Single woodworm flight hole in dining table

Postik

Hi all, I have a dining table that's 5 months old, it has oak veneer legs (not sure what's under the oak veneer but would guess cheap softwood). It cost about £300.

At the weekend when cleaning the floor I noticed what looked like a single woodworm flight hole in one of the legs, approx 2mm wide and perfectly round. If you tap or rub the laminate just above the hole it sounds slightly hollow.

I don't want to name and shame the retailer because I like them, and they've been good about it, offering either a complete replacement, or a £100 discount.

A complete replacement is going to be a bit of a nightmare (disassembly, reassembly, it's very heavy, run the risk of the replacement not being perfect in some way, etc).

I've done a bit of research and my understanding is holes are created when the insect leaves the wood. It can then mate and go back inside the holes to lay more eggs. If the holes are active you normally get "frass" coming out of the holes, which I don't seem to have.

However there are no other holes that I can find, just this single one. Also I believe the wood used to make furniture is normally treated to kill any woodworm in advance, so the presence of a single hole makes me think this could be a lone, flukey beetle that has now long gone.

I used to think woodworm could spread like wildfire but apparently the female beetle is quite fussy where she lays her eggs and much prefers rotting wood outdoors.

Of course, it might not even been woodworm but I can't think of any other explanation.

Just looking for opinions on whether you'd keep the table and go with the discount considering the circumstances?

Simonon77

It could just have been a random hole made in the factory somehow. If replacing it is a pain I would just accept the money back and fill the hole. Just keep an eye out in the future for any other holes appearing

ThisIsWeird

Have you tried passing a thin wire - eg an opened paperclip - through the hole to see how deep it goes? 

Filling it, as said above, would certainly allow you to monitor it. Whether it's worth injecting bug killer in there first, I don't know, because it just seems unlikely to be a boring insect.

Doozergirl

Legs are usually solid wood even when the tops are veneered, in my experience.  

I wouldn't give it a second thought, personally.  It's been through so much processing that the environment is way too hostile.  The woodworm will be long gone.  They like soft, pulpy wood, not being covered in lacquer.   

Postik

ThisIsWeird said:

Have you tried passing a thin wire - eg an opened paperclip - through the hole to see how deep it goes? 

Filling it, as said above, would certainly allow you to monitor it. Whether it's worth injecting bug killer in there first, I don't know, because it just seems unlikely to be a boring insect.

What makes you say it's unlikely to be a boring insect? The fact there is only one hole, or some other reason?

I pushed the end of a paper clip in and it was around 5-8mm deep

Doozergirl said:

Legs are usually solid wood even when the tops are veneered, in my experience.  

I wouldn't give it a second thought, personally.  It's been through so much processing that the environment is way too hostile.  The woodworm will be long gone.  They like soft, pulpy wood, not being covered in lacquer.   

Yes I have read as much.  I used to believe that it can spread easily, but if you are unlucky to have it, it's highly unlikely it would spread to other furniture because they can't eat into it, and the female knows that and generally won't lay her eggs on it.

ThisIsWeird

Postik said:

What makes you say it's unlikely to be a boring insect? The fact there is only one hole, or some other reason?

I pushed the end of a paper clip in and it was around 5-8mm deep

The fact that it's a one-of, on new furniture (which will have gone through some processing and coating), and there's no sign of dust. Add to that now the fact it's only a quarter of an inch deep.

I'd imagine it was in the original timber, before being turned into a leg.

What makes you think the legs are veneered? Do they have flat sides? And are grain features like knots and swirls continued around the corners?

Postik

ThisIsWeird said:

Postik said:

What makes you say it's unlikely to be a boring insect? The fact there is only one hole, or some other reason?

I pushed the end of a paper clip in and it was around 5-8mm deep

The fact that it's a one-of, on new furniture (which will have gone through some processing and coating), and there's no sign of dust. Add to that now the fact it's only a quarter of an inch deep.

I'd imagine it was in the original timber, before being turned into a leg.

What makes you think the legs are veneered? Do they have flat sides? And are grain features like knots and swirls continued around the corners?

I'm fairly sure it's veneered as even solid wood furniture or doors are usually made up of smaller pieces of "solid" wood glued together, and then covered by a veneer of the same material.  Below is a photo of the surface which shows a kind of patchwork pattern which is what makes me think it's veneered.

Postik

Edit to the above: I just checked on the website I bought it from and it says the legs are "solid oak" and the finish is "oak effect" so perhaps they are solid oak with an oak veneer.

stuart45

If there's only one it's got nobody to mate with.

ThisIsWeird

Very good chance that what you are seeing are the actual individual pieces of solid wood which have been glued together, to make it 'laminated' or 'engineered'.

If a timber veneer had been added, it would tend to give it an even wood finish with the appearance of a single piece of solid wood.

Anyhoo, I personally wouldn't be concerned. I'd fill it and monitor it for complete peace of mind, and then have a nice day out with the £100

Postik

ThisIsWeird said:

Very good chance that what you are seeing are the actual individual pieces of solid wood which have been glued together, to make it 'laminated' or 'engineered'.

If a timber veneer had been added, it would tend to give it an even wood finish with the appearance of a single piece of solid wood.

Anyhoo, I personally wouldn't be concerned. I'd fill it and monitor it for complete peace of mind, and then have a nice day out with the £100

I see what you mean.  I was a bit more suspicious because the area above the hole sounds slightly hollow if you tap it, which made me think something could have been burrowing beneath the surface.  Or it could just be coincidence of course.

stuart45 said:

If there's only one it's got nobody to mate with.

Yes that was my thought.

Anyway thanks for your replies everyone, I am going to accept the discount and fill the hole with a brown wax crayon.