CaptainBudget
Established Member
Hi all,
I want to build a standing lamp out of stacked wood slices; I have salvaged these from a tree that came down ~3 years ago. This tree came down in my parent's garden, and I've previously turned the trunk into a nest of tables with wood-slice tops cast in resin. It turned out the rest of it had been cut into sections and stashed in the back of a very dry workshop where it has been drying out ever since.
Tree was some form of maple, the slices are ~50-60mm DIA (varies) and ~35mm thick. These come from a continuous section ~6ft long (it was a small tree taken out by a storm in winter), and it has (to me) very interesting bark shapes/lines/etc. I want to preserve if possible.
The plan is to stack these in sequence, each one slightly staggered to create a "stacking" effect and to remove bends/curves from the original section. A 10mm DIA tube will act as a conduit for the electric cable, and form the "spine" of the piece. Slices will be have a 10mm hole drilled and then glued one at a time to build up the height & shape as I go.
Some of the bark is a little looser than I would like, but most of it appears to be fairly solidly stuck. In a couple of areas it has very locally started to come away, but the rest would need effort to remove (I don't want to). What can I use to treat/finish this project to ensure as much of the bark as possible stays on the discs for years to come? I was initally thinking some form of Matt Polyrethane or Yacht Varnish and apply liberally so it "soaks in" and forms an armour-like layer? The looser stuff I can apparently patch with superglue, but I'm open to suggestions here...
Internet has thrown up a very mixed bag of advice on this one, a lot from sources I wouldn't generally use for project work (craft blogs by non-woodworkers, etc.), I figured someone on here would know...
I want to build a standing lamp out of stacked wood slices; I have salvaged these from a tree that came down ~3 years ago. This tree came down in my parent's garden, and I've previously turned the trunk into a nest of tables with wood-slice tops cast in resin. It turned out the rest of it had been cut into sections and stashed in the back of a very dry workshop where it has been drying out ever since.
Tree was some form of maple, the slices are ~50-60mm DIA (varies) and ~35mm thick. These come from a continuous section ~6ft long (it was a small tree taken out by a storm in winter), and it has (to me) very interesting bark shapes/lines/etc. I want to preserve if possible.
The plan is to stack these in sequence, each one slightly staggered to create a "stacking" effect and to remove bends/curves from the original section. A 10mm DIA tube will act as a conduit for the electric cable, and form the "spine" of the piece. Slices will be have a 10mm hole drilled and then glued one at a time to build up the height & shape as I go.
Some of the bark is a little looser than I would like, but most of it appears to be fairly solidly stuck. In a couple of areas it has very locally started to come away, but the rest would need effort to remove (I don't want to). What can I use to treat/finish this project to ensure as much of the bark as possible stays on the discs for years to come? I was initally thinking some form of Matt Polyrethane or Yacht Varnish and apply liberally so it "soaks in" and forms an armour-like layer? The looser stuff I can apparently patch with superglue, but I'm open to suggestions here...
Internet has thrown up a very mixed bag of advice on this one, a lot from sources I wouldn't generally use for project work (craft blogs by non-woodworkers, etc.), I figured someone on here would know...
