Can I Save This Cracked Bowl?

[Eric Jacobson]

Help!

My wife got me an amazing piece of Camphor for my birthday. The wood has spectacular figure. Its got this great 3D looking stuff all over it. I was rough turning it and a small piece chipped off near the rim. Before I knew it, about a 2 inch crack formed. I tried to arrest it with CA glue but I was too late. Then for some reason I thought if I boiled it, it would dry out quicker and someone prevent the crack from expanding. Instead it got worse.

So is this rough turned bowl destined to be expensive firewood or can I somehow patch the crack and save it? There really wouldn't be much wood left if I turned away the crack.

What a bummer. I want to cry.

[Tom Hamilton]

Eric, my teacher calls that a design opportunity.

My experience is fill the void with sawdust, coffee grounds, crushed stone or other stuff of your choice, mixed with CA glue. As you get close to the surface (both inside and out) decide if you want contrast or blending. The last layer will then be a contrasting material or sanding dust from the piece.

Good luck and please post pics of the final piece.

Best regards,

Tom, in Douglasville, with lots of filled pieces in the gallery.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Eric,

If the crack is big...wide....length doesn't really matter, I have had really good luck filling them with 5 minute epoxy. I let them setup overnight and then turn.

I mix crushed instant coffee crystals with the epoxy to give it a dark color and accentuate the repair rather than trying to hide it.

The epoxy has worked well for me even on wind shake pieces of hardwood. We treasure hardwood in my neck of the woods due to its scarcity.

Good luck.

[Ted Calver]

Eric...please show us a picture so we can offer the best solution.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Eric, There are a number of things you can do depending on how you want to approach it. Some folks fil,l some incorporate the crack into the design by cutting a design. I have used a crack in design by using wood burning and I'm sure there are others. Like Ted asked, pictures would be very helpful in helping you.:)

[David E Keller]

Ditto the photo request. If you don't want to fill it or don't think it's feasible, you could certainly carve the crack and make a feature of it. The bowl won't be practical, but it might still be beautiful.

[Frank Van Atta]

Can't tell without a photo . . .

[Eric Jacobson]

Sorry, I meant to add the photos from the OP. The crack goes all the way through (I can see through it). It's about two inches long. I believe it has closed up a bit since Sunday but seems to have stopped closing. And so far, given the choices, I would probably try to blend it.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Eric, the challenge is not saving it, but saving the appearance. Certainly not too big to fill, but making it look good will be the tough part. I'll be curious to see what folks suggest.

I've used coffee grounds and sanding dust, but the crack will certainly be visible.

[Steve Vaughan]

Hey, how about sawing the crack out maybe a quarter to half an inch (go a bit deeper than what crack you can see to be sure and get it all) and glue into place a nice contrasting piece of wood and re-turn it? Or maybe saw that crack out, and do the other side of the bowl (as the grain goes) the same so that you sort of build a design into it? You don't have to tell anyone that once upon a time there was this crack...

[Ted Calver]

Eric..Tom and Ken gave good advise for this kind of crack. I would put blue painters masking tape on the inside and outside of the bowl to act as a dam and then fill the crack from the top with thin CA glue...which will soak in , follow immediately by packing with finely ground coffee dust and a little more thin CA topped off by medium CA glue and more fine coffee grounds. As you finish turn if you expose more void in the crack, just repeat the proceedure. Be careful with the CA because it can bleed into the surrounding wood and cause an unnatural stain.

[David E Keller]

It's definitely repairable. IMHO, accentuate it rather than trying to hide it... I've never seen someone hide a crack successfully, but with accents, they often look great. A metallic filler might looks cool with the camphor(powdered metal and epoxy). I hope you'll post the finished piece.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Shoot Eric I would either mix some sanding dust or some coffee grounds with epoxy and fill the crack using a small wire or screwdriver to make sure it gets deep into the crack. If the wood is green I would leave it to dry coating the whole bowl with anchorseal. I would let the epoxy set for 24 hrs and then look to see if it held or the crack got worse.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Or maybe saw that crack out, and do the other side of the bowl (as the grain goes) the same so that you sort of build a design into it? You don't have to tell anyone that once upon a time there was this crack...

I believe the proper term for that is Segmented Turning!:) I'll have to remember this trick.

[Barry Elder]

Perhaps you could finish the bowl, fill the crack, drill holes on either side, and lace it up with rawhide, brass, copper, or aluminum wire for a different effect.

[James Combs]

I have seen cracks like that filled with high contrast filler like bright blue, red, green etc. glitter mixed with epoxy. Another mix might be brass fillings. Anything contrasty would be eye catching.

[Tim Rinehart]

Yet another option is to integrate a carved edge, perhaps leaves or ?? that would allow complete removal of the crack, without losing overall depth of bowl.

[Eric Jacobson]

I don't get the coffee grind thing. I've seen that advice before on this forum. Can someone explain that a bit and post a picture of a finished piece with this effect? Do you really need instant coffee grinds? And are you supposed to grind coffee in a coffee grinder on the finest setting? Is the coffee any different from sawdust? And finally, I've tried to make my own wood filler before, with epoxy and sawdust. It always looks awful, Maybe I don't understand how to mix the dust with the epoxy. Do you just stir them up in a container first?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Eric,

We are talking 3 different techniques.

I prefer to use instant coffee crystals. I crush them between two spoons, mix them with the resin and then add the hardener and fill the crack.

Some people prefer to take dry coffee grounds, fill the hole and then use CA glue.

Some people prefer to mix coffee grounds(not crushed crystals) with epoxy and fill the hole/crack. If you use this method, you might want to use a piece of wire to "pack" the epoxy/coffee mixture to insure a full and complete fill of the crack.

