Resin use

[Shan]

You don't need to limit yourself to coffee grounds. Any powder with a shade or colour you like is fair game. Old spices like mustard, curry etc for example. Semi precious stone dust, brass fillings, just about anything you can think of have been played with.

Pete

Pete, I might be jumping in on the thread but I've just turned a small bowl from an old peach tree and it's full of beetle or bora holes/tunnels. I've tried a few methods of filling them in but haven't had too much success. Today I used pva glue mixed with some light coloured saw dust. Tends to shrink, takes ages to dry & often goes very dark!
Oh, in case you were wondering, l exposed the part where the beetle was and he was flat out chewing his way around! What would you normally do with this? I'm going to fill in the inside holes and leave the outside as is.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

They all give off heat as they set. Another advantage of a slow setting one is that you can pour deeper in one hit without it going exothermic.

just a point of correction, all of the resins are exothermic curing (literally, heat producing) the problem to avoid is an uncontrolled exothermic reaction or a run away cure or reaction. That can be rather, to very very, bad

 

[Inspector]

Shan to be honest I likely wouldn't have turned it to begin with. Not normally a turner of hole filed wood. That said firstly if I understand correctly the little beastie was still eating when you exposed it. If that's the case the wood is too wet to be putting resin as it is still moving. Once it is very dry you can mix small amounts of resin and pour a puddle in an area you want it in after positioning the bowl so the resin won't run away. If the hole goes right through then the resin naturally won't stay put so you would need to tape, hot glue or plug the hole on the outside somehow. Trick is getting the resin to stay as it seems to love get past the tape. After lost of repositioning and puddling you can turn the inside. You will want to use a casting epoxy as it doesn't shrink much when it cures. Polyester casting resin can shrink as much a 7% during the cure. Polyester resins are the ones that you add drops of MEKP hardener when mixing and has that classic fibreglass stink that new boats and hot tubs have. Epoxy casting resin will have a resin and hardener, part A and part B, in various ratios per the manufacturer.

One thing some of our turning club members played with some success was Milliput. Milliput - The epoxy putty with a thousand uses in modelling, DIY and industry I think it can be coloured but you would have to verify. You can force it into the holes and cracks and it is thick enough to stay. That would let you work your way around the inside the bowl filling as you go.

I don't know if I've been much help but hope you are successful.

Pete

I checked and Milliput can be coloured.

 

[Owd Jockey]

To be honest Inspector I've found it difficult to add colour to Milliput. For instance adding a vibrant red to a white Milliput always gave a very pale pink, no matter what amount I applied. I agree though, Milliput is very useful and easy to work with, although you need to ensure you mix the Hardener and coloured stick very well, working the two for a good 5 minutes. My only caveat in using Milliput is you need to buy new stuff and not old stock, as the hardener develops a tough leathery skin, which takes an age to work in. I once bought some old stock and when I asked Milliput about this ( I actually bought from a different retailer) they sent me 2 or 3 extra packs. Always good when a firm goes the extra mile to support their customers.

 

[Shan]

Shan to be honest I likely wouldn't have turned it to begin with. Not normally a turner of hole filed wood.

Pete, many thanks for informative reply! I once read someone saying, 'Life's too short to be turning crap wood'! Or something similar. I think my problem is,
1. I'm relatively new to turning
2. Keen to turn wood from home
3. As the tree was dead, I presumed it would be dry enough to turn.
Some of the earlier pieces that I made live edge are showing more crack than a Texas brothel! So I should have clocked it really.

Thanks also for the Milliput plug. I must say I've never heard of it but will see if I can source it in Portugal. I'm also trying to use a filler that is food safe should someone want to use it for serving food etc. Do you think that this is?

Lastly, when people refer to resin is this the generic term for say wood filler with a hardener like Ronsell's for example? I've tried putty also but not ideal and the CA glue or super glue seeps in too much, set's too quickly and leaves a nasty stain. So need something more appropriate for what I'm doing.

Cheers Shan

 

[Inspector]

I can't speak to what is available to you and is food safe. Very few companies will stick their neck out and say something is food safe, primarily as they have no control over how their product is mixed and used plus you have the same with the end user doing dumb things like putting boiling water in a vessel. Generally food safe would be mineral oil/some vegetable and/or bee's wax based or shellac since they are not toxic in their natural state. They need renewing regularly. Finishes like lacquer, linseed/tung oil based finishes etc can be given enough time to fully cure (month or two) and the user is only using the bowl for bread, whole fruit, nuts, wrapped candy, or something that can easily be cleaned out with a gentle wash, rinse and immediate wipe dry.

Turning the free stuff is a great way to learn and practice. Doing it will teach you what works and what doesn't. Have fun with it.

Pete

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I'm also trying to use a filler that is food safe should someone want to use it for serving food etc. Do you think that this is?

on the subject of “food safe” the vast majority of curing fillers and virtually all curing finishes that do not contain heavy mettles in the pigment are all non-toxic or safe for food contact once the finish or filler has cured.

Some wood species are not food safe and some are dangerous to some people.

The problem with a “food safe” designation is that it’s expensive to get and maintain so few companies will bother. the simple thing to do is to say that it is not ‘food safe” as that involves no testing or expenses even though it is not true. It’s quiet likely that you will see shellac + alcohol finishes ladled as “not food safe” despite the fact that shellac is widely used in the pharmaceutical world to coat pills and in the confectionery industry as well.

So the safe answer is mark all your items as “not food safe” despite the fact that they are.

 

[Shan]

So the safe answer is mark all your items as “not food safe” despite the fact that they are.

I think this will be the label to apply should I ever get round to shifting a few bowls or anything else that I make/turn from wood and could potentially be used in the kitchen. I'm finishing things off with either a linseed and beeswax mix or mineral oil and beeswax. I think that any residual toxins would be minimal but with that said would hate anyone to get ill or worse from something that I've made.

Thanks for the input. Cheers Shan

 

[Adam Pinson]

For a colourful cheap fill, just shred some napkins and mash them up with epoxy, it's possible to fill pretty large voids with a wide range of colours this way. I sometimes use duct tape to help hold the fills in place.