Can i save this

[bedangerous]

So I was working with a piece of spalted olive wood and when I started sanding at 180 grit a piece of the spalted soft wood opened to expose the brass tube (see pic).

Is there a way to save this or should I just work down to the tube and start over?

Thanks,
Mitch

 

[southernclay]

Oh yeah! Design opportunity. Fill with sawdust and thin ca. CA and coffee, crushed stone etc. Lots of great choices.

 

[Charlie_W]

This can be a design opportunity for you! You can fill the hole with another material and CA. I would also use some thin CA on the whole blank to stiffen it up before doing anything else.

 

[stonepecker]

Plus 1 on what Charlie said. Go for contrast. Darker would me my take on it.

 

[Tim'sTurnings]

I'd go the easy way out and just turn the wood off and start over. It may end up not looking good anyway and cost you a lot of time and effort.
Tim.

 

[plantman]

I hate to throw away wood. I would fill in with a contrasting material of a darker color. Metalic powers with thin CA. Put the powder in the hole first, pat it down, and add the CA next to it so it wicks into the powder instead of floating the powder out of the hole and all over the pen. Do not use accelerator!!!!!!, it will bubble and turn white !!! Cover the intire blank with CA to help with any other soft spots. You can always turn the blank down to the tube if you don't like how it looks when finished. Only thing lost is a little time, but you will have gained some knowledge along the way. Here is a Cypress blank I was working on when the knot came apart. I filled it with metalic powder and saved the blank. Jim S

 

[WriteON]

OK...The arena says save it. It's a good time to be creative (and learn to repair.)
Fix it and show us what ya got. Good luck...you can do it.

 

[bedangerous]

How would you use coffee. What type and how to grind it. That color should contrast well.

 

[southernclay]

I believe any coffee works. I use whatever we have brewed and let it dry completely. Put coffee in the hole and drip thin ca over it and let it soak in. May have to do the process a time or two to fill it smooth. I've seen it posted that espresso powder works well by Jim Burr too. I think it is a finer grind.

The pen in my avatar had the same thing happen, cherry burl, I was thrilled with the result. And like posted above its another experience and tool in the belt.

Glad you asked, show it off when done!

 

[eliasbboy]

Just an fyi here. I have a collection of shavings I keep in old prescription bottles. I have them labeled for which kinds of wood they came from. Whenever I get a void or spot that requires filling I can select from any of them.

Just an idea for future use.

 

[BSea]

One thing I'd do is take a dremmal & give the hole some design. As it is right now, I think it would look like a spot on the blank. Try to make it look more like some worm holes or a void with irregular edges.

 

[sbwertz]

That's not a flaw...it's a feature! If you like stone, turquoise would look good. You can go to your local hardware store and ask them to empty the bin on the key machine for you. Lovely brass filings. Embossing powder from the craft store comes in many colors. You might take the dremel and dig out a little groove along the side of the spalted area to fill with the same material, so there is not just a big round spot on the pen. Also, as suggested, shape it a little more irregularly, and maybe add a couple of smaller holes adjacent to the big one. Use your imagination and it might turn out to be one of your best pens!

Sort of like this