~WoodChuck~

I notice when i use this wood, which I typically use on prefabbed staircases that i build, the treads will crack usually from the open return end. Sometimes its not quite a crack but more of a check. I think it is due to the temp change from the shop to the cold house and then once the heat is turned on ....crack! This only happens on the jatoba treads. Is there a way to protect it from doing this like priming the back?

jeffreythree

I don't think priming the back would help much. Most of the moisture exchange comes from end grain, and even then should not cause the crack itself. I have worked with quite a bit of jatoba as slab table tops. It is brittle and can have some funky stresses in the grain. Every now and then I experience the same thing you have, and I put a couple coats of finish on the back of mine to keep cupping down on wide slabs during season changes. I think it is stress in the grain, not moisture, that causes it. Unless the wood is not kiln dried completely. Get a moisture meter and check those jatoba treads.

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