What to do with worm holes

[Richard Madden]

I cut down a dead hickory tree in our yard and this wood is full of worm holes. I'm turning a piece and wondering what would you do with all the holes and tunnels? Most are filled with dust or poop or whatever, some are open. Would you bother with picking all of them clean or leave it like it is? I thought about filling some with coffee grounds and/ or turquoise inlay. What are your thoughts? The piece on the lathe is a hollowform...not a bowl.

[Michael James]

what piece, what lathe?
Seriously, If I had a tree full of that stuff, I'd experiment like crazy. Try all the stuff you mentioned, and any reasonable suggestions given here.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Richard,

I've picked the holes clean and filled them with epoxy. I've filled them with instant coffee crystals and epoxy. I have cleaned them out and just left them.

Try it all.

[Allen Neighbors]

Ditto what the others have said. That stuff is called Frass. Sometimes it's easy to pick out, and sometimes it isn't... What drives me into fits, is when I make my decision, and get them filled with turquoise, just about when I get them sanded down to surface, I uncover another tunnel... So, on most of those that I turn, some of them are filled with something, and some of them are just empty tunnels and holes. Some pieces, I just leave as they are when I get the piece finished.
It's up to you... whatever you choose, take pics.... :D

[Bernie Weishapl]

I leave them as they are. I just turn, sand and apply finish. I like the character they give to the piece.

[John Beaver]

When I leave the dust in the hole I like to put a few drops of CA on to stabilize it before sanding.

[James Roberts]

Your wood, your choice. There are a lot of things you can do and with a whole dead tree on hand, now is a good time to try different things to see how you like them. The few wormy pieces I've done I left the holes in them, just picked out the sawdust and "poop" and finished them.

[Dennis Ford]

I think it depends on how many holes there are and how big they are. If there are a few small holes, I fill them with something contrasting. If there are lots of holes, I turn the piece thin and clean them out. For big holes, it can go either way. Leaving the frass just does not look right to me.