Method for filling cracks and large open grain.

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les-smith

les-smith

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Could someone tell me their method for filling cracks or large open grain when they are finishing such a wood. I know I can have it stabilized or could fill it with some sort of colored powder, which I've done, but I'm mostly interested in what you do when you are using just CA.

I use primarliy Fangar's method. I make a slurry using thin CA and 400 grit paper. My problem is after I do the slurry and I go to sand it smooth I end up with the dreaded white spots, not the cloudy spots, but white spots in the lower areas. Then it seems like they don't want to come out. Do I need to create a think layer of slurry that will sand out smooth, or what? My problem is dealing with woods that have cracks/open grain that is above average in size. Hopefelluy this makes sense. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
 
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If its a large crack I pack it with sawdust from the turning and drop thin CA glue on it. After drying I sand it down smooth. For grain showing I use the slurry method that you described but I make sure that the blank is cleaned first so that fine sanding dust won't be trapped under the slurry. Haven't had the problems that you talked about.
 
Are you using an accelerator?? If you are, that could be the problem.

I wet-sand with CA glue just like shown in the video clip in the library.
 
I use the wet sand or slurry method with CA but I leave the blank a little larger than final size. That way I can sand or turn it down to final size and the fast majority of the small voids are filled in.
 
Originally posted by fiferb
<br />I use the wet sand or slurry method with CA but I leave the blank a little larger than final size. That way I can sand or turn it down to final size and the fast majority of the small voids are filled in.
Click to expand...

How about the slow minority of the small voids?? [}:)][;)]
 
Leave it to Cav to pop up when talking about filling cracks![:0]

Next thing you know he will want to drill it out and fill it with shiney silver crap, then charge you hundreds of dollars! I don't know why but the movie House Guest always comes to mind when I think of Cav.

As folr the white spots, clean the blank well before you start and if you are doing several coats then make sure you are clean between sluries!
 
If it's a small void, not taking up the entire blank, I've used artist charcoal. using a knife scrape the charcoal to get a power on wax paper, after having cleaned the wood with solvent apply a drop of thin CA followed with the charcoal powder. Push the powder down into the void. Let dry and turn off excess.
On open grain wood I use a dremal tool to sand the UNTURNED blank and collect the sawdust. Now making the slurry is supper easy.
David
 
Heres what I do. If it is slightly larger or deeper void like a worm hole or slightly larger, while my blank is still slightly oversized, I sand with 220 grit and get a nice pile of sanding dust. I then fill the larger voids with the sanding dust and put one or more drops of thin CA along side the void, alloeing the sanding dust ro pick up the CA by capilliary action. If I drop the CA directly on the void, it sometimes pushes part of the powder out of the void leaving me with a crater that I have to refill. Once this is dry, I then do the wet slurry with 400 grit sandpaper and CA. AFter the CA has FULLY dried, and without using any accelarator, I then go back to turning/sanding my blank down to final size and finish as normal. Hope this helps.

Rob
 
Hey Rob, I've had a chance to talk with several folks offline about this and they agree with you. I've had more than one person say to do it the way you just described. Looks like I should know how to handle this the next time. I never thought to use the sanding dust to fill the voids. Sometimes you just overlook the obvious. Thanks
 
I do the wet sand/CA method. Turn and do a quick sanding first. Sand with 150 or 220. When the paper loads up with some sawdust, drip some CA on the blank. Keep sanding as the CA sets. Let the CA fully dry and then do a proper sand and finish. The voids in the grain will be filled with CA and sawdust.
 
I usualy use the CA and sanding dust method as well but sometimes I use colored epoxy. I had a box elder blank with voids in the centers of knot areas and the expoxy colored dark brown worked wonderfully. I think I get a little more control with epoxy as well.

Have a great day

Eric
www.picturetrail.com/barrels
 
Les, AVOID the CA accelerator. I had the exact problem a while back and after cleaning away the dreaded white spots I simply used the CA w/o the accelerator and no problems since.

Using really fine sawdust from the same area or color of the crack is an old wood turners trick. They just made a putty out of it whereas we now can use CA and be through in way less time than waiting for the putty to cure out in several years time. [:D]
 
I only use accelerator when I'm glueing the tubes in the blanks.

<u>Question:</u> (Assuming the grain/cracks aren't sufficient enough to warrant using a filler.) If I do the CA/slurry and the grain is still visible when it all dries, do I do the slurry again or just sand it down to the wood and do my applications of CA?
 
I would continue with another application of the filler. To avoid all the extra work, fill the cracks with more than is needed, then using a very sharp tool re-turn it down a bit, and then refinish the blank.
 
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