanks.

is this tie on the to-be-top side or is it ok to keep that underneath? good info though, cheers!

May IO ask what do you use to protect a finished wood carving, so it will not get cracks?

I am very new to this fun hobby. Let's say I was making a table top out of one massive slab of wood and it had no cracks yet. What if I was to inlay some massive bowties that stretched across the width of the slab (on the underside of course) every foot or so down the length of it? Or inlay and screw steel plates in a similar manner. Or, if the table is deep enough, run a metal band around the outside edge (like a ring on a finger) if it looked cool. This obviously would do nothing for preventing cracks from forming on the top, but would it prevent future cracks from beginning anywhere on the bottom? Thanks for the great video!

I bought new lumber to make my tabletop and I don't feel comfortable to chisel and router out a butterfly hole. What are my options as a beginner and do I necessary have to do anything to my wood prior to crafting? thanks

Thanks for this tip! I just got some old growth 8/4 white oak boards which I’m drying (currently has 12-15% moisture). Would this be too wet to add the dove tails?

Screw them up together with bolts.

Hi Chad If I have a piece of wood which isn't cracked yet and I put some varnish on it. That will protect my product from cracking?

Oh yeah!!

So what about preemptive dovetail butterflies? Just place them at the end of boards before the checks even show up.

Did you test fit the butterfly at all before you glued it? I could just see myself having a non-fitting butterfly, now coated with glue... Did you not seal the end grain because you wanted to get a split so you could make this video? If you think the wood isn't dry, you should just throw something on there. Even latex paint will work.

Walker Industries with multiple facilities in the USA and Canada have Aqua Seal at less than half the cost of Anchor Seal. 1 gallon, 5 gallon, 55 gallon, tanker car, cheaper the larger lot. I picked up 2 5 gallon buckets today. I formerly saw Associated Chemists in threads, now Walker Industries, @t .

Without the butterfly you could use the wood right uo to the crack. Now you probably throw out and waste the wood with the butterfly unless your plan is to build something rustic?

will the stress move to expansion outside of bowtie?

Thank you Chad, really helpful for a(74 year old) noob like me

Why didn't you place the dove tail key a bit closer to the edge?

Yeah but how do we stop cracks from forming to start with.

nice boards chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad

i've seen where people have hammered in these Z shaped clips to hold stuff like that together

Also known as a bowtie or Dutchman.

Hi Chad, the cracks are beautiful but they walk without asking permission 😂😂

So all cracks have to have this or they may crack with time?

Thanks,Chad!!

1:10 It's not drying out because air is going into the end grain. It's drying out because moisture is coming out. If the moisture does not go out, air would not be able to get in.

I think I would have tried a little different procedure or approach. I would have drilled a hole through the board across grain from the side edges, centered, This would be to accept a threaded screw, Then counter sink a hole where I could put the nuts an washers on to tighten this piece, You might have even closed these cracks, Then one could put plugs over the remaining holes instead of having that ugly piece of butterfly wood showing on the top. This procedure would apply even pressure on the board an possibly not allowed it to warp, where I think that butterfly may allow this to happen, or even clamping it with very strong clamps, not the usual wood working clamps as mentioned below.

This might stop them in their Cracks instead of tracks lol

Chad - will you use any epoxy or super glue on the remaining part of the crack.

sound advice... how would you think about making those butterflies out of metal and maybe screwing them on ? although I doubt it, it could work... whaddya say ? :-/

Bowties. That's how I know them, but I guess butterfly works too. I'd rather go epoxy though, I hate the look of bowties. I'd rather just seal coat clear, then pour into it and sand it to whatever luster I want.

Wish we lived close enuff that I could get saftey Dan's old job

When does it take 2 minutes and 40 seconds to get to the point?

Sweet.... What’s going on with Safety Dan?

Began watching, but this would not help me with a whole hemlock shed

Dear Chad, I wonder IF I press the sides to force the crack to 'close' and just then dig the hole for the tie, will make a better looking job. Any thoughts? Many thanks.

But where is safety Dan?

Ya. That's not what I wanted to hear. Ya, I know about butterflies. I thought you had some magic potion. Disappointed but you have a good day RC

Cartoon face guy 🤣

One trick I have seen for a tight looking dovetail key is to mushroom it with a hammer before planing it all the way down. This fills in the tiny gaps left by slightly less than perfect chiseling.

I was expecting more wood & cracks jokes...

how about closing the crack?

Come on dude there's 1 million of these videos on here!!!!

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😍😍😍💡💡

Chad, good vid! Do you always use Gorilla Wood glue? If you have a glue video point me there.

Greetings from Russia!!!🇷🇺

The board cracks from the ends because of cellular orientation of the wood, and water evaporates from open cell pores faster than across cell walls; NOT because the end of the board is coarse.

Crack is bad mkay

Crack is whack

Not to knock the technique... i just dont think this is a viable option to fix my porch and steps that are cracking

stop those cracks in their tracks....... funny very funny, can't stop laughing.. ho ho ho ho lol lol lol ..

not even close to practical...

Two and a half minutes to get to the point! Prep a script, edit in half and get to the point of your vid. Drop the goofy stuff (not that cute) use some more screen graphics to move through the supporting observations. With "Wood$Crap" as your sponsor, I won't be subscribing, either! I know you gotta eat, but pointing your viewers to that franchise rip-off should embarrass you.

The creepiest guy on RU-vid. He sounds like an aquaphibian from Stingray ......

Butterfly pieces are not a fix. They look like crap in some pieces, better I some species