Dry, punky, spalted maple, but...

[Eric Gourieux]

I purchased this round of wood, fully knowing that it could be punky. Well, it is pretty punky. I've tried every technique and tool that I have in my arsenal. Still, too much tear out. Sanding with 80 grit helped some. Do you think this would be a good time to use the white glue/water soak?

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This is all the same roughout. The color changed when I zoomed in for closer detail..

C and C welcome

[mike ash]

Eric -beautiful piece of wood and great shape going there!! I'd saw you might do the elmer's and water trick. I usually mix up a 50/50 solution and while it is on the lathe, hand turn and with a paint brush, apply coat after coat until it won't take anymore. It looks like even after that, I might see using a filler on some of the voids.

Good luck

[Dan Forman]

I'd try just about anything to salvage that beautiful wood. Bernie has good luck with an epoxy, DNA mixture for spalted wood, I've heard others have similar results with the glue/water soak. hope you have enough wood left to do the cleanup cuts.

Dan

[Michelle Rich]

I would try anything! ( i usually am a fan of shellac to stiffen fibers) that wood is spectacular. hope you save & finish it.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Eric - looks like you have the beginnings of a real winner - so it would be worth the time to do a soak of some type. I have used a clear epoxy diluted with denatured alcohol (DNA) and brushed that into the wood until it would take anymore - but with DNA - you have to work fast!!

Good luck! I look forward to seeing this piece finished!

[Bill Bulloch]

What ever you do, please post the results. I went over to a friends house Sunday and got three four foot long, 18 inch diameter Maple logs and three Poplar about the same size --- all were spalted. I turned a little piece just to see how it turned and it too had to much tear out. I was just going to use it for fire wood, but it there is a chance of saving it I would like to try that, especially on the Maple.

I have use Shellic to stiffen end grain tear out before, but this maybe too dry and punky for that. For those of you that have used the Glue/Water or the Epoxy/DNA mixture for this, at what point do you apply the mixture? Do you apply it when you are at the final sanding phase and sand it smooth or do you leave it a little thick, apply it and turn it down to size before sanding?

[John Shuk]

Minwax wood hardener works well. I haven't gotten it in a while but I bought it at either Home Depot or Lowes.

[Peter Blair]

I too have quite a bit of beautifully spalted maple that I think is destined for the landfill because I waited too long to rough turn it. I'll watch this thread with great interest.
By the way if there is anyone out there who lives in my neck of the woods I would be more than happy to give some (read as much as you want) of it.

[Ted Calver]

Minwax wood hardener works well. I haven't gotten it in a while but I bought it at either Home Depot or Lowes.

I've had good luck with this stuff too.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use the DNA/Epoxy mixture but have used the white glue/water to. I think the key is to get the form down as thin as you can. The last one I did I got it down to about a 1/2" or maybe less to make sure you get a good soak from both sides. Once I have a good soak I let dry for 24 hrs and then take it to the finished thickness.

[Peter Blair]

I've used the MinWax Wood Hardener on other projects but the cost to do a large punky spalted bowl would seem to outweigh the end value of the bowl.

Bernie, why would you suggest the white glue/water over the DNA/Epoxy?

[Jamie Donaldson]

I use a saturation of lacquer thinned with about 5~10% acetone, which is about the same stuff as the Minwax Hardener, and I use the Minwax can for mixing my brew at a fraction of the Minwax cost. I woud be concerned about applying a H2O/glue bath to a thin turned piece, because I've seen pieces crack wide open when the H2O swells only parts of a thin wall turning.

[Bob Coates]

Sometimes I have used an angle grinder with sanding disk when too much tear out followed by other sanding. I'll have to try some of the other suggestions next time.

[robert baccus]

This is foolproof. mix up 3-4 oz. of clear epoxy or polyester resin. thin back with acetone until it drips off a stirring stick. put your bowl and mixture in a black VINYL bag and shake. it will stay liquid for a while. shake it every time you walk by and it will cure overnite. if mixed thin like this it will saturate the fibers but not the air spaces in the wood. after cutting it will feel and look natural. did this for years on boats and bowls.--------old forester

[Mike Cruz]

I wonder if you had a large enough vat, and soaked it in Poly for a couple of days, then let it sit and dry for a couple of weeks... Talk about stiffening up. Then finish with poly and you wouldn't get that 4 coats of soak-in...:rolleyes:

[Bob Bergstrom]

Jamie said "I use a saturation of lacquer thinned with about 5~10% acetone, which is about the same stuff as the Minwax Hardener, and I use the Minwax can for mixing my brew at a fraction of the Minwax cost. I woud be concerned about applying a H2O/glue bath to a thin turned piece, because I've seen pieces crack wide open when the H2O swells only parts of a thin wall turning."
I too use lacquer to stiffen the end grain. In addition I pour a good amount of maple sanding dust into the lacquer before application. Sometime I may darken it with walnut or cherry if necessary. Keep it somewhat thick and brush on. It will help fill some of the tear out. Kinda of like a thinned wood filler. I posted a thread on Abranet Heavy Duty(80 grit) sanding material. It is "rhino tuff" and will sand very aggressively. Any sanding will fill the sand paper or Abranet. if it gets too hot or isn't dry.

[James Combs]

This is a little more complicated to do but it works outstandingly. I have quite a bit of VERY punky spalted maple and to stabilize it I soak it in "Cactus Juice"(trade name) a heat activated polymer wood stabilizer. I augment the soaking with a vacuum process but that would not be absolutely necessary. Rough turn the vessel to just over "tear-out" depth, soak it in the Cactus Juice(without the vacuum I would soak it for an hour or so), place it in an oven at 180-200 degrees for one hour and you have well stabilized rough out, then turn to finish size.

[Dan Kralemann]

This is a little more complicated to do but it works outstandingly. I have quite a bit of VERY punky spalted maple and to stabilize it I soak it in "Cactus Juice"(trade name) a heat activated polymer wood stabilizer. I augment the soaking with a vacuum process but that would not be absolutely necessary. Rough turn the vessel to just over "tear-out" depth, soak it in the Cactus Juice(without the vacuum I would soak it for an hour or so), place it in an oven at 180-200 degrees for one hour and you have well stabilized rough out, then turn to finish size.

James, Can you give a web site address for this, for I cannot find it.

[Don Alexander]

turntex.com is the website you are looking for i think

anyone who has some of this type of punky spalted wood and doesn't want to mess with it can send it to me for disposal :D
i love the stuff

[James Combs]

James, Can you give a web site address for this, for I cannot find it.

Sure, you can find it at Turntex Woodworks (http://www.turntex.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=2132&category_id=144&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=121).

[Eric Gourieux]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. With the epoxy/acetone or DNA mix, are you talking about a 2 part epoxy?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Yes Eric. I just use 5 minute epoxy 2 part.

[Peter Blair]

Where are you Don? I know i can't send it south of the 49th . . . .

[Eric Gourieux]

Thanks, Bernie. Sounds like it may take a good bit of 2 part epoxy.