Epoxy Squeeze Out

[Dave Fritz]

My wife and I are making a wig stand for our granddaughter who has alopecia. The base and top are attached using two part epoxy. As you can see there's some squeeze out. The finish is oil based poly. How would you go about removing the squeeze out? Thank you for your help.

 

[john lucas]

very carefully with a sharp chisel. Sometimes if you are lucky it will pop off. If not carve it off as best you can and then lightly sand that area. I don't trust epoxy by itself. I always have a tenon going into the other surface.

 

[Jim Reynolds]

I'd start with a very sharp knife and magnifiers. Starting from an end of the squeeze out, I'd make short cuts top and bottom (riding the bevel of the knife on the surface of the wood) and see of if that would free a chunk of epoxy. If the knife can't cut even a short section of the epoxy then I'd move up to a narrow chisel with a very acute bevel angle. (I'm more likely to have the chisel slip than the knife.)

Good luck!

 

[Steve Bonny]

Just to throw out an alternate idea, mask off and airbrush brown paint or stain on the epoxy blending into the wood.

 

[Dave Fritz]

I should have mentioned it does have a tenon on each end. I also ran a #10 2 inch screw up through the bottom into the spindle. https://www.penturners.org/attachments/wig_stand_instructions_jan2019-pdf.382657/ I don't know if this will work but a gentleman shared an interesting way to connecting the spindle and the base using a threaded insert and a screw.

 

[Will Armstrong]

It looks like a lovely wig stand Dave. I am sure it will be greatly appreciated. I know you want this to be as special and "perfect" as possible, as I would if I were making it.
If I had made it I would be afraid of trying to remove the glue in fear of possibly marring the surrounding wood and making a more obvious mark. I often use a very fine black artist pen to "camouflage" small deficiencies. The light color of the glue attracts the eye, where a dark line would not. I would use a pen with a 0.1mm nib that can make an extremely tiny dot. I would go in and put a series of tiny dots to cover over. A suggested pen available on Amazon or in art stores: Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.1 mm black.
Good luck.

 

[Tom Gall]

Another option, if you aren't too keen on those already mentioned, is to re-mount on the lathe and turn the glue away. That would be my preferred method in most cases. Mount between centers with a friction / jam chuck, a vacuum chuck if you have one, or if you used a recess for chuck mounting on the base you're good to go. Some minor turning modifications may be necessary if not perfectly centered ... then a little sanding and re-finishing. You don't show a photo of the whole piece so it is harder to make any specific method(s).

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

The best option would be to not use epoxy, just use Titebond and if putting the finish on first mask the tenons & holes then apply the glue to the tenons and the holes then use a wet paper towel to clean up the squeeze out.

 

[John Whitley]

The best option would be to not use epoxy

Epoxy is just fine. Typical clear-ish epoxies mostly clean up easily with isopropyl alcohol. As with any adhesive cleanup, it’s worth checking your product’s guidance and/or test out the method on a sample piece. I mostly use various West System epoxies, and that method works very, very well. I’ll typically plan for a little squeeze out to ensure a solid joint and keep some clean blue shop towels (or strips of same) and a spray bottle with isopropyl at hand. I assemble then quickly clean up. Using longer setup time epoxies, I can even come back after a few minutes to catch any late-breaking epoxy seepage.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Here is another option to disguise. If you have a woodburner use a series of dots around the post and into the base.

One more possible with a Dremel ball bit use that in the same way and then use sharpie to color dots.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Lots of good options. I’d probably try the cover up route with a black pen. Too late on this project, but I use denatured alcohol to wipe off excess epoxy before it sets.

 

[Steve Bonny]

Faber Castelle Pitt pens come in various shades of brown and have archival quality ink. Might work better than sharpies etc.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Lots of good options. I’d probably try the cover up route with a black pen. Too late on this project, but I use denatured alcohol to wipe off excess epoxy before it sets.

I recall reading an excellent article on epoxies a few years ago, might have been Fine Woodworking magazine. And I vaguely recall something about using vinegar to remove epoxy (presumably uncured). I no longer subscribe, so I can't look it up.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

General internet search says Nov 12, 2019. Author is Mya Rae Nelson. But I can't open/read the article.