Filling wormholes (clearly)

[David Ragan]

Hi guys,

Pls observe the spalted maple wife is making into handheld mirror.

The below is 3/4", her final preferred thickness is coming in around 7/16"......

What would be the best to fill the holes with something clear, that will be hard, can be worked, and put poly on the entire thing?

Maybe just not fill holes? Coat them thoroughly with the poly (I think her preferred finish)?

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I have this: its about 5 years old, have never used it.


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Also, of course, have all the BORG 2 part epoxys, and plenty of them.....

What you all think?

As always, thanks!

[Mel Fulks]

Maybe make and apply a small fanciful boring bug about same diameter as the holes. Perhaps even put a small drill on its face tipped with a diamond (or cubic zirconia if it is not able to afford a diamond). I've heard there are such things on other planets! This new medicine really brings out my creativity!!!

[David Hawxhurst]

clear 2 part epoxy or table top epoxy, but not from the borg, unless the have system 3 or west systems, seen them at some hobby/craft stores. to fill holes that large with some thing clear and not get air bubbles will take multi pours. recommended pour thicknesses are usually not more that ~1/8 at a time to avoid air bubbles. if you with table top epoxy be sure and read the max thickness (depth) that can be achieved, some only allow up to 1/2" or so. some have no limit to final thickness. for the first coat i would try and get it all around the hole to act as a sealer. this will help prevent air bubbles later.

[Barry McFadden]

If the wood is solid and not punky I would just leave it alone...I love the look the holes give the piece.....I have made a few hand mirrors myself and would love to have the opportunity to do one with wood like that...

[Andrew Helman]

David,

This post ended up longer than I expected, but here you go. I have used West System Epoxy for this purpose. Here are a few thoughts, in no particular order and with the "I'm no expert and this is just what worked for me" disclaimer:

I used West's105/207 resin/hardener because it has no color and does not form anime blush between coats. The West 205 and 206 are slightly amber and may blush. The amber may be irrelevant, depending on your varnish (compare a darker phenolic/tung like Waterlox, with a lighter alkyd/soya like P&L 38).

Pour it 1/4 thick in coats, maybe even less, as David suggests. It creates an exothermic reaction when curing that creates heat and expansion.

To minimize air bubbles, you have a few options. Pour when the wood is cooling in the evening to reduce bbubbles from off gas sing of the wood. Run a heat gun on the wood first, but not too much. You could run a torch over the surface of the poured epoxy to release tension just after pouring, or mist the poured epoxy with DNA (West suggests a White Rain pump hair spray bottle for this purpose). You could do all of these techniques in conjunction with one another, but not the torch and DNA.

Pour your epoxy slightly proud of the wood surface and scrape it flush once dry. I used the blade from a block plane with a heat gun to soften the epoxy. A card scraper or razor would work too. Wear a respirator and gloves; some people have allergic reactions to overexposure.

Place tape (blue tape is fine) on the back side of anywhere a hole goes all the way through so the epoxy isn't wasted dripping out. You could also wax surfaces that could be subject of overpour to ease clean up. I didn't use wax and tried blue tape for overpour; it was only marginally useful because the wood soaked it in from the side (I think).

I had some soft areas from spalting that I hardened with Minwax wood stabilizer and/or CA glue of varying viscosities (Mohawk brand). They, like the clear epoxy, are indistinguishable under varnish. I did this before varnish, but it was especially a parent where it was needed after the first coat of varnish, so I topped those areas with CA glue at that time and sanded flush, as needed.

I have never used Crystalac and do not know if it would do what you want here.

Best of luck.
Andrew

[Andrew Helman]

Two more things. First, beatiful piece of wood. Second, you can make forms with tape. I had success with that. Could be useful for you here.

[David Ragan]

Maybe make and apply a small fanciful boring bug about same diameter as the holes. Perhaps even put a small drill on its face tipped with a diamond (or cubic zirconia if it is not able to afford a diamond). I've heard there are such things on other planets! This new medicine really brings out my creativity!!!

Mel, we do have some fun here, don't we?

Two more things. First, beatiful piece of wood. Second, you can make forms with tape. I had success with that. Could be useful for you here.

If the wood is solid and not punky I would just leave it alone...I love the look the holes give the piece.....I have made a few hand mirrors myself and would love to have the opportunity to do one with wood like that...