The coffee grounds will act as a "filler" and fill with less epoxy.

I use instant coffee crystals, crushed, just to color the epoxy.

Different techniques for different folks and I'm not convinced any one of them has a real advantage. JMHO.

Find a method with which you are comfortable and use it.

I mix my epoxy in some small clear plastic cups my wife buys at Walmart. I mix the resin with the coffee crystals...then add an equal amount of hardener, stir it and fill the crack.

That was an excellent suggestion about using blue tape on the outside of he bowl and filling the crack from the inside. That is the method I typically use.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Another suggestion on dealing with "punkiness".


Do a search in the Turners Forum with epoxy cocktail as the search words or check John Hart's threads looking for that term.

John and others have successfully thinned epoxy with DNA (denatured alcohol) and used the "epoxy cocktail" to stabilize and harden punky wood. After it sets, they are able to successfully turn and finish it.

This tidbit was just for future reference.

[James Combs]

I don't get the coffee grind thing. I've seen that advice before on this forum. Can someone explain that a bit and post a picture of a finished piece with this effect? Do you really need instant coffee grinds? And are you supposed to grind coffee in a coffee grinder on the finest setting? Is the coffee any different from sawdust? And finally, I've tried to make my own wood filler before, with epoxy and sawdust. It always looks awful, Maybe I don't understand how to mix the dust with the epoxy. Do you just stir them up in a container first?

I am sure someone will correct me if I am out in left field but I believe the reason that most of us coffee grounds or coffee crystals is because of the color. What you said about unsuccessful attempts at using epoxy and sawdust and it looking "awful" is probably the reason we use a darker contrasting color "saw dust" (coffee grounds) not to mention the fact that they are free. I dumped one coffee filter full of used grounds on a cookie sheet and dried it in the oven and it made enough for months of filler.

When used on lighter wood it just looks like mineral or spalting in the wood.
Look at this vase. The dark spots are damaged areas filled with coffee grounds but they look like a natural defect.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=167063&d=1289620131

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I am sure someone will correct me if I am out in left field but I believe the reason that most of us coffee grounds or coffee crystals is because of the color. What you said about unsuccessful attempts at using epoxy and sawdust and it looking "awful" is probably the reason we use a darker contrasting color "saw dust" (coffee grounds) not to mention the fact that they are free. I dumped one coffee filter full of used grounds on a cookie sheet and dried it in the oven and it made enough for months of filler.

When used on lighter wood it just looks like mineral or spalting in the wood.
Look at this vase. The dark spots are damaged areas filled with coffee grounds but they look like a natural defect.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=167063&d=1289620131

Bingo!

Here's crushed instant coffee crystals in epoxy on the bottom of my very first NE which was some cherry sent to me from South Carolina.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=42152&d=1152139362


This was wind shake....or ring shake.... the dark line.......

The only reason I used crushed instant coffee crystals is 28 years ago my wife brought a jar of Folgers instant coffee into the house and I have finally found a good use for them. They aren't in the house anymore. Their residence is in my shop.:D

[David E Keller]

I don't get the coffee grind thing. I've seen that advice before on this forum. Can someone explain that a bit and post a picture of a finished piece with this effect? Do you really need instant coffee grinds? And are you supposed to grind coffee in a coffee grinder on the finest setting? Is the coffee any different from sawdust? And finally, I've tried to make my own wood filler before, with epoxy and sawdust. It always looks awful, Maybe I don't understand how to mix the dust with the epoxy. Do you just stir them up in a container first?

I agree that sawdust looks bad when you're using the dust from the wood you're filling. I keep a bag of African blackwood shavings that I collect from turning pens, stoppers, and finials... It makes a great contrast for lighter woods. I'll see if I can find a photo of a piece that I've done with AB dust and epoxy... Here is one: www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=149016

When I've used coffee, I mix the coffee in the epoxy resin and let it set for a minute or two then I blend in the hardener. That's worked for me, but I prefer the color from blackwood dust.

[Eric Jacobson]

David, Ken, James, thanks for the pictures. Yes, I'm sold and I think I'll try it. However, I do think my little crack is a bit worse to make look natural. The cracks in all your pictures appear to follow the grain, while mine does not. Maybe I'm just making an excuse so you don't compare my final project to yours.

Thanks for the coffee explanations to. That makes more sense.

[Wally Dickerman]

I've turned quite a lot of comphor, most of it dark red. Coffee grounds and CA glue work well with the color and the bowl won't suffer because of the crack. Turning the crack away probably wouldn't work because cracks usually extend beyond what is visable.

I use coffee grounds because it has a more natural look than wood dust. I use used grounds. If the crack is wide enough I pour grounds on it and just rub them in. Add thin CA then more grounds. poke it in with something with a sharp point.

A question for possible future referance. Did you remove the bowl from the water before it cooled? Removing it too soon can cause the wood to crack. The inside remains hot while the outside is cooling in the air.

Wally

[Pete Wade]

I've had this happen a few times myself. My solution was similar to everyone elses suggestions. Let the rough bowl dry completely. Re-turn to round, then fill the crack with two part epoxy mixed with some alternating color sawdust (walnut, cherry, etc.). Let dry then finish turn.
Second solution was to again, let dry, re-turn bowl to round again, then sketch an organic shape around the crack. The key is to make it look like you wanted the effect. Cut this shape out on your bandsaw, or by hand. Then cut and shape a piece to fit in the space. Again, an alternating colored wood looks best. Glue in place, let dry then finish turn the bowl.
Always looks great!
Good luck!