Filling some holes in offering plates I am working on . I find System Three T-88 and West Systems G/Flex. Are there any dynamics that would make one better than the other? So far the largest hole in pecan is about 3/4 inch.
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Flexible epoxy
- Thread starter Gerald Lawrence
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I don't think that this is something that would be a problem. Generally in flat woodworking it's only a problem if you have a cross grain glue up that is several inches long..
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
Wood movement is still a problem with epoxy, but it depends on how you use it. To fill holes or even fairly large gaps, not a problem. Putting a rim on a 12" platter and it will have a problem eventually. When filling voids of say 1 or 2 inches there simply isn't enough wood movement in most woods to cause a problem. When you start getting up to the 10" and bigger range then you get into 1/8" seasonally on some woods but that of course depends on where it's stored and how much humidity changes in the area stored over the year. When I do decorative rings out of epoxy or Inlace I try to undercut the slot so the epoxy is kind of captured. In my tests what usually happens is one side comes loose and then over several years that loose area gets larger and larger. I had a 12" platter that I left an epoxy ring on the outer boarder. I cut a rabbit and then cut a slot in the inner side of the rabbit. Filled with epoxy and then turned away all the wood to leave the epoxy proud on both sides. It still filled the horizontal slot so I had a mechanical groove for the epoxy to bind to as well as the outer surface. It took about 3 years for it to show a gap. The gap would git bigger every year working it's way around until I could pull the ring completely off.
I've used quite a bit of G/Flex with results that are still good after 3-4 years.
I've used polyester resin instead of epoxy with pretty good results. This 12" bowl has a crushed stone filled poly resin ring, and it looks the same today as it did when this picture was made, over 10 years ago. On the other hand, I'm living in a dry high altitude area with average humidity in my home running 20-25%.
If I had to fill many 3/4" holes, I'd turn a slightly tapered plug of wood and set that in epoxy to fill the big holes.
I’ve got a couple of large end grain platers, Manitoba maple, with holes 4” across.
They were filled with Art Resin and finish turned.
No issues after 2 years.
They were filled with Art Resin and finish turned.
No issues after 2 years.