Dealing with tearout???

[Jim VanBramer]

I'm in the process of making a keepsake box for a local auction, and I've run into a problem. The wood is figured/spalted maple, and while I was planing it to thickness a number of spots ended up tearing out. Since I only have access to the wood at hand I'm in a bit of a tight spot because if at all possible I need to be able to use these pieces. What I was wondering is if I could put BLO on the entire surface to pop the grain, and then fill in those spots with CA glue or something ... applying my varnish (or whatever will work) after that. Any ideas on how I might be able to pull this off?? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Jim V

[lou sansone]

sorry to hear about your problems. I have in the past had similar ones. I have not been very sucessful in doing what you are considering. Is there any way to re-thickness them with a sanding type of technology or hand scraping ?
lou

[Alan Turner]

If you are a hand plane buff, you may be able to hand plane out the tearout. Just a thought. YOu will need the right smoother, of course.

[John Lucas]

Jim,
I dont think BLO and then CA is the right way. You could use CA and then scrape carefully. You could also just scrape. If you are getting tearout, it will probably be from a cetain direction. I would scrape and carefully find the direction that is safe. I have used CA glue in this manner but since you will not remove all of it, you will have to follow with a finish that will cover it...any WB or spirit coating, but not an oil. You can try an oil but I think it will blotch at the CA points.

[Steve Cox]

If it's local maple (quilted big leaf) you're out of luck when it comes to planing IMHO. I've used it a fair amount and have wound up sanding to thickness each time. I'm fairly adept with a scraper and handplane but in this case abrasion is the way to go. As far as your current problem goes, thinner wood is probably the answer. If the tearout is not too deep make the boards thinner and use them. I don't think filling is going to work.

[Dan Forman]

Is making the boards thinner an option? Hand planing or sanding would probably be the safest way. If all else fails, and you are a gambling man, often if you dampen the board with water and let it sit for a couple of minutes, you can run it through the planer again without tearout. If you have room to skew it through the planer, that will help too. Apply the water liberally with a sponge or rag and give it time to soak in and soften the fibers. If you have a fresh set of blades, that would be all the better. Good luck.

Dan

[Philip Glover]

Jim,

When the grain is tricky I start with a smoother plane then go to a scraper as needed to finish up. If that does not quite work, I take the wood to someone with a wide belt sander - if it's a big piece.
I have carefully filled in knots with epoxy and then scraped and applied finished. This has worked surprisingly well. Try it on some scrap first.

Regards,
Phil