Dealing with lumber checks and voids?

[jeff...]

Some times I'll go ahead and use a piece of wood that may have a small check (crack) in the wood. Checking usually occurs around figure, like crotch feathers, burl, knots and on the endrgain.

DaveO showed me a cool way to fix this for good. Flood thin CA glue into the defect, thin CA wicks into the smallest areas of the crack and shoot it with accelerator that takes care of any structural deficiencies. Next as your sanding the board you'll notice the crack fills up with dust, capitalize on this with more thin CA and accelerator. continue with dust, thin CA and accelerator, till the void is full and flush with the surrounding wood. This works great and with a clear finish it blends right in because it's really wood fiber from the surrounding wood thus is about as close of a color match to the surrounding wood as as your going to get. For larger voids, after securing in with thin CA, switch to Medium or thick CA as they have more bridging characteristics, thick more than medium and medium more than thin.

Before DaveO showed me the CA thing, I used to use clear epoxy, it seemed to work OK but the CA thing is much easier and faster.

I've heard of others using coffee grounds and CA so I'm wondering what others do to remedy defect in wood.

Thanks

 

[lwhughes149]

Please explain ca glue?

 

[WoodWrangler]

Please explain ca glue?

\

a.k.a. superglue

 

[sapwood]

DaveO showed me a cool way to fix this for good. Flood thin CA glue into the defect, thin CA wicks into the smallest areas of the crack and shoot it with accelerator that takes care of any structural deficiencies. Next as your sanding the board you'll notice the crack fills up with dust, capitalize on this with more thin CA and accelerator. continue with dust, thin CA and accelerator, till the void is full and flush with the surrounding wood. . . .

Thanks for sharing the process Jeff :icon_thum
Please explain "shoot it with accelerator".
I don't know what "accelerator" is :eusa_doh:

Roger

 

[Tarhead]

Roger it's that thing by your right foot when you drive...you know "stomp mash it":lol:
In this context it's a catalyst (usually sprayed) that speeds up the curing process for CA.

 

[sapwood]

OK, here is what I've found so far.

CA is inhibited from setting by being slightly acid. Anything that reduces that acidity a bit will cause the CA to set up. Water reduces the acidity by dilution. The CA usually sets by interacting with the materials it is bonding. The material or its residual moisture reduces the acidity of the CA and it sets. This is why CA won't set on foam by itself, nothing to reduce its acidity. Baking soda, either as a dusting of powder or as a solution, will reduced the acidity and the CA sets up. Commercial accelerators are something more complex to be persistant but they do the same thing. I use baking soda solution myself.


And a link to Zip-Kicker.
Thanks folks, I'm learning :eusa_pray

Roger

 

[jeff...]

I use Acetone myself, only because I like to live dangerously and see the CA glue flash and sometimes spark, then of course there is the sound of snap crackle pop as it sets up. Way Fun :icon_thum

Here's a link, bought from Wooden Wonders a few times - great glue...

http://woodenwonderstx.com/WWBlue/NewGlueWS.html

Thanks

 

[jeff...]

OBTW - thin CA is also great for tightening up loose wooden joints like chair legs, thin CA wicks into the tightest areas, shoot with accelerator and snap crackle pop - no more loose legs.

 

[FredP]

Roger it's that thing by your right foot when you drive...you know "stomp mash it":lol:

roger doesnt have an accelerator! he has an on off switch! :-D at least thats what i been told. :roll: :rolf:

 

[sapwood]

roger doesnt have an accelerator! he has an on off switch! :-D at least thats what i been told. :roll: :rolf:

Darn Fred, your close . . . push button controlled, but I never know which one to push

Roger

 

[FredP]

Darn Fred, your close . . . push button controlled, but I never know which one to push

Roger

I used to know but i forgot!:roll:

 

[cskipper]

Lorraine, in case you didn't follow all that - CA (a shortened version of its chemical name) glue is a super-type glue which turners use (some more than others). I'm sure lots of other folks use it as well. It is one of those products that also very willingly sticks to almost anything - especially your skin (generates heat too). There is also a product is sold as an accelerant that eliminates the sparks and sound effects. The only disadvantage with using an accelerant - it only speeds up the "drying" of the CA it touches. So if some glue has wicked up into a crack, you are essentially sealing in the wet glue. It's also suggested that when possible, apply your finish over the wood before using the glue so that it is less likely to leave a tell tale discoloration.