Thread: Vic Ash Splinters after sanding

Yeah, and it's a PITA.

At work I often came across that when making Vic Ash window/door frames - at customer's request - but they were usually to be primed - also at customer's request - so I could get away with either gluing down or prying out and filling. Still a PITA though.

I suspect that you're right about the cause. Tas Oak (the real McCoy, not the generic builder's term) is the same tree/timber but doesn't seem to suffer the same problem. Then again, the tree does grow much faster in Vic than in Tas.

At home, when I suffer the same problem I usually carefully spot glue them back down with drops of CA, being very, very careful not to get squeeze-out or any CA on visible pieces. (It penetrates slightly and makes finishing a nightmare.) The CA is just to hold them flat in position, not to fill the cracks.

Then I'll put dabs of whatever finish I'm using (generally an oil) over each crack, ensuring that it seeps into - and fills - the cracks. Wait a week or three to thoroughly dry, then put it through the sander again, removing only a bare minimum. Pretty much just enough that it removes just the surface finish; I don't want to expose new 'splinters' after all!

Once I'm happy, I finish as per usual.

Done well, it looks like a minor flaw in the grain and most people just don't see 'em. I can always pick 'em with a little effort, but I know they're there. That's the maker's curse, innit?

At the mill I used to work at, we would often see this in plantation trees (Vic Ash). The boards used to come out of the kiln looking like they had cooked them too quick. On the end grain there was always severe checking - even on quarter cut boards where the stress had been taken out of the log. But the blue gum timber never had the same issue.

I call it 'piping', but I think the correct term is honeycombing. It is a drying defect and very common with tassie oak/vic ash. I call it piping because there is open pipes running right through the length of the timber. When that pipe runs out through the face of the board, you end up with these splinters. When I first make a cut in a board, I check the end grain and if I see any piping, I will usually down grade that entire board to be used for hidden components.

This problem has been around since the late 1980s.
I made a set of chairs and had to CA glue a lot of small fissures before finishing.
Havent used much Vic Ash since.
H.

Thanks for the feedback. I've put a few drops of super glue on a couple of spots. Hopefully it'll be allright. If not, I'll make up a new top down the track.

Yes, it's cell collapse from the dying process. The last few decades they've just been pushing this stuff through and kiln drying it far too quickly. The end result is that the the cells shrink too quickly and collapse. Smaller mills don't tend to have this problem as much (but it still can occur), but large mills don't really care about it. The stuff still sells and that's all that matters.

You do get it in Tas. oak but not quite as much as the Vic. ash. Superglue (CA) is your best friend here.

It is from internal checking due to existing internal stresses or more likely from bad kiln drying. Look at the end grain and you will see the short tell tale splits in the end grain. I have treated a couple of small box sized pieces with Minimax wood stabiliser under vacuum. I only did it because it was a really nice quarter sawn piece of ash that I found particularly attractive. Otherwise I would have tossed it and started over. I have also tried super glue without any joy, the next time you sand it new voids appear. All the best.