Split in "basket" carved from a burl

[Doug Hobkirk]

This wood sculpture has cracked (before I got it). In the past year, the crack has not healed itself - go figure! Is there any realistic hope?

The humidity in the house is low - forced hot air, New England
I cannot manually push the gap closed - almost no movement
I do have some good clamps but I don't think any of my vises (3 woodworking, 2 metal) open wide enough to fit this inside

I assume I know this would be impracticable, but I am always learning how much I don't know...

My ideas would be:

Squeeze pretty hard, drill 2 or 3 countersunk holes tangentially so the screws draw the split together as much as seems reasonable, then fill the remaining gap with epoxy that has some black dye added - but I doubt the split would draw closed much, and the "spur" going up the side of the handle would be problematic - then I thought...
Maybe I could saw the basket on the opposite side, sort of extending the split and then glue it back with Titebond.

Cut on my table saw, using some sort of jig to keep the cut straight
I would expect it would not line up very well, and I'd need to customize the fit some (sandpaper? plane?)


(I always try to display how little I know!)

PS - I have seen these bowls sell on eBay for around $35
352738 352739 352740 352741 352743

Thanks, as always.

[Wayne Lomman]

Apply pressure and it will probably cracked elsewhere. Fill the gap with something like metal powder in epoxy. Make a feature of it. Cheers

[Mike Henderson]

I don't think that's a burl. It looks like it's made from a log and the pith is in the center. Like all logs, the outside shrinks quite a bit and you get a crack. I really doubt if you can repair that except to fill it with something.

Mike

[Mark Gibney]

Like the others have said, you'll break your heart if you try to close the crack. I would fill it with epoxy.

I have also wondered about softening a wooden wedge in boiling water / steam and then pushing it into a crack like this. If you try something like this I'd like to hear how it goes.

[Kevin Jenness]

You might stitch it together with copper wire (dovetail keys, staples, zip ties, dental floss). Or fill it with tinted epoxy. Or put a bird on it. Or leave it alone. It won't go away, so make it a feature or burn it.

[Frederick Skelly]

I agree with the earlier posters - I think clamping is going to damage it further. If it were me, I'd leave it as is. It's still a pretty piece even damaged. But if the crack bothers you, fill it with dyed epoxy.

Good luck Doug!
Fred

[jared herbert]

clean the splinters out of the crack and then lace it together with some copper wire. I have done that several times, it is very attractive and the laced pieces will always sell before the ones that aren't. Jared

[Doug Hobkirk]

Thanks all.


clean the splinters out of the crack and then lace it together with some copper wire. I have done that several times, it is very attractive and the laced pieces will always sell before the ones that aren't. Jared

Jared - Interesting idea. Any pictures?

[jared herbert]

352891 Well it took me a while to find it but I finally got my picture of one of the plates I laced with copper wire. I think the holes are 1/16 in diameter and it takes some planning to get the right number of holes so that the wire knot ends up on the back side. The copper wire is quite flexible and very easy to work with. I also had used my wood burner to put maple leaves around the rim. I was real happy with the way it turned out. I have a few items at a small gallery and this one sold right away. Hope you can figure out what I was talking about lacing your piece. Jared