Treating Cracks and Small Holes in Woodturnings - Pt 1

[@georgewoodoftexas3509]

The best solution I have found for punky-spalted wood it to soak it in shellack, here's how. Mix up a plastic squeeze bottle with a 50/50 mix of shellack and alcohol, the alcohol thins the solution so it will penetrate into the wood. While you are working in your shop, pass by and squirt the mixture on the punky wood spot. The first coats of shellack will go into the wood like water on a dry sponge. Every time you pass by the wood give it another squirt of shellack. Coats should be 30 minutes are longer before the next coat. keep adding coats of shellack until the solution no longer soaks into the wood but pools on top over the whole area of the punky wood. This will usually take between 6 and 12 coats of shellack. Once the shellack is dry go back to turning and your punky wood will be hard and will not show signs it was ever punky. The advantage of this method is it does not require any special equipment and the shellack is compatible with any final finish you choose. Good Luck.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Great tip! Thanks for sharing. I have a stool seat blank I can use this on.

[@timofeyzhukov-khovanskiy9173]

Hmm, so a real thin cut of shellac

[@georgewoodoftexas3509]

@@timofeyzhukov-khovanskiy9173 Yes

[@timofeyzhukov-khovanskiy9173]

@@georgewoodoftexas3509 neat, I'm gonna test out making some with grain alcohol instead of denatured, gonna make a little tear out batch along with friction polish

[@JamesCouch777]

What is the advantage of using the thinned shellac over using CA?

[@hi_wifi_guy]

This is a great video, especially for new turners like myself. Thanks very much for posting!

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bassinbob1965]

That funeral urn is absolutely gorgeous Mike !

[@doylepugmire5180]

I have used about every method known to man such as epoxy, wood glue and wood dust, super glue, every type of filler such as glitter, stains, wood dust etc. that I could think of. I like a more “natural look” instead of artificial colors and wood shavings. I sometimes use colored super glue on “very fine” cracks. What I have gone to is a 50/50 mix of wood glue and very finely ground coffee grounds. It gives an enhanced more natural look to the crack. I use this on large to very large cracks. I clean out the crack, mix up my concoction and force it down into the crack using a sharp point and pressure. I let it set over night and on large cracks usually have to fill in again as it will shrink. If you have a crack that goes all the way though to the inside of the turning just use tape on the inside to create a dam. When re-turbing use a very sharp tool and go lightly. I have had very good results and comments from customers and it has a nice natural look.

[@benmeyer731]

Thank you for the commentary on how you decide if you fix or not, as well as how you might fix the piece. I have fixed small cracks in pens with CA glue but then I was already going to use CA as my finish on the pen. Have also used shavings/dust from a small bowel to fix cracks in the bowel , and then sanded as you do before I turn the bowel to its finished state.

[@fenfrk]

Helpful information and examples, thank you. Your aesthetic is good. I enjoy the knotholes etc., and I think most people do.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Glad it was helpful!

[@andyc9460]

Thanks for the tips Mike, learnt something new on the repair of wood which is always useful.

[@bludolfin705]

Another two options are miliput or epoxy. 👍🏻 As always very good explanation 🙏

[@matthewharvey8755]

Just what I needed to watch. I was attempting to turn a 12 inch end grain cherry bowl 7 inches deep that was a bit green. It was 100 degrees in the shop so I had to stop for a while to let the lathe cool down. When I came back it had so many cracks I started to doubt the turn... I decided to keep turning and had just started to hollow when it threw off the lathe. I took that as a sign to stop :) it's sitting on my coffee table now and I want to go continue turning, but know that it will end up being a shallow 6 inch by the time I get the cracks out :(

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

You have to periodically tighten the chuck when turning green wood as it is drying and shrinking as you turn, including the tenon. Putting a plastic bag over it if you have to step away is also a good plan. You can not just walk away from a green blank on the lathe as you discovered. Also a 7" deep 12" bowl is too large for standard jaws.

[@matthewharvey8755]

@@MikePeaceWoodturning thanks for the tips Mike! I threw it back on today and cut it in half. I noticed my jaws coming lose and had to tighten them up about 20 times before I got it cut through. If I hadn't used my tailstock it would of instantly been thrown off.

[@doylepugmire5180]

Mike try wood glue and finely ground coffee grounds. Looks good, is strong and people like it. I use a 50/50 mix of wood glue and grounds.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Thanks for sharing, Doyle.

[@carolriley569]

Good tips!

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Thanks, Carol.

[@dougrobins8291]

When I use CA (Starbond EM02) to fill a crack, I've found that the CA dust created during sanding cannot all be removed. Before a final CA coating, I use a lacquer oil based sanding sealer on the surface, and this wets the white CA dust, rendering it transparent. Then the final sanding and finishing coatings never show the white CA dust. Other varnishes, like shellac or wipe on poly might also work, but I've never had to try them.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Thanks for sharing!

[@jarrodderr]

I just bought a 3x3x12 Purple Heart turning blank covered in wax. I cut it down to 3 3x3x4 pieces to make “loose screw cups” for my teammates (Biomed for dialysis company) anyway, I began to hollow and notice cracks big enough to see light through. Is that a bad blank or just a normal part of a wood turner’s life?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

I am not sure what to say. Cracks are part of a woodturners life, but I have had very few cracks with with exotics so I would say it was a bad blank.

[@csle1962]

Cool!

[@mushroommcfarmer1766]

I'm new to wood turning and woodworking overall, and I have been having the most frustrating, self-defeating experiences with cracks and splits in my work. All of my wood stock is in log form still and is stuff that was cut down anywhere from 6 months to 1 month ago. I have shagbark hickory, Asian pear, crabapple, and redbud wood and I've gotten some (what I consider) very nice pieces I've made. The problem is that virtually every piece I've made ends up splitting/cracking. I'm not as experienced yet with the finishing end of turning but have used lemon oil, Howard's feed and wax, oil based polyurethane, boiled linseed oil, and have seen varying degrees of cracking. The wax and lemon oil seems to hold out best, but I don't want every piece to be oiled or waxed. I recently started using a poly/boiled linseed/mineral spirits blend, but that doesn't seem to prevent splitting either. I really need to figure this out so I can start trying to bring an income in, it's getting downright scary. Any suggestions?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

If you do not know how to turn but are planning to bring in an income from woodturning, that is scary. You might want to watch this kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5ibm313Z5uVn9k Many pieces crack because there is already a crack that gets overlooked. Lots of reasons for cracking. Uneven wall thickness or too thick a base all contribute. Best of luck.

[@jefflynch3946]

What do you cut the carpenter’s glue with?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

I guess you could add some water. I don't usually cut carpenters glue.

[@elizabethswindler6099]

Really silly question. I’m new to wood working. What is CA?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Cyanoacrylate that you may know as superglue. Thanks for the reminder to explain acronyms and not assume everyone knows them.

[@bradpaulson7852]

Where can I get a "shirt" or jacket like you wear? I get tired of wood chips and dust down my shirt.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

AAW at woodturner.org