Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

462 Conservation of Furniture
Figure 10.13 Surface checks and splits in a carved
oak panel. Such checks may be a result of the use of
unseasoned wood or fluctuations in RH
that restrains this movement. Shrinkage splits
are often exacerbated by compression set
caused by repeated cycles of fluctuating relative
humidity (see Chapter 7). Any repair
undertaken without addressing this environmental
problem will be temporary and may
lead to further damage. It is important to
understand the cause of the split before any
treatment is undertaken.
The dimensional response of wood to
changes in RH will be influenced by the
frequency, rate, size and duration of such fluctuations.
Michalski (1994) suggested that, in
some cases where environmental conditions
are not stable, splits in carcase furniture could
be minimized or prevented by storing textiles
(preferably undyed cotton such as terry cloth)
within the carcase structure, e.g. in drawers
and compartments. The textiles act as a buffer
Figure 10.14 Differential shrinkage of the cleated
substrate of the door of a marquetry longcase clock,
c.1685. Splits in the marquetry decoration have collected
dirt and wax
to fluctuations in RH and slow the rate of moisture
content change within the wood. Slowing
the rate of change means that the application
of stress within the wood is gradual, and can
be more easily absorbed by the inherent plastic
and visco-elastic properties of the wood
itself.
Shrinkage splits do not automatically require
conservation treatment. Given that further
damage may result from closing or filling a
split, in many cases a strong argument can be
made for leaving them untreated. The dictum
of minimal intervention may suggest that treatment
should be avoided unless further damage
is likely to occur without it. Unless a split is
comparatively fresh it may not be possible to
disguise it without obscuring discoloured or
darkened adjacent original surface with
pigments, and in some cases fill treatments
may be more obtrusive than the original split.
In some cases shrinkage of a component may
leave a moulding proud of an edge. In the past
such mouldings have been pared to the smaller
dimension but current ethics would usually
preclude such removal of original material in
favour of a reversible treatment or no treatment
at all.
Although there is an argument that splits
constitute an unacceptable aesthetic impairment
and should be treated, this perspective
may spring from a desire for perfection rather
than acceptance of the inherent properties of
the material from which the object is made.
Where veneer has been laid over an inherently