Am running a test piece now where I just CA the bug holes instead of blasting out the debris. Put poly over it. No apparent problem. For now.

clear 2 part epoxy or table top epoxy, but not from the borg, unless the have system 3 or west systems, seen them at some hobby/craft stores. to fill holes that large with some thing clear and not get air bubbles will take multi pours. recommended pour thicknesses are usually not more that ~1/8 at a time to avoid air bubbles. if you with table top epoxy be sure and read the max thickness (depth) that can be achieved, some only allow up to 1/2" or so. some have no limit to final thickness. for the first coat i would try and get it all around the hole to act as a sealer. this will help prevent air bubbles later.

David,

This post ended up longer than I expected, but here you go. I have used West System Epoxy for this purpose. Here are a few thoughts, in no particular order and with the "I'm no expert and this is just what worked for me" disclaimer:

I used West's105/207 resin/hardener because it has no color and does not form anime blush between coats. The West 205 and 206 are slightly amber and may blush. The amber may be irrelevant, depending on your varnish (compare a darker phenolic/tung like Waterlox, with a lighter alkyd/soya like P&L 38).

Pour it 1/4 thick in coats, maybe even less, as David suggests. It creates an exothermic reaction when curing that creates heat and expansion.

To minimize air bubbles, you have a few options. Pour when the wood is cooling in the evening to reduce bbubbles from off gas sing of the wood. Run a heat gun on the wood first, but not too much. You could run a torch over the surface of the poured epoxy to release tension just after pouring, or mist the poured epoxy with DNA (West suggests a White Rain pump hair spray bottle for this purpose). You could do all of these techniques in conjunction with one another, but not the torch and DNA.

Pour your epoxy slightly proud of the wood surface and scrape it flush once dry. I used the blade from a block plane with a heat gun to soften the epoxy. A card scraper or razor would work too. Wear a respirator and gloves; some people have allergic reactions to overexposure.

Place tape (blue tape is fine) on the back side of anywhere a hole goes all the way through so the epoxy isn't wasted dripping out. You could also wax surfaces that could be subject of overpour to ease clean up. I didn't use wax and tried blue tape for overpour; it was only marginally useful because the wood soaked it in from the side (I think).

I had some soft areas from spalting that I hardened with Minwax wood stabilizer and/or CA glue of varying viscosities (Mohawk brand). They, like the clear epoxy, are indistinguishable under varnish. I did this before varnish, but it was especially a parent where it was needed after the first coat of varnish, so I topped those areas with CA glue at that time and sanded flush, as needed.

I have never used Crystalac and do not know if it would do what you want here.

Best of luck.
Andrew

The Crystalac dried milky. and shrunk a lot. Probably cause it so old. Not sure really. didn't think it would be hard enough-total failure though.

Went and watche YouTube video on West 105/207.......the 207 is the extra clear hardener. Seems like what we need.

From what you all say, it is scrapable or planable; maybe ill call them @ West.

I'm just the Technical Advisor for her-she renders final say on what happens. Sound familiar?

[Mel Fulks]

David, sorry to get so carried away with the superfluous ...but I do think the bug is a good idea. Faberge and many others have made real and fanciful bugs a feature in fine things. Those hand glasses seem to be often ornamented in some way on the back and left face down on the dressing tables when not being used ,so a three dimension ornament would work fine. I don't see anything decorative in exotic putty.

[Andrew Helman]

The 105/207 is absolutely scrapable and planable. Done myself with both tools. I definitely think a few practice runs are worth trying if it is your first time. The practice is to pour without air bubbles, either large or small. You want the ambient air temp around 70. What worked best for me was to mix the epoxy, which invariably introduces air bubbles, and then to pour it into a paper bowl with a flat surface and gently torch it to remove air bubbles before pouring. Then I would torch the top once poured and sometimes spray with DNA. You'll also want to play around with tape to make forms for your edges, if needed. I actually had good luck creating an edge in a couple of spots where the spalting went far but I didn't want the edge of my piece to be too narrow.

Successive coats on a thick pour will not be visible as such when looking through from the top. From the side, if an edge is visible where you can see the build, you may see lines for.the differentry layers. I doubt that'd be an issue with your piece of wood but thought you might want to know.