Having purchased a shelf previously from Ben Simpson, which I was very happy with, decided to get another one, the second one had a split all the way through it, I contacted Ben Simpson, and sent pictures of the split ,they said it was a natural part of the wood, which I’m sure it is , but i would of thought it would of been checked before sending it out to a customer, they did say I could return it for a replacement, but I felt the cost of returning such a heavy item at my expense would be to much, so I have kept it. I was disappointed this time , as the previous shelf was beautiful.