Crack repair

[Jim Tobias]

I'm mostly a "flat worker" but occasionally turn a piece for accent or if I need something to be round.
I turned this piece of Osage Orange for a box top and after a day or so , I noticed this crack. Don't know if it was a split or catch when I was turning(don't remember any catch events when I was turning it). Anyway, I was wondering if there is a "Best Practices" for trying to repair this or is it just done and cannot be fixed?? I thought this was the place to go for feedback on this.
Thanks,
Jim
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[John Keeton]

Jim, you are likely to get a variety of answers, most all of which will be viable solutions. Before you decide on a path, I would wait for the piece to stabilize to make sure it doesn't crack further. Any repair is going to show, so I tend to go for a dark fill, such as tinted epoxy for smaller cracks like this.

[David Gilbert]

The crack appears to me to be a drying crack or check. This could be from excess heat when you sanded or just from the wood drying. I doubt it was from a catch since that would be larger and probably more memorable. I see these at times in my bowls and I use CA glue to fix them. However, I'm not always successful in the repair.

I'm not sure how you intend to finish your box top and my method requires that you start with some kind of Danish Oil. If you use CA glue on unfinished wood then the CA will fill and stain the area around the crack and it will not look good when you do finish the top. I use Minwax Antique Oil (MAO) for most of my finishing so this is what works for me. I start by painting some of my MAO around and over the crack on both sides. I let it soak in for a minute or so and then wipe off the excess. Then I add a bit of thin CA to the crack and try to close it up. Carefully add the CA because if it runs to an area that isn't treated with the MAO, it will show later. The CA won't react with the MAO but will seal up the crack. I let it set for a while to be sure that the crack is sealed. Sometimes I do a second CA treatment to assure that the crack is filled. Then I would sand over the area lightly and add MAO to finish the rest of the top.

Good luck,
David

[John Keeton]

You can also tape the inside to hold or dam the epoxy or CA applied from the outside.

[Jim Tobias]

Thanks John and David,

John - I will definitely use the "Dam" idea so it won't come through the other side. I will probably also use a medium viscosity CA glue.

David - I typically use Watco Danish Oil and then follow with a couple of coats of shellac then buff back to desired gloss/finish. Do you think the process you described will be any different with Watco vs Minwax Antique Oil? I have used MAO before and like it fine but do not have any on hand at the moment. I am assuming that the oil (either one) would prevent the CA from spreading/penetrating on the surface? Does the oil first cause any issues with the CA holding the crack together?

Thanks for the advice,
Jim

[charlie knighton]

you may not want to fix cracks, sometimes when I want a piece to look like from 500 BC, I will cut the log crossgrain with the chainsaw, then use a wedge and maul to split the wood into blanks. next I will use a compass to draw a circle as wide as I want the form, sometimes I will incorporate the edge of the blank that has been split into the piece. usually there will be large and small cracks on this edge, then I shape the outside of the form......I did this in Zig Zag. the cracks were not large and were not dangerous.

I have turned, carved, pyroed my next Calabash Zia.......ordered some paint to shoot, hopefully some time next week

[David Gilbert]

Jim,

I think that Watco will work just fine. The way the CA works is that it bonds directly with the wood and not the oil so it can effectively glue the crack back together. It's my opinion that the oil does prevent the CA from going into the surface (or at least minimizes it). If the wood can be moved back together then the CA can "almost" make the crack disappear. If the crack is open, using a thicker CA is probably a good solution.

Cheers,
David

[Thomas Canfield]

I find that you can often spray a light coat of shellac or lacquer in the crack area before applying CA or epoxy to seal the area. The CA does not penetrate the seal area but does wick into the crack. You can pack the crack with dust prior to applying the CA to avoid having the plastic look. When you do finish sanding of the crack with 400 grit or whatever, you sand off the sealing material as you level the patch. Applying an oil finish or other penetrating finish then works well with the crack patch.

[William Bachtel]

All dense woods dry slowly, hence Osage almost never dries, or is slow in doing so. Then we come along and heat up the bowl with high speed sanding and then it cracks, also Osage cracks easy. I wood fill the crack with a colored India ink, and thick CA. I sand Osage on slow speed and a drill.

[Jamie Donaldson]

It really isn't possible to "heal" a crack with any material, but they can be "disguised" with several of the above methods. But it would be best to let this Osage stabilize for a period to see what it wants to do, as some cracks get larger and some smaller. .

[Jim Tobias]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I am waiting patiently to see if it gets bigger or not. About a week???
If I attempt to use CA glue and glue it together, I can't imagine that I will be able to make it anything less than obvious. I may try to come up with a way to "use the crack' as part of the design (as suggested by Charlie). I've had my fair share of practice learning to cover up mistakes.
If I try to glue it, how would you try to pull the sides together(round shape)?

Jim

[charlie knighton]

you cannot pull the piece together, if the crack is small, use sandpaper to rub up some dust , apply ca , then use sandpaper again, should move the sandpaper at right angles of the crack

if large crack,, fill crack with something....dust, copper, rock, whatever, apply ca, then use sandpaper at right angles again

ca will mar the surface as has been noted before, take precautions

[Lloyd Butler]

If you were not looking to have the bowl hold a liquid, you could apply a "patch" to the crack.

Maybe drill a some lace holes part way through the bowl and carve the grommet's and then glue in a wire or thread to "lace" the crack shut.

Or carve a wooden butterfly to help hold the crack together.

[Jim Tobias]

OK, recent development....while I was deciding which avenue to go down to either repair or use the crack as an accent......the crack has closed up so tightly that I had to use the micro focus to get a picture(below).
Sooooooooo, should I still try and repair/or use the crack as an accent or can I just leave it alone?? My thought is that it is less obvious now than any repair would be. Will it likely spread back out at a later date??
It is/has been in my shop for the entire time and the humidity/temp in there is controlled so maybe ? it is now settled??

Thanks for all input,
Jim

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[charlie knighton]

I do not see it now.....maybe use one of those pointie things......there will always be someone who finds and lets you know....those are the same as run there finger around the inside, why they check the bottom and for what I can not tell you....I can tell you they are not buyers