I've got a void to fill

[Tom Hansen]

Not an existential crisis, an actual void. First time thing for me. I've got some alumalite "amazing clear cast" or I can go buy some 5 min epoxy from the depot. I have a few mica powders I want to try. For a void of this size I was planning on damming the area with hot glue then just pour and sand flush. Does that sound about right? The wood is only about 10-15% moisture content so not super dry and i hear embedding wet wood will cause problems but I'm wondering if it will be an issue for me with this? Any suggestions and ideas welcome.

 

[Tim Connell]

For fills like that, I use bar top epoxy as it's a lot cheaper than the casting epoxies. Many of the 5 minute epoxies don't dry clear, and can be hard to get rid of bubbles with the short open time. The clear cast is fine to use, there are just cheaper alternatives. Don't think moisture is a problem, equilibrium moisture content (EMC) for your area is right in that range you are at.

If possible, it is much easier to turn off excess epoxy then sand. Just sanding can take a while if you have more than just a little extra. Also be aware that sometimes pulling off hot glue can pull and tear wood fibers, another reason I like to turn off excess hot glue and epoxy.

 

[john lucas]

Done it quite a bit. I use west system epoxy with the clear hardener. I have also used casting resins. System 3 clear coat is a bar top.epoxy a d penetrates really well. In fact it will.run all the way through the tiniest crack so your dam has to be really good. I had it actually run through the pores of red oak.

 

[Gary Beasley]

When I was making lots of pens and finishing with CA I would put medium or thick CA in a void before final size turning. After the CA finish was applied and polished you couldnt really tell there was a void as the CA would magnify the wood under it a little and make it all look one level.

 

[Richard Coers]

Alumilite requires bone dry wood. Any moisture in the wood has the chance of foaming the urethane resin.

 

[Rick Crawford]

Why not leave it as a feature?

 

[Gary Beasley]

Alumilite requires bone dry wood. Any moisture in the wood has the chance of foaming the urethane resin.

Thats one point CA has in its favor, it was originally made for use in a wet environment.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I've done a lot of it with 5 min epoxy and mica powder. The better epoxies probably are better for bubbles and better for wood that wet. I typically only do it with a 2 turn bowl after it's dry and I have turned it just about back to round. I want the epoxy proud of the surface, and I'll turn off 1/16-1/8" to the final surface. It will turn down much better than trying to sand it. Sometimes I'll use a card scraper to shave a large bump.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Fill the void with epoxy putty, turn it to the same contour as the adjoining wood then undercut no more then 1/16" and refill with powered mineral such as turquoise and thin CA. The putty takes the most time time to set but it can be molded to rebuild a contour and does not require dams to keep it in place while it sets. The piece must be positioned such that the powdered mineral won't fall off but the CA will set much quicker then epoxy and the fill can be in several quick steps.
The bowls in the picture are mesquite burl and some of the voids as you can see were on the edges.

 

[Glenn Lefley]

Why not leave it as a feature?

Your right, I’d leave as a feature also.

 

[Tom Hansen]

With no way to put it back on the machine to turn the patch and me being resigned to sanding it flush I decided to dig around a bit with a burr and see what happened. I didn't think it would work well but I now believe i was wrong.

 

[Lamar Wright]

IMOHO, I would also leave the inclusion as it is.......... for me, it just adds character to the piece.