On Mar 9, 5:21*am, Gerald Ross wrote:
Some time ago I saw a message here about soaking cracked bowls in a
mixture of glue & water. Of the 60+ bowls I roughed out in Jan & Feb,
5 developed cracks of varying degrees. As an experiment I mixed 1/3
white glue to 2/3 water and soaked them for 3 to 4 days. Three large
sweetgum bowls showed no improvement, but I had no covered container
large enough to completely submerge them so used plastic bags and it
is iffy that they were wet all over the whole time.

Two sassafras bowls about 10 inches were soaked in a covered plastic
container with a piece of brick to hold them under the surface. One
showed no improvement and the last one was completely healed. I cannot
even find where the crack was, and it extended from the rim down to
the dovetail on the base. The cracks on both were open about 1/8 inch
at the rim.

So with a good test on two bowls I got 50% healing of the cracks.
Anyone else trying this method?
--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

Wally Dickerman was the person to first provide this cure for cracked
bowls. He recommended 50-50 white glue and water. I had my doubts
about the cure, but Wally has been turning three or four times as long
as I have, do I tried it on a 15 inch rough turned salad bowl that I
had planned it as a gift for a friend who had purchased a new home. I
had to purchase two gallons of white glue and put it with two gallons
of water. I soaked the bowl for a couple of days and took it out. The
crack was still open. I said to myself, Wally it didn't work. I threw
the bowl onto a pile of wood in the yard, where it was rained on for a
couple of or more. About a week later, I walked past the bowl and
noticed that the crack (which had been about 3/8" at the rim) had
completely closed up. I put it in the shed to dry before final
turning. The crack never opened up again. The friend is still using
the salad bowl (been about four years now) and it only has a fine line
where the crack had been. Just my experience.