looking for help with resin/ epoxy

[gunny0369]

Hoping somebody out there could give me some assistance I am working on a cremation urn for a great uncle.I am using a piece of spalted maple that has sentimental value because 3 years earlier I made an urn for his wife out of the other half, however I have moved and taken the log with me but it has become checked and split in places. I have been able to rough out the shape of the urn but was hoping to fill the cracked places with resin or epoxy. I have no experience in using this method however I have been looking around and seeing some beautiful work is there anyone out there that may have some advice for me? 1 last note I would like the resin or epoxy to be black as it would match the spalting lines. Your advice is greatly appreciated God bless

[hughie]

What I have done in the past is to mix up my epoxy and colour it the desired colour. In my case a rich burgundy/mahogany colour then I poured it into the cracks slowly and let it set. Now if they go all the way through you may have to tape it up with some wide tape to prevent loss ie masking, gaffer tape etc. It usually takes me several goes to fill big cracks over a few days.

If for any reason I get a few air bubbles I will re-fill these at rough out stage. If they occur later close to finishing you must seal the surrounding wood before you attempt to fill any holes. Then I use a tooth pick to fill and fine holes.

hope that helps

[dai sensei]

Coffee grinds usually match well with spalting, rub it in the cracks, then use thin CA. Repeat rubbing in coffee and applying CA until filled completely.

[Paul39]

I have used coffee grounds mixed with 2 part clear epoxy and packed in with a small spoon. Also instant coffee in epoxy, and black toner from copy machines in epoxy.

I have better luck with the above than the below.

Instant coffee or black toner or sanding dust packed in the crack and saturated with CA glue also works.

After you have finished the outside and before doing the hollowing, put a few wraps of tape around the outside, just in case.

Painters masking tape comes off easier than duct tape

[Mutawintji]

In my experience Epoxy (marine) is not UV proof. It will break down after about 2 years in sunlight, 4 inside in fluro lighting, etc.

If you are colouring epoxy then it is most likely to be visible, in which case you will need to UV proof it with some sort of lacquer.

Also, any chemical mixed with epoxy may react slowly and over time tho probably not immediately noticable.

Hope this helps a bit.

cool bananas ... Greg

[turnerted]

You can also buy special pigment for polyester or epoxy resin in any colour you want from resin supply shops. Buy the smallest amount you can get as a little goes a long way.
Ted

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

You haven't said how wide the splits/cracks are?

I've found that can make a large difference.

For the sake of convenience, let's call anything under a mm or so wide a 'crack' and everything wider a 'split.'

For cracks, I'd use CA. Pretty much applied as Dai Sensei suggests. For splits, epoxy as Hughie suggests.

In cases where the widest split is only, say, 4 or 5mm maximum, I like to half-fill with epoxy to seal the base of the crack - and add some mechanical substance - then use CA to fill it flush. This gives a good colour match between the two different approaches.

With epoxy, there are probably many things that'll work as colouring agents sitting in your kitchen. In the past I've used cocoa, instant coffee (Maxwell House. Got a whole tin of it and I can't stand the stuff... gives me headaches. :rolleyes:) & similar. You do need to be working with an thin epoxy with a long curing time to be able to mix it through thoroughly, though. As far as I've been able to tell, they may weaken the hardness of the epoxy but don't affect it's durability. (It's not like it's being used in joints that are undergoing heavy stresses. :wink: )

Whatever you do: I strongly suggest you try it on an offcut first! It's not the sort of job that's easy to "undo and try again" if you don't like the colour match!

G'luck! :2tsup:

[rsser]

Epoxy, whether you can fill or colour it appropriately, will turn and esp. sand much more slowly than soft wood. You haven't told us what kind of Maple but if spalted likely it's soft.

In which case my first shot would be real, fine, coffee grinds tinted black as you want, at a ratio of 1 epoxy to 2 of coffee.

Your great uncle might appreciate a whiff of good coffee as his soul departs.

Welcome to the forum.