Question about Arts & Crafts Furniture Splitting

Hello everybody,

Lately, I've gotten into Arts & Crafts furniture, especially early Stickley, Limbert, and Roycroft pieces. Most of these are oak, and something I've noticed is that even pieces in excellent condition often have splitting along the grain. I've attached a few photos. Is oak particularly prone to this, and is it normal for these pieces or something that's preventable?

 

Quite common and due to moisture loss in the wood. Rarely do such splits go completely through the wood and, as such, don't impact structural integrity. Oak is very much prone to this. The only way to avoid this happening is strict climate control, which is unlikely to have occured over the last 100 years or so.

 

yes, a natural occurrence .
the items you are talking about already have age and wear when they get to you.... & the best you can do is care for the wood , going forward.

 

I think it adds character and history to the piece. It makes it more interesting.

 

Great, thank you for confirming my suspicions. I won't let this keep me up at night, and I'll simply be careful to wax my oak pieces before the winter.

 

Waxing won’t have any effect, it’s lost moisture. It’s an oak thing.