On Sat, 2 Oct 2010 18:04:10 -0700, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:

What we have here is a failure to communicate on my part.

They use epoxy to hod airplanes together, not sure about TBIIG.

TBII provides a very strong joint if the parts can be clamped and the
initial
joint is tight.

OTOH, if you have a gap, all bets are off.

TBII has NO gap filling prosperities.

OTOH, high quality laminating epoxy DOES HAVE excellent gap filling
properties,
especially when thickened with micro-balloons and/or some Cab-O-Sil.

I assumed (foolish me) that an 18" dia x 6" thick piece might have a
crack that might
look like a wedge of pie had been removed.

IOW, a "V" shaped gap, perhaps 2" wide at the outside