Consensus on fixing wood swell?

[m_mcgovern]

What is the consensus on best way to fix wood swelling?

One side of my Atari Star Wars must have gotten wet before getting into my hands as the upper back left corner has swelled out, extending 6" on the top down 30" on the back side before getting back to normal thickness. At the worst point (the corner) the wood is now 1" instead of 3/4" wide.

I plan to chip out some wood and insert some "stuff" and reclamp to the correct width. I guess my question is what is the best "stuff" to use? I've seen some folks use wood hardener, wood glue, or bondo. Has anyone tried more than one of these items? Is there one I should use versus the other since this is a particleboard side?

Here is a picture with the t-molding in place:

(I'm already planning to replace the upper back piece with new plywood as it crumbled everytime I touched it)

 

[m_mcgovern]

*shameless bump*

Anyone want to weigh in on this one? I'd like to try something today (Sun) to address this issue.

Thanks.

 

[GORDONFAN]

My wife takes care of any wood swell i ever have. works great. LOL

 

[prOk]

you're really going to have a problem fixing this without sanding it back and painting.. it will take an incredible amount of pressure and glue to recompress fiberboard which in it's current state won't happen.

 

[m_mcgovern]

@pr0k -- thanks for the reply...so, I'm better off just leaving it as is. Maybe I can try to cover it with wider t-molding...

 

[prOk]

i'd just sand the outside back to flush prime and paint.. star wars around that edge is just black anyway.

 

[Riptor]

To do it correctly without replacing the entire panel.....
Sand outside edge so you end up with a true 3/4", fill original molding slot, treat with some wood hardner and then reroute a new slot.
I found an orbital air powered DA sander works great for this. Its alot of work but the only way your going to get it right without replacing the panel. If its swelled all the way around it may be easier to replace the whole panel.

 

[sizzlerjoe]

Could the cab be entirely rebuilt (scratch) ??

 

[thebman80]

@pr0k -- thanks for the reply...so, I'm better off just leaving it as is. Maybe I can try to cover it with wider t-molding...

Or just paint the edge of the cabinet underneath the T-molding Black then reinstall the T-molding.

 

[radioflyer]

@pr0k -- thanks for the reply...so, I'm better off just leaving it as is. Maybe I can try to cover it with wider t-molding...

Or just paint the edge of the cabinet underneath the T-molding Black then reinstall the T-molding.

I agree with that. If you want a quick fix, pull the molding and paint it black, that will cover that up. It's a good quick fix to make to off color of the wood go away.

Now for the bad part. It's damaged. Can't change that. Repairing it by sanding it down is just delaying the future crumbling and glue loosening that will come with the age and the water damage you have. If you are gona do it, do it righ the first time out, and replace it. If this is a game you want to keep, sometimes the hardest way is the best way....replacing it isn't easy, but worth it in the long run.

 

[Mike Doyle]

I did a radical fix on a wood swelled cab once; the sideart was nice on a Centipede but there was swelling along one edge.

I took my Sawzall and put a huge "The Axe" blade in it, then ran it like I was sawing down the t-molding slot with the saw perpendicular to the cab side, this created a kerf cut (gap) equal to the thickness of the saw blade. By coincindence it was equal to the swelling.

After that, I glued and clamped the two halves together, when dry, I re-routed the t-molding slot and I was back to the original thickness.

It's a good trick, but only for cabs with swelling at the edges and you need pretty intense clamp pressure using the old-school clamps with two opposing worm screws and pivots.

The main benefit is that you get to leave the sideart intact.