Fix for a crack

Tony Falotico

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519
Location
Lake City, Florida
I'm working on a box elder form and have a pretty deep crack, too deep to turn away. I'm looking for suggestions on how to fill / deal with it. Any and all ideas are welcome.

Also, as you can see in the pic -- I'm having a tough time with the end grain. Is this normal for box elder?

Thanks, Tony
 

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Tony, I've never tried it, but I know many others have used coffe grounds, metal shavings, sawdust and many other fibers packed into the crack and then put CA glue into it. Some say it works great others don't like the look of it. Hope it helps.
 
Tony what I have did in those cases was to save the sanding dust. I mix epoxy 5 min style and mix with DNA to a consistancy of milk. Mix in the sanding dust which makes it kinda pastey and work it into the crack. Let it dry for a couple of hours to make sure it is fully cured then finish turning or sanding depending where you are at. I have also sanded till the crack was full of sanding dust and then used CA. With a crack that big if it were me I would lean toward epoxy. I have also mixed coffee grounds or instant coffee with the epoxy and it worked rather well. Here is a picture of a cherry bowl I did with the sanding dust and epoxy cocktail as I call it. It is still holding good after turning a little over a year ago. This method has worked well for me. Hope this helps.
 

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I'll echo the "epoxy and filler of your choice" suggesion. Like Bernie, I tend to use sanding dust and CA glue for the thinner cracks, but I go to epoxy and instant coffee crystals for the wider ones. (At least that's what I use on the cracks I fill. I tend to just leave a lot of them as they are. Most of my pieces aren't intended to hold water, so what's a few cracks among friends.) :p Also, I try to wait until the piece is rough turned and dried before filling the cracks. (I'm assuming your piece is already dry.)

On the end grain question, I don't think I've seen box elder fuzz up like that before. I'd think a shearing cut with a sharp gouge would fix it, but if not, the 80 grit gouge (or probably even the 120 grit gouge) would fix it quickly.
 
Tony I guess I forgot to address the fuzzy end grain. Sometimes I will spritz with water and then do a shear cut like Bill Grumbine uses. Other times I have used oil such as mineral or walnut and then do a shear cut. Your gouge must be sharp. A lot of people will use a sharp scraper but I have found I get a more uniform surface and not so many bumps and ridges that "I" get when using a scraper. You noticed I said "I" as on one forum I got chastised for say a scraper was no good. Anyway that is the way I handle it and has worked well for me so far.
 
On the end grain question, I don't think I've seen box elder fuzz up like that before. I'd think a shearing cut with a sharp gouge would fix it, but if not, the 80 grit gouge (or probably even the 120 grit gouge) would fix it quickly.

I've tried a shear cut with a freshly sharpened Ellsworth grind, 80% is smoother than a powdered baby's butt, the little section of end grain on both sides is rough. Scraper made it worst. I was thinking along the lines Bernie mentioned and using oil or sealer on it then shear cutting again. Never thought of just wetting it, I'll try that first.

On the crack I'll probably go with epoxy as recommended, not decided if I'll use box elder dust, a contrasting dust (I have some rosewood dust I saved), or try a red dye of some sort(??). I have some crushed turquoise powder but I'm not sure about adding another color.
 
Hey Tony dye some of the box elder dust red and then fill it. The rosewood dust would work to. I am just not a fan of Turquoise. Don't know why. I have used brass filings which wasn't bad but still didn't trip my trigger as my grandmother would say. Instant coffee works pretty well to. Tony on the end grain my wife has a little household spray bottle. I just give it a couple of shots with that. In fact I just did that today on a bowl and worked just fine.
 
I did just that Bernie, mixed box elder dust with a drop of red acrylic paint and a drop of DNA, mixed that into epoxy and worked it into the crack. I'll turn it down this evening and see what happens.
 
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