any ideas?

[guts]

I have this very old piece of walnut that I want to try and save,the problem is obvious and the piece is to long to put in my paint pot about 18",what ever I use has to be fluid enough to get down into the worm trails all the holes you see are connected, any ideas?

 

[karlkuehn]

Are you trying to save the profile as well?

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Well, although I hate PVC for air lines, if you had say a 2" diameter piece that was 20" long, you could place it inside, with one end with a glued on cap and the other with a screw on cap and cast it inside the pipe. Now on the screw end, you need to bolt in a fitting like the casting tanks. Fill the whole pipe, screw the pipe shut and preasure the pipe at low PSI (say 30psi). When you are done you will need to cut it off, but it would work.

DO NOT USE HIGH PSI!! and I would cast this sitting inside a trash can in case it fails! (Put a large bag closed around it)

 

[guts]

Karl no, I am trying to make a back scratcher out of it.Lee if that's what it takes then I'll give it a try,thanks both,any more ideas welcome.

 

[karlkuehn]

If you don't want to go to the trouble of casting it, you might try bondo tinted with any flavor of PR pigments, or even epoxy with mica pearl added. I'm assuming you're going to turn the thing down eventually for your scratcher handle, so anything you use, as long as you cram it down into the holes as well as you can is going to at least give you something to work from, maybe using CA to fill the air holes and such caused by not using pressure to cast it.

I'd probably turn it down close to the final shape and see what you're actually up against, and then just start filling with whatever suits you.

 

[pssherman]

Another thing you might try is a wood repair putty. Put some into a worm hole and cram it in using a pin punch or a large nail with ints end filed flat. Keep putting more in and cramming until all the holes are filled. You may have to wrap the wood with tape or something so that it doesn't keep coming out of the same hole. Tape will allow the air to escape but hold back the putty. I've never used the putty but I have filled deep holes with other material using this method.

Hope this helps.

Paul in AR

 

[Rifleman1776]

Why bother? Walnut is common, cheap and available. Get a good hunk and make your item from new wood.

 

[Blind_Squirrel]

Send it out for professional stabilazition.

 

[guts]

Frank,I could do that but this piece came from a friends homeplace up north,he cut the tree about 35 years ago so it has a little story about it,that's why I'm trying to save it,besides that he gives me LOTS of free wood,has a small sawmill operation[8D]

 

[alamocdc]

Bill, I have lots of ideas, but they aren't always good ones.[}][]

That said, how 'bout this one? Depends on what you are using it for, but on ocassion I'll turn the piece down to approximate size then mix up some Marine Epoxy (but any long setting epoxy would do). Then I'll add coffee grounds, or sawdust from a contrasting wood to the epoxy to make what almost appears to be a putty. When everything is mixed to the consistency I want (and one I can work into the voids easily), I use a small plastic modellers spatula to work the epoxy mixture into the worm holes, knots, etc. Sometimes I have to use a toothpick to get the epoxy into the smaller holes, but this technique has served me well. When dry, finish the turning and sand. Fill any voids that remain (and they should be quite small if you did it right) with thick CA (or more epoxy) and let set up. Then sand again and finish as usual.

 

[guts]

Billy,it's almost turned to the size I need it to be for a back scratcher,the top of it,the rest of the wood is in pretty good shape but I need this part for it to work and I can't turn it down much further without loosing it,hope this makes sense.

 

[splinter99]

Hey Buddy, Just throwing out ideas.. The worst part is from where your holding it up to the end of your second bead. What if you parted off that part and replaced it with some ebony or African blackwood, Then fill the shallower worm holes with coffee grounds and ca, or just pour a little black pr into the holes etc, just a thought.

Good luck

 

[Jarheaded]

Can you just cut it up and turn it into a segmented backscratcher? You are still using the wood and the sentimental value would still be there.

 

[alamocdc]

Bill if it's close to the desired size just use the method I stated above. The epoxy is strong and you shouldn't have a problem. Or you can pack the voids with dry grounds and soak with CA. I've done that too with good results. The epoxy might give you a stronger section though.

 

[guts]

Thanks for all the great ideas,I really appreciate the help,I'm gonna give the epoxy a try if that don't work I'll try splinters idea,thanks again.