akuntz
19th June 2013, 08:10 AM
I was given some Caragana pieces that are about 6" in diameter and would like to do some hollow forms but am concerned about splitting. Can you drill out the pith and replug with a different wood or will it still split. If so how much pith has to be drilled out.
thanks in advance
Al
Paul39
19th June 2013, 11:39 AM
It depends. If your pieces are dry and the pith is running long ways through the piece, it probably won't split.
Do some research on drying wood, boiling, steaming, soaking in dish washing liquid, wrapping in newspapers, burying in a box of shavings, etc.
After all of the above, some crack and some don't.
If it is wet and you run the pith sideways through the piece to give you a bullseye on each side, it probably will split. drilling it out might keep it from splitting. You could drill out the pith, rough turn, and dry. Also turn down a couple of plugs of the pith oversize and let them dry.
When everything is dry, make a long taper on the plugs and wrap sandpaper around them to sand the hole in the vessel the same taper, cut off the plugs and glue into the holes, let dry and finish turn.
I don't know Caragana so I can't say what it will do.
Cherry and red oak like to split for me, eastern red cedar usually does not. Some young fresh cut walnut did not split. Some old walnut that had been on the ground for 20 years did.
I would try a piece and see what happens. If it splits, figure what you can do from there. If the split is contained, leave it alone or fill with glue and coffee grounds, or instant coffee, or sanding dust. I save some sanding dust in a pill container when I get a nice pile on the lathe bed. I have walnut, cherry, and light wood dust.
I use carpenters glue, cyanoacrylate, and epoxy.