Repairing Separation Cracks in a Wood Table

Clean around the edges of the crack. If there are any wood splinters, these will need to be removed. Wear safety glasses and gloves. Scrape away any splinters or debris with a chisel and clean the cracks of any dirt.

Fill in the crack with wood filler. Get a wood filler that matches as closely to the finish of the table as possible. Insert this into the crack with a plastic putty knife. Try to get as much filler into the crack as possible. Scrape off any excess with the edge of your knife. Let this set until hard according to manufacturer directions. If the crack is exceptionally large or deep, fill it in first with wood shavings or small pieces of wood and then top it off with wood filler.

Sand down the top of the filler. Use a fine grade of sandpaper and go over the area you patched. The surface should be flush with the rest of the table and smooth to the touch.

Apply wood stain. The sanding will have removed some of the stain and you will also need to cover over the wood filler. Use the same color stain as the table and apply as many coats as necessary. Gently sand in between coats to get better adhesion.

Seal over the crack. To prevent reoccurrence and to protect the wood, apply at least one coat of a clear polyurethane over the patch. Sand the surface lightly first and then brush on the coat. Let it dry for a few hours and then sand again before applying another coat.