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Small crack - ideas needed

Peter Vines

Peter Vines

Joined
Dec 22, 2019
Messages
26
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Location
Earlysville, VA
I’ve made a cherry handle for a meat tenderizer and it’s developed a crack, prior to applying any finish. I’d appreciate any and all creative ideas on how to proceed.

It’s a gift, and so far I’ve pondered drastically shrinking the knob to below the crack but worry the appealing shape will be lost. Or enlarge the crack and fill with glue and turning dust. Or just apply a poly finish, gift it, and promise the new owner a replacement if it breaks.

knob.jpg
 
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Ron Solfest said:
I’d recommend just turning another one. Pretty sure that crack goes deeper than you think. Did you force the insert in to cause it ?
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Glenn Lefley said:
I’d turn another. That crack is much deeper than it looks. And being a meat tenderizer you will be pounding with it until it breaks!
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I agree with Ron and Glenn......I'd turn another one, too. :D

Now, I've given away bowls with small cracks and flaws......but, never as an intended gift. No matter what you do, it will always show up as a flaw.

If I wanted to do a repair, I'd use an epoxy fill. It might come out a little less prominent, but I doubt you can make that one disappear. :(

edit: The thought occurred to me that you could cut off half a ball shape off the end of that, and laminate another contrasting piece of wood to replace it. It could end up looking intended, and pleasing......depends on your own creativity. ;)

-----odie-----
 
odie said:
I agree with Ron and Glenn......I'd turn another one, too. :D

Now, I've given away bowls with small cracks and flaws......but, never as an intended gift. No matter what you do, it will always show up as a flaw.

If I wanted to do a repair, I'd use an epoxy fill. It might come out a little less prominent, but I doubt you can make that one disappear. :(

-----odie-----
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I’ll probably do both, attempt a repair and gift with a flaw, and make a new one. I’ve never finished with CA so get to try something new.
And the gift is for son-n-law, so can have an asterisk.
 
Gary Beasley said:
Wick thin CA into the crack, then finish the whole thing with CA. There shouldnt be enough stress on it to break it after that.
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That is the best solution it you are going to try to finish it. The crack was likely there before you started because it is such a clean break. I am guessing that the blank was cut near the end of a turning square that had an end check. The best way to detect that is to cut off a short slice from the end and see if it easily breaks then continue to cut off slices until you get one that does not break easily.
 
@Peter Vines - Unless you have no wood, I would turn another

I find that for me turning another Is quicker than fiddling with the crack.

you can’t hide it so you must make the crack a feature.

some carving with a vee gouge following the crack then
1. use that as one side of a triangle. Paint the grooves black.
Maybe a couple of semi concentric triangles.
2 use the groove as the center of a leaf Paint the grooves green
3. Any of a thousand other designs - look at some Pueblo pottery designs
 
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Peter Vines said:
so far I’ve pondered
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You may want to delete the duplicate thread in the techniques section.

Unless you have no wood, I would turn another
I find that for me turning another Is quicker than fiddling with the crack.

you can’t hide it so make the crack a feature.

some carving with a vee gouge following the crack then
1. use that as one side of a triangle. Paint the grooves black.
Maybe a couple of semi concentric triangles.
2 use the groove as the center of a leaf Paint the grooves green
3. Any of a thousand other designs - look at some Pueblo pottery designs or one of Hosulak designs suggested above.
 
The darker color around the crack says to me that it was in there before you started turning. You will most likely not be able to turn it out. You may be able to turn it down through the crack and then glue another piece of wood onto it, probably a contrasting color, and then finish turn. You can 'practice' crack repair. For me, I would drizzle some thin CA glue into it and then put some thicker glue on top of that so it wicks down inside and fills the crack. The thin stuff doesn't do that. Since it is end grain, the glue will stain any part that it touches, which is why the suggestion was given about using the CA glue finish. I would turn another one. I do like the shape...

robo hippy
 
I like the one side of a triangle idea, maybe follow the crack with a japanese saw and make the other two cuts to the same depth, fill with black epoxy and finish.
 
Gary Beasley said:
Its not hard to do, enough material on the web covering that. Do you have any micromesh to polish with?
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I tried the crack fill and finish with CA. It still looks like a cracked piece of work and not truly giftable, but I must say the CA finish is sooooooooooo smooth! I’m very glad I’ve now worked with a CA finish. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Wood grows on trees. Just make another from a sound blank.

It's a good item to practice your skew work and finishing on -- I'd go so far as to suggest making 8 or 10 of them and pick the best as the gift. I find repeating a form to be an excellent way to practice. I seem to forget how to do things like make nice symmetric beads when I don't do it for a week or two; doing 20-30 in pieces of firewood brings it right back.
 
Roger, couldn't agree more. I've heard folks say, "I don't want to turn the same thing twice" and that's ok, for them. I find my overall turning skills improve by turning multiples. On this run of banister spindles, the first and the last were fun... I'm still learning and enjoying everyday in the shop. If I had to come up with a name for this pic it would be, "I'd rather be bowl turning".

I'd rather be bowl turning.jpeg

As to the OP, practice piece, and you learned about a ca finish, a win all around...
 
I did small spindles for a furniture restoration guy, who has since passed. I would always make a couple extra so I could select the best ones. Usually the first one was kind of rough since I am not a spindle turner...

robo hippy
 
I like it when someone says they dont turn the same thing twice but they have turn 50 or 100.bowls. ok granted they may not be identical but still a bowl is a bowl. I dont do a lot of duplicates although many of my mirrors and ornaments are similar.
 
Filling the crack still looked like a cracked piece, so I simply turned the handle smaller until the crack was removed. If it reappears then I’ll make another one.A91E4379-AA8E-4F5C-A5C3-1B2670368B8D.jpeg
 
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