Red Mallee Burl Help

[Chipman]

I am relatively new to turning and have never worked with red mallee burl before. At the moment I am trying to make a wedding day ring box (50mm od) as a gift and I would appreciate some help/advice.

My question is this:

If I want a smooth finish, what do I use to fill any cracks or void in the wood?

Epoxy?

CA?

How do you do it? Do I mix wood dust with the CA or epoxy?

Thanks in advance.... I will post some pics as I get a bit further advanced with it (nothing to show yet except a rounded blank)

Regards,

Chipman:)

[TTIT]

Depends entirely on the size of the cracks and what look you want to end up with :shrug:
For my part, small or fine cracks just get filled with CA. Bigger cracks I used to fill with brass powder then drown in CA to make the flaws a feature but these days I use ebony dust (aussie ebony of course!) for a more natural look and it is much easier to get the CA to absorb and bond. Using the dust from the same timber works OK but will invariably end up darker once the CA hits it.
I don't bother with epoxies (too much muckin' about) but many here have success with it - I'm sure someone else can help with that side of it.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Tinted epoxy is good for filling wide cracks & large holes, but can be a PITA if you don't get all the bubbles out. (I usually don't. :rolleyes:)

For minor cracks I like to seal 'em with thin CA, as TTiT suggests, then do a wet-sand using DO and allow the slurry to fill any remaining pits. This is assuming I'm using a DO finish, of course. (But I usually do.)

For various reasons I try to avoid CA as much as possible for anything other than fixing fine cracks...

[Chipman]

Thanks ttit and skew,

The cracks are fine ones so it looks like CA. I don't mind them (fixed cracks) being a bit dark as there is a whole range of colours in the red mallee anyway.

.....Can always count on getting good advice around here!:2tsup:

Thanks,

Chipman.

Skew, excuse my ignorance, what is a DO finish? some sort of burnished oil finish with Danish Oil?
(I sometimes do that then leave it for a week or so to go really hard and then put lacquer or polyurethane over the top)

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Skew, excuse my ignorance, what is a DO finish? some sort of burnished oil finish with Danish Oil?
(I sometimes do that then leave it for a week or so to go really hard and then put lacquer or polyurethane over the top)

You've more or less got it. :)

Just Danish Oil, but what I call a "real" DO, one with more Tung Oil and without quite so much PolyU. I recommend Rustin's DO.

I apply the first coat fairly heavily, give it 15 - 30 mins to penetrate and then wet sand. This is why I prefer low PolyU content... it doesn't start to go tacky until after I've wet-sanded. It's then left to dry for a few days as is, without wiping away any excess oil, and then sanded back to wood. This process is repeated until the worst pitting is filled and then finished with DO in the more usual way.

[Evan Pavlidis]

You've more or less got it. :)

Just Danish Oil, but what I call a "real" DO, one with more Tung Oil and without quite so much PolyU. I recommend Rustin's DO.

I apply the first coat fairly heavily, give it 15 - 30 mins to penetrate and then wet sand. This is why I prefer low PolyU content... it doesn't start to go tacky until after I've wet-sanded. It's then left to dry for a few days as is, without wiping away any excess oil, and then sanded back to wood. This process is repeated until the worst pitting is filled and then finished with DO in the more usual way.


Thanks for the tip Skew. I'm currently working on a Eucalypt burl bowl (brown stuff) and will try your method; very soft this kind of burl from Tassie and it's very easy to get heaps of tearout if tools are not very sharp.

Cheers,
Evan :)

[rsser]

FWIW, I don't wet sand with DO as I don't want slurry in the voids; otherwise, just do as Skew does. +1 to Rustins.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

FWIW, I don't wet sand with DO as I don't want slurry in the voids; otherwise, just do as Skew does. +1 to Rustins.

The method I've described is for when I do want slurry in the voids. It's the whole purpose of the method. :)

Otherwise I just go for the normal method of application. :;