Blank voids

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Status
Not open for further replies.

Scchil

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2004
Messages
7
Location
Altoona, WI, USA.
I turned my first stabalized blank today. Everything went well until I noticed there was a void in each of the halfs. Is this something I should cexect? Can it be corrected by filling the voids with CA glue?

Thanks in advance

Claude
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

Scottydont

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2004
Messages
325
Location
Edmonds, WA, USA.
I usually just fill the hole with sawdust from turning the same blank and put a couple of drops of CA on it. I started keeping fine sawdust from darker woods. They are great for converting flaws into features. Sometimes inlace looks good too.
 

jkirkb94

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Messages
1,093
Location
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA.
Claude, here's a link to Craft Supplies where you can get some inlace that looks real nice in the voids. Also check out Bill at Arizona Silhoutte. I bought some metal inlace that I am trying. Kirk [8D] http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/catalog/decorative_mat.html
http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/Crushed_Stone.htm
 

Scchil

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2004
Messages
7
Location
Altoona, WI, USA.
Thanks for the ideas.

Next time I'll save some of the dust. it's all in the vac bag now!

I'll give Bill's stuff a look.

Again thanks for the info.

Claude
 

YoYoSpin

Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
1,334
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Claude, look at those voids as opportunities, and if the mood strikes...fill them with colorful crushed stone, glitter (my favorite) or powdered metal.
pen116a.jpg
 

PenWorks

Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2004
Messages
5,186
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
Claude, I use polymer clay to fill some voids. I pick out some bright colors and just squish the clay in. I guess because I am an old potter and am partial to clay. I am posting some pencils I made this week and the stripped ebony had a worm hole I filled with clay.
 

William Young

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2004
Messages
447
Location
Wynndel, British Columbia, Canada.
Scott;
Sorry about this off topic reply but I liked your little turning guy below your posts that I "borrowed" it as my avatar picture in a Canadian general turning site that I participate in. Hope you dont mind. Me and some members there have had some fun with it. Ever heard of 'replenish wood?" Check this out.
http://www.workshopbuzz.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2304
W.Y.
 
B

Bill Baumbeck

Guest
Claude,

To answer your question, yes, voids can appear in some stabilized woods. The softer, 'punkier' woods are more prone to develope cracks and/or voids during the stabilization process. If you purchased the blank in question from me I will gladly replace it.

As Ed mentioned the voids can lend themselves to decorative 'fixes' by adding crushed stone or other materials.

Bill Baumbeck
 

jkirkb94

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Messages
1,093
Location
Oklahoma City, Ok, USA.
Anthony, does the polymer clay harden on its own? If so, how long does it take? I also like the glitter idea, Ed. Especially since I have a Hobby Lobby about 2 miles away. Kirk [8D]
 

PenWorks

Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2004
Messages
5,186
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
Kirk, The clay hardens on its own. I assume it goes back to the state it was in when you first get it out of the bag. It is hard until you roll it around your fingers for awhile to soften. I did this to a ebony havana that split over a year ago and use it daily as a field test model and it has stayed in fine. http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1797&whichpage=1#11661

More that I can say for the plating on the cap.
 

Scott

Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
2,689
Location
Blackfoot Idaho
Some of us stranger people actually WANT some voids! I once called up Bill Baumbeck and asked him to pick out some nasty Buckeye Burl with lots of voids (Thanks, Bill!) just so I could have fun filling them with different materials.

Scott.
 

Scchil

Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2004
Messages
7
Location
Altoona, WI, USA.
Everyone,

I tried the sanding dust and CA glue and it worked just great! By the time I finished the last sanding you could hardly see it.

Bill - Thanks I didn't know it could be replaced. I have learned a lot from your tape on pen turning.

Thanks again for all of the great ideas

Claude
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
Messages
549
Location
Oak Ridge, NC.
I found something locally to use as filler. Go to a Michaels or Hobby Lobby or some other crafts store. Go to the section where they sell scrap book supplies, least I think that is what they call it. Somewhere in that area you will find little jars of granular material that is use when you rubber stamp designs on paper. You stamp wet ink, sprinkle the powder on it and then dump off what doesn't stick.

The jars I found cost about $3.50 each. They come in all kinds of colors and textures. Sparkle, matte, gloss finish. Black, blues, greens, tan, gold, silver, what have you. I bought about 5 bottles of different ones and use them right out of the bottle or blend them to get different colors.

You just put a little pile of the powder in the void and touch a drop of CA right beside the pile. If you drop it right on the pile of powder it will sometimes splash the powder right out of the void. So let capillary action draw it into the powder in the void. I find that the little mouse tail CA applicators help with not getting too much CA in the void.
 

dougle40

Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2004
Messages
1,423
Location
Essex, Ontario, Canada.
I've not tried using other materials for void fillings but it looks like something I'll have to try .
The pen pic below is figured Walnut and had a knot in the center which turned out to be an actual hole that I filled by putting some CA into the hole then filling it with sanding dust , then applying some more CA and pressing it in with a piece of paper toweling and letting it dry before resuming turning , the result was very nice with the void maintaining the original color of the knot .

20041128155030_Sanding%20002%20-%20sm.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom