borer help needed

[bowl-basher]

Hi all
Some time ago I made a clock for my sister from a bit of desert oak that had some sap wood and a bit of spalting ..The other day she informed me that there were several borer holes in the sapwood and she had noticed some wood dust under the clock....... The question is how can I cure this without destroying the clock ??? is there a simple way of getting rid of these little critters::C:C:C
thanks
Bowl-basher

[dr4g0nfly]

I know nothing about your 'borers' but here in the UK, to find holes means the little nasty has left the wood, we call them 'Flight Holes' - so maybe your Sister will have a bigger bone to pick with you!

But to answer your question, 2 methods immediately spring to mind.
1. Can you strip the clock workings of and give it a blast in the microwave. The finish may need a touch up afterwards and,
2. Using a proprietary Borer (woodworm) killing fluid, a syringe and needle. You inject a drop into each hole you can find.

[powderpost]

I had a similar problem with a raintree bowl. The solution was simple, I micro waved it. It needed a new polish job but it was ok. Using the micro wave oven also kills any residual eggs, but may bugger up the numerals on the clock face. I would try putting the clock, minus the movement, in a plastic bag and fill the bag with an insect spray. That probably won't kill any eggs in the wood. The micro wave method would be more effective.
Jim

[vk4]

Agree with previous post ,

remove any metal, etc and zapp in micro-wave .
Give a couple of treatments and allow to cool between each.
then a drop of super-glue down the holes.
, should fix the ssue.


Jeff

[A Duke]

Wrap in black plastic and leave out in the blazing sun. This works for things too big to microwave (beds couches arm chairs tables etc.).
Regards

[rsser]

A syringe with metho. Pop down to your local needle exchange place ;-}

[jimbur]

A syringe with metho. Pop down to your local needle exchange place ;-}
Now you feel better, what do you do about the borers Ern? :D
Cheers,
Jim

[rsser]

LOL.

Was gunna add to the post don't go into the needle exchange with the meths bottle tucked under your arm!

Best taken orally anyway. The connaisseurs dissolve a tin of Kiwi boot polish in it to make it more palatable. Should put a nice shine on the ...

[jimbur]

Used to see the Metho drinkers in the back lanes in Melbourne forty odd years ago.
Alcopops don't have a chance while kiwi is still made:D
Cheers,
Jim

[rsser]

Std Listerine seems to be the tipple of choice for bottom feeders these days. 22% ethanol if I can read the label on the empty bottle right ;-}

Sorry BB to get off-topic. Borers with perfumed breath might be a novel change to your nicely turned clockface.

[hughie]

Best taken orally anyway. The connaisseurs dissolve a tin of Kiwi boot polish in it to make it more palatable. Should put a nice shine on the

...and often strain it through a bread roll to finese the taste.


seriously drop the clock into the freezer for a few days, after wrapping it in a plakky bag or similar, below zero does the trick.:2tsup:

[bowl-basher]

The little Suckers have had a LARGE drink of Straight metho ( not the added orange juice type that is popular with the local bottom feeders :rolleyes:) and all holes filled with CA. So if any survive the Meths the will have to dig a new way out.... Just going to re finish and give it back to my Sister, she is far enough away that I may not see it again:no::no::no:
thanks for the tips
Regards
Bowl-Basher

took a bit of explaining at the local chemist as to why I needed a syringe with a needle attached...........

[Cliff Rogers]

Interesting question.... I have some not very scientific accounts that neither micro-waving or freezing are entirely successful.

I have had ants all over a lump of wood & I got the bright idea of micro-waving them.... they got very annoyed but they didn't die, I had to turn it off because they were headed for the vents to get out.

When I first left school, I got a job in an electronic spare parts dept as a storeman.
They had this great stuff called 0° Freeze for electronic fault finding.
We used to use it to chase & freeze cockroaches... the buggers could be a frozen solid lump of ice on the concrete & they would slowly thaw out & crawl away.
A second freezing was required to stop them.

Maybe the freezing needed to be for longer or maybe it was the freezing, thawing, freezing that finally killed them.

[rsser]

You put the moz on my 'bank' with this thread BB. Found a well borered lump of old Blackwood in it yesterday. Will have to crawl over everything now. Lucky there's 4l of meths in the stores. (One for me, one for you .... after I buy some breadrolls).

Yeah Cliff, the roaches will inherit the earth. (Maybe they have already and we haven't noticed).

I'm a fan of empirical data. Once on a bushwalk in a leach-ridden part of Tassie we did a comparo of three insect repellents. Sprayed circles on a hut floor and dropped a leach in each. Rid was the winner. The grub crawled across it and then started slowly fizzing the vital juices through the skin. Awesome. The others had no effect at all - Aerogard was one.

Declaration: no connection with Rid except the occasional close one.

So you're now a registered diabetic BB?

[jimbur]

Right Ern. They are tipped to survive a nuclear war - well the ones that aren't flash fried.:D

[Matador]

Hi bowl - dasher .
I was told some years go from an old woodworker he said if there is borers in the timber and when you locate the borer's holes you use a long thin piece of wire push it down the holes and spear the borer only way you can get them as the same they do for trees when they are in them . He also said if you have a lot of the little buggers in you timber you wrap the timber in black plastic but before you do he also said to get some borex or boron mix enough up like a paste and painted all over the timber then wrap it up and put it out in the hot sun for a week or two . It should kill the borers and their eggs .That's how he treated his timbers but its got to have borex or boron . You can get it at the supermarkets or produce shop . In the produce shop its call boron . I hope that helps and it works for you .
Cheers Graham .

[Matador]

Hi bowl - dasher .
I was told some years go from an old woodworker he said if there is borers in the timber and when you locate the borer's holes you use a long thin piece of wire push it down the holes and spear the borer only way you can get them as the same they do for trees when they are in them . He also said if you have a lot of the little buggers in you timber you wrap the timber in black plastic but before you do he also said to get some borex or boron mix enough up like a paste and painted all over the timber then wrap it up and put it out in the hot sun for a week or two . It should kill the borers and their eggs .That's how he treated his timbers but its got to have borex or boron . You can get it at the supermarkets or produce shop . In the produce shop its call boron . I hope that helps and it works for you .
Cheers Graham .