Repair Bowl Cracks

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

JL

>CA works for me. If it is a deep crack, get some of the thinner CA and let it flow into the crack. Hit it with some accelerator and wait a bit. Wide cracks - expoxy or something with some "body".

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

ruth in SO. CAl

>I have just spent my lunch hour sanding down some crack repairs. I used a CA type glue and dust. But it took a long time to sand down as I didn't want to use power and oversand the surrounding area. I was thinking that the long time turners would have some better way of doing this.

It would be nice not to have to get changed and rechanged and head back to work covered in dust!

r

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

Fog Tanner

>depends on the wood and whether it is cosmetic. For mesquite I use ground coffee and either CA (cosmetic) or epoxy. For areas where I feel there is some amount of stress I use epoxy with a filler - like the ground coffee or any other suitable filler. When epoxy is used for gap filling, it is strongest when you have a binding agent. CA is its strongest when you have a perfect joint, but it is brittle no matter what. And the acceleraator makes the glue joint weaker, three seconds isn't really that long for a better bond. It can be used to glue a filler togther (i.e. coffee), but by itself is very poor in gaps - even the so called gap filling. That is nothing more than CA with a thickening agent - would rather use my own. If you use epoxy, it will set in a few hours but takes seven (7) days to cure or reach full strength. I do not think about turning it for at least 48 hours, long if I can.

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

Fog Tanner

>Ruth, you might try filling the cracks and than make one last pass with the tool. In my spindle work, I fill the cracks and then finish cut with a skew. Same with bowls, except I use a gouge to clean the surface before any sanding. In the softer woods, it is easy to sand the wood away before the glue leaving a high spot. The only problem is with some spalted wood where the wood is very soft, you can sometimes pull the glue/filler out of the wood :-) ...

Several ways....

tdaniel

>If there is only one crack you might want to lace it with rawhide or copper wire. If there are several cracks around the piece you might try enlarging the cracks slightly and then fill with a mix of 2 part epoxy with a little brass filings stirred into it (brass filings can be bought or you can try the ones from a key cutting machine at the hardware store); or you can go to the old reliable....soot and sawdust followed by thin CA. Some woods look good with ground malachite or similar mineral.

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

Jim King-Iquitos-Peru

>As we dont have epoxys and all the things available that you have in the States we use fiberglass resin mixed to a paste with sanding dust for large cracks. It is blue when you mix it but dries the color of the dust. Works great.

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

Ruth i So. Cal

>Thanks Fog, I will try it the next time around. I have spent more time sanding this bowl than I did turning it, and more than I have ever spent on anything I have ever worked on. It's a gift for a very dear friend and because I wanted it to be 'perfect' I think I have made a meal out of something that looked great to start with and didn't need any tweeking...which meant more tweeking...and more tweeking!

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

John Lucas

>Ruth

I use a cabinet scraper to get the glue down close and then switch to sandpaper. You can get it flush if your careful and then start with 220. Really speeds up the glue removeal but you do have to be careful. Some glues are hard and the craper wants to slip over it and nick the bowl.

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

Ruth i So. Cal

>Thanks John! I'm off to go buy myself a craper ..... :)

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

John Lucas

>Ruth

Buy 2. The curved ones work well on the inside. The flat ones work better on the outside.

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

Ric Taylor

>The porcelain ones last a long time. :)

Re: Several ways....

Dick Hines

>Terry's idea with brass key fileings works good. Ijust bought a coffee bean grinder the turn the key fileings to a dust. Tred it last night and it turned the brass into dust. Have not tried the dust in a crack yet but it shuld pack in the cracks better.

Grinder came from Sears. $9.95 + tax

Re: Repair Bowl Cracks

John Lucas

>Ric

I've never seen a porcelain cabinet scraper. Where do you get them? John