Urgent "Honey-Do" request

[Malcolm Wheeler]

Need the advice of fellow Creekers here - how should I solve this problem? We have had a plastic Christmas tree in the family for forty years now, but the tree trunk is starting to age and is cracking. For sentimental reasons we do not wish to throw it out.

The core of the trunk is a hex shaped aluminum rod, and each of the tree branches have a hex shaped male plug with a corresponding female hex base in the trunk (should be clear in the pictures). It is these female plugs that are breaking off. Last year I tried using epoxy putty to make the repair, but it only lasted three weeks.

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I was thinking of using a block of maple or purple heart and drilling a hole in the middle for the aluminum backbone, with six holes around the circumference to receive the branches. I would suitably carve and paint the block much like I did the epoxy putty last year to help hide the repair.

Or perhaps I could use some fiber glass matting with the epoxy putty? Or something else - I dunno which approach is best - hence my query here. Any suggestions?

[Mark Crenshaw]

If I understand the center trunk correctly...

If you have access to a lathe, you could turn a piece that looks like this. Cut it into 6 segments, drill the hole down the center for the trunk with a hole in the collar for a pin. Then set up a jig at the correct angle and drill the holes for the branches.

If you don't have a lathe, you could use a couple of different size hole saws to cut plugs and glue up the parts before drilling.

First thing that popped into my head.

Peace,
Mark