Visible crack filling
Cracks filled with epoxy or putty instead of being re-made, left visible under the finish on a solid wood top.
Why it happens
When a board cracks, usually because it was machined above its moisture limit, filling the crack is quicker and cheaper than replacing the board.
A filled crack can open again as the wood keeps drying, and filler that does not match the wood shows through the finish.
Sample report 03 (Jaipur, January 2023) rejected a dining table top for visible araldite (epoxy) filling; report 04 (Jodhpur) recorded bad filling on cracks in three pieces, rectified before shipment.
More examples
Photos from Qualis inspections. The chalk marks are the inspector’s.
How to specify against it
A defect you can name in the purchase order is a defect an inspector can fail the shipment on. One you only describe in an email is not.
- State whether filling is acceptable at all, and if so where, how large, and whether it must be colour-matched.
- Set a moisture limit for the destination, so the cracks are not there to fill.
- Approve a golden sample for the finish, so visible repair is judged against a reference.
The inspection point
Each of these is a numbered check on a published scope, so you can see exactly which visit finds this and when.
Other defects in the library
Tips over with drawers open
DEF-035 · Structure · Stability
A drawer unit that falls forward when its drawers are opened: a critical defect that fails the lot on its own.
Poor ironwork on metal frames
DEF-028 · Finish · Metal
Rough welds, scratches and damaged coating on the iron frames of wood-and-iron furniture.
Size and colour mismatch
DEF-049 · Finish · Lot match
Pieces of the same style made in two sizes or finished in different colours, so sets do not match.
Catch this one before it ships.
Confirmed within 24 hours. Report within 24 hours of inspection.
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