Need help!!!

[Keel McDonald]

Ok, I've run into a bit of a dilemma. I was asked to turn a 1" dowell from solid oak for a friend to use as a handle for a project he is building. Simple enough, right? Wrong. The dowell turned out great, but I had a good bit of chip out, anywhere from very small chip out to one place where it is maybe 1/8" deep and 1/4" long. Is there a way to repair the damage? Can I simply fill in the chip out with wood filler and sand it? What would you do? The piece will be stained a dark mahogany color, so filler will probably never be noticed. Any advice is much appreciated.

[John Hart]

Hey Keel...I've always used the mother-wood as my filler and some kind of adhesive. Usually, the adhesive prevents good stain penetration so I generally stain my filler in advance. What I would do in this case is take some of the oak....beltsand it.....capture the dust.....stain it.....mix it with epoxy or yellow glue.....lay it into the chipout....let it cure completely....sand it smooth.

[John Miliunas]

Mainly, what John said, but don't be surprised if you still see tone differences between repaired areas and the rest of it. :o :cool:

[Richard Gillespie]

Nothing beats a failed first try like a re-do. Sorry, but from what you describe, the end product won't be acceptable. I know that's probably not what you want to hear right now.

If I was working on it, I'd go get another piece of Oak and make a new piece.

Sorry!

Rick

[Andy Hoyt]

I'm with Richard on this one. And then use your scary sharp skew and extremely light cuts.

[Keel McDonald]

I've heard of others having this same problem with Oak. Have any of you experienced the same thing? Or is it just that I need sharper tools?

[John Miliunas]

Keel, sharper tools will always help on any wood but, particularly on woods like Oak, as it's a very "thready" wood. You really want to slice the threads clean or otherwise they have a tendency to follow the tool and then break off. :) :cool:

[Richard Gillespie]

Keel;

Sharper tools and light pressure on the skew to finish the diameter.

[Keel McDonald]

Thanks John & Richard!

[Keith Burns]

Just a thought...you can buy 1" oak dowels and add any coves, beads etc. May save you some headaches.

[Keel McDonald]

I've thought of that, but hate to admit defeat. If I can't get it to work out, however, I'll be doing just that. It just seems like such a simple thing to do.


Just a thought...you can buy 1" oak dowels and add any coves, beads etc. May save you some headaches.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Keel, I would do like Andy said. I made some 1" oak dowels and turned them down to about 1/8" larger than I needed. I then took a sharp skew chisel and took it the rest of the way with very light cuts. Take it slow. They turned out pretty decent. The biggest thing I found was on oak don't get in a hurry and take light cuts.

[Joe Melton]

Perhaps you could cut out the bad part of the rod, glue in a piece of a different wood, turn it round and then tell him you customized it for him, no additional charge. In pen turning, we call that an "oops band."
Joe