Looking for some advice

[Jim Taylor]

Hi Guys,

I am making a drop down desk (small laptop computer thing).

I made some thick veneer of a bit of crotched walnut. Was planning to laminate it to a portion of the same board the crotch came from. So I moved down the board and have choped out and resawn an additional section of the board. For the fun of it I put the board together in a bookmatch fashion.

Ends up that I like this as much as the veneer crotch. However, and here is the problem. The board has a flaw and is split along the grain (see below). This split is about 3 inches long, I knew it was there but figured that I would laminate over it... Do you think i could use this panel as is? Is there any suggestions regarding handling the material.

I was wondering if there would be recomendations regarding finish, if I was to keep the flaw. Originally, my plan was Danish oil and wax. Now I am wondering about using poly instead, so that the crack can be filled.

Any suggestions?

[David Wilson]

Never done it myself but I have seen splits like this filled with auto body filler like bondo. After sanding it looks pretty good.
Just an idea.

[Chris Padilla]

Beautiful pieces, Jim!

The split doesn't look too wide so you much try the CA (cyanoacrelate, super glue) glue and sanding trick to fill it in. Basically, dribble some of this glue into the split and start sanding right away to make a slurry that should seal up the split. You might practise on some scrap, first.

Next trick is to try some epoxy and mix in some sawdust and force it into the splits. Experiment with mixing epoxy and different flavors of sawdust. You might be surprise to find out that maple sawdust and epoxy yields a chocolate colored epoxy. Pine sawdust yields a more yellow/blonde colored epoxy. I haven't tried mixing walnut sawdust so not sure what that might be but I bet it is very dark...almost black.

[Jim Taylor]

Thanks Guys,

Bondo.. never heard that one before, interesting.

I have heard the super glue trick - never crossed my mind though, looks like I will get a chance to try it!

Much appreciated.

Jim

[Ted Shrader]

Jim -

When I saw your post the immediate thought was epoxy. Gotta go with Chris's option #2.

Mask the area adjacent to the crack so the patch only goes exactly where you want it. It doesn't matter if the patch dries a little proud. Just sand/scrape to level. If you need to work the epoxy down in a little farther, use some compresed air (or a straw and lung power) to blow it in to the crack.

Ted

[Greg Heppeard]

I've used bondo on things I plan on painting, but never on anything that had a clear finish or stained. I wonder how it stains up???

[Jamie Buxton]

Jim ---
Sometimes I'm willing to leave "defects" in furniture. That's the way Mom Nature made this tree. However, a crack in a writing surface isn't good.
For small cracks, I make a filler with sanding dust from that wood and brushing lacquer. It can color-match pretty well. However, it doesn't work well for long cracks. The surface texture is different from solid wood. Worse, it is difficult to get into long thin cracks, so there is some tendency to sand through it while you're finishing.
For longer splits like this, I tend to go with epoxy or polyester resin. (Polyester is less expensive, but epoxy is a little easier to find in small quantities.) While liquid, it flows deeply into the crack, gluing it together as well as filling it. The resin is transparent. I color it with pigments sold to color resins. (I get my epoxy at a marine supply place, and I don't remember where I got the little vials of color. A plastic-supply place? Auto-parts place? A vial of black and one of brown pretty much are all you need.) I don't try to completely match the plastic color to the wood color; nothing you can do will make the crack completely disappear. However, if you get kinda close, the resin just looks like a mineral streak or something like that.
I build a little dam with masking tape around the crack and pour the resin in. Keep watching it. The resin will sink into the crack, and you may have to add a little bit more. The resin takes sanding just like wood, and you can use any wood finish over it.

(One other poster mentions Bondo. In my experience, Bondo and other auto-body fillers are colored -- pink or green or the like. They'd work physically, but the color would be difficult to deal with.)

[Tim Sproul]

I'd use a very thick cut of shellac. 3# cut or so. If it builds up too much, just wipe the board down with alcohol - it will thin the surface shellac and the shellac in those "cracks" will remain. Shellac is also compatible with most other finishes - oil or water based.

The danish oil will be ok without filling...but the wax will build up inside the crack and leave a very obvious opaque "filling." It is a good idea to fill the crack if you want to apply wax.