Voids in the wood

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erinkg

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I have a few burl blanks that I bought from AS to make bottle stoppers and pens. I've noticed when turning these that there are voids in the wood. I kind of like how they look and wasn't planning on filling them, but then I noticed that most people (all?) fill the voids with various materials. Is it okay to leave the voids open or will I run into problems down the line?

Thanks!
Erin
 
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wdcav1952

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Erin,

It is a personal choice. I don't care for voids, especially in pens. You might consider filling the voids with layers of thick CA. If you do not use acclerator and are patient enough to allow the CA to cure, you can get the smooth finish with the look of the voids.

Hope this helps,
 

Easysport

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Prescott Valley, AZ, USA.
I'm surely NOT an authority on this, but the few burl pens that I'm turned had small voids in them and I didn't fill them and they turned out fine with no problems so far. One pen had about an 1/8in void which I did fill. I'm sure others with much more experience will chime in with their thoughts on the subject.[^][^]
 

GregD

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It's a matter of personal choice. You can fill with CA or turquiose or what ever strikes your fancy. Just depends on the look you want.
 

chigdon

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As long as they are relatively small voids I always fill them with CA. They almost always end up being my favorite pens (most of my pens are burl).
 

TomServo

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I've had great success using thin CA to stabilize cracks and burls - start when you're 1/16-1/8" from final size, and fill the holes with the CA, turn it down a little, more CA, etc.. ends up very nice..
 

alamocdc

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Erin, as you can see, it's a personal choice, but for pens most prefer them filled. I think it's just b/c this presents a cleaner look and feel. For larger voids I still use CA, but will first fill the void w/the dust from a contrasting wood. Makes for a nice effect. Some like the inlace or truestone approach here, but I find it a bit gaudy. Again, just my personal preference.
 

LAKingsFan

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Erin,
What I do is add some drops of thick ca glue on a piece of wax paper and mix it with a black powder. Mix it real well and fill in the holes. Once dry use a skew with a light touch to take off the the top layer of the fixed void. Sand and do your regular finishing. I have found that this brings out the wood and looks great. I just did one with this bottle stopper.



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Hope this helps

Ron
 

thetalbott4

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Erin
I deal with a lot of inclusion prone burls and agree that it is personal preference of the turner, but also for the customer if thats what you are shooting for. Some feel that voids are defects while others think they add to the natural feel of the pen. You might consider doing some each way.

I have used turquise and brass ect but it's a little gawdy, as Billy said, with few exceptions. IMHO the best way is to try to color match the inclusion which is typically black and do as Ron does with the CA. This way you still get the look of the inclusion but dont have a void. For small cracks or checks, CA with sanding dust and a needle to help it in the void works good and blends nicely.

Best thing to do is get some scrap and ding it up a little and experiment with different things. You may find something that works better than what I do. And for those that really dislike any of natures little character traits there is acrylic.
 
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