Salvaging blank

[Tiger]

I have a nice burl that I got from someone who couldn't do much with it. It has what looks like a bandsaw cut through it, kerf would be no more than 1 mm. My question is can I glue some sawdust into it to close the gap and render the blank usable? The kerf is only in perhaps 1/2 the blank. Is there another way to get this to the point where it's usable?

 

[Gary Beasley]

You could finish the cut and ether glue it back together or add an insert for contrast.

 

[Dehn0045]

I think it really depends on the wood. Sometimes a sawdust fill blends in nicely and isn't too noticeable. In other cases it looks like a sore thumb. You could use the blank for segmenting, add a contrasting wood with an aluminum spacer to each end. You could fill with a contrasting material, like crushed turquoise; depending on the wood it might look good. I like to drill/glue and turn down to within about 0.020 before I do any gap filling. Just be sure to clean out any clear glue with a sharp blade prior to doing the gap filling. Doing it this way you can make a blend of larger chips and sanding dust from the same wood for your for your fill, which I find blends pretty well.

 

[mark james]

I'd continue the cut and do a simple segment; one-ply, or three ply. No matter of the angle, will probably look like it was intended. Place it appropriately in the kit.

 

[Tiger]

Thanks, some good ideas here.