Filling the negative spaces :-)

My favorite wood is Mesquite. It's really pretty, hard and, usually full of stress cracks and worm holes.

So, I fill those "negative spaces" or "design opportunities" with a variety of stuff. Sometimes, I even cut patterns on purpose and fill 'em.

However, after cutting out a band saw box from a glued up chunk of walnut, several nasty stress cracks appeared in the middle 8/4 piece of the glue up.

Here's what it looks like. The piece to back is the part of the body of the box. The piece left is one of the drawer blanks. You can see that the cracks went pretty deep and got more numerous as they got deeper. The piece on the right is also a drawer blank but, it just has a knot hole in it.

The picture below shows some of the material I'll be using to fill the cracks in the body of the box. I'll just use straight blackened epoxy to fill the drawer blank cracks.

From left to right: Turquoise nuggets, crushed Turquoise, Iron Pyrite, brass filings from Ace's key duplicating machine.

This is my "mortar and Pestle". Just a length of well drilling rod, a piece of well casing and a circle of steel plate. It's not connected so I can just dump the material on to my screen after crushing it. BTW, fry pan splatter screens make excellent sifters. Phyllis made me go buy my own.

This pic shows some of the other materials necessary. On the left are acrylic artists paints to color the epoxy, if needed. Of course, a measuring cup, the epoxy and lacquer thinner for clean up.

In front is Super Glue that I use in smaller cracks. Laying on the super glue are plastic squirt devices like hypodermic needles.They sorta kinda work. In front of the thinner is some tints if I want a translucent look to the epoxy. And, those little blue and green things are capsules of dental silver or, amalgam. Not shown is the device I call a jitter bug that mixes the amalgam. Each capsule will yield enough silver To fill a 6" groove 1/8"X1/8". It's mostly used for initials or to highlight other designs.

Pays to have a friendly dentist.

So, with any luck, tomorrow all the cracks and other voids will be filled. Maybe even sanded. Who knows? More pics to follow.

Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

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Permalink Reply by Mark Dorman on June 10, 2012 at 7:44pm

Very interesting Gene. I look forward to seeing the results.

Good, Better, Best never let it rest
Till your Good is Better and your Better is Best.

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Site AdminPermalink Reply by John Morris on June 11, 2012 at 4:46am

Yep, I have been following Gene on this unique style of filling the holes for some time now, this is Gene's specialty folks, follow along and we'll all learn something. I will be paying special attention, my next rocker in the works has some voids in the seat of the claro walnut, I am seriously looking at Genes method of beautifying the voids. Thanks Gene!

John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

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Forum HostPermalink Reply by Gene Howe on June 11, 2012 at 6:35am

Good morning,
Thanks for the comments, guys.
John gives me more credit than is due. If you've ever patched a hole...in wall board or anything else... the process is almost the same. Fill it and sand it! Just different materials, is all.
As a friend of mine is wont to say, "It ain't rocket surgery".

Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton