I just made myself a bathroom vanity out
of knotty alder. Some of the knots have a small
crack in them. Other knots are missing even more
of the wood. Just wondering if it was ok to
leave them as they are or is it necessary to fill
them? I did fill one of them with wood filler. I
like the way some of them look the way they are.
Is there something else I could put in the holes?
Maybe some kind of clear sealer or glue?
On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:53:02 GMT, "Richard J Petruso"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I just made myself a bathroom vanity out
>of knotty alder. Some of the knots have a small
>crack in them. Other knots are missing even more
>of the wood. Just wondering if it was ok to
>leave them as they are or is it necessary to fill
>them? I did fill one of them with wood filler. I
>like the way some of them look the way they are.
>Is there something else I could put in the holes?
>Maybe some kind of clear sealer or glue?
>
I saw a show home with all the woodwork done up in nicely stained
knotty wood (Alder?) including kitchen cabinets. Any filler used
was on the back side. Any cracked knots on the 'show' side were left
alone and actually celebrated. It's like they wanted only knotty
wood for every piece used and the cracks were part of the look.
Looked very nice without being messed with.
Pete
[email protected] wrote:
>
> Looked very nice without being messed with.
Black epoxy fills loose knots very nicely. Simply mix some black
pigment or artist's oil color into the epoxy.
It looks remarkably natural. I've used it in cherry, white oak, and
walnut, with equally excellent results.
Richard J Petruso wrote:
> I just made myself a bathroom vanity out
> of knotty alder. Some of the knots have a small
> crack in them. Other knots are missing even more
> of the wood. Just wondering if it was ok to
> leave them as they are or is it necessary to fill
> them? I did fill one of them with wood filler. I
> like the way some of them look the way they are.
> Is there something else I could put in the holes?
> Maybe some kind of clear sealer or glue?
If you plan to finish clear, epoxy would be a good choice.
Place a piece of duct tape on the back side to cover each knot so
epoxy can't leak thru, then lay flat, back side down, and fill void a
little proud with unthickened epoxy.
Wait 24 hours, flip over, remove duct, use some acetone on a rag to
remove any remaining tape adhesive, then fill any remaining voids with
more epoxy.
Wait 48 hours, sand flush on both sides, then finish of choice.
Lew
On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 23:53:02 GMT, "Richard J Petruso"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I just made myself a bathroom vanity out
>of knotty alder. Some of the knots have a small
>crack in them. Other knots are missing even more
>of the wood. Just wondering if it was ok to
>leave them as they are or is it necessary to fill
>them? I did fill one of them with wood filler. I
>like the way some of them look the way they are.
>Is there something else I could put in the holes?
>Maybe some kind of clear sealer or glue?
>
>
I like the other poster's recommendation to fill with epoxy. You can
also use Bondo (for auto body repair). But, if you don't paint, you
have the issue of matching the color of the filler with the wood. Any
knot that has a black ring around it is probably loose, or about to
become loose and fall out.
When I have knots in turned wood, I am worried about them working loose in
the future.
I use thin CA glue on them to bond the pieces together in a whole.
If there are larger gaps, I rub dark sawdust,(say walnut) into the voids,
add some thin CA glue and sand smooth.
Be sure to put a coat of finish on the wood before using CA glue, any slops
soaked up by the open grain will show after finishing.
I've also used colored epoxy, and it looks good too.
Old Guy
"Richard J Petruso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I just made myself a bathroom vanity out
> of knotty alder. Some of the knots have a small
> crack in them. Other knots are missing even more
> of the wood. Just wondering if it was ok to
> leave them as they are or is it necessary to fill
> them? I did fill one of them with wood filler. I
> like the way some of them look the way they are.
> Is there something else I could put in the holes?
> Maybe some kind of clear sealer or glue?
>
>
>