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Spalted big leaf maple burl hollow form

S

Scott Bradley

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Feb 21, 2010
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African blackwood finial is threaded into the collar.
 

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Looks like it all came together and is working, Scott......

I have seen some spalting exactly like that near the base, and if yours was the same, some of it must have been pretty mushy and soft.

ooc
 
Yes, I roughed it in and a friend stabilized it for me. It was much like cork until then. Not too bad afterward though.
 
Thanks, it is actually made as a keepsake urn. The only soft spot is the area at the bottom but it was much firmer after stabilization. I actually threaded the finial into the blackwood collar, so chasing the threads was no problem at all. Fits just like a nut and bolt.
 
I don't know much about it but he has the Hold Fast setup and used a vacuum bag. I guess I expected it to harden like the stabilized pen blanks that I've purchased but it didn't go that hard. Before doing it, I could easily make a thumbnail dent in the rotted area. After I baked it, there was still a waxy feel to it and I baked it again and let it sit for a couple days before doing any turning on it. The rotten area was considerably firmer but not hard like the surrounding wood. Definitely did not have that hard,acrylic feel of a pen blank but it did firm up enough to work with it.
 
I have used Minwax Wood Hardener on soft wood areas, but it has the opposite problem of being too hard in some cases. The advantage it has though is it can be brushed onto the wood and then allowed to air dry before final turning.
 
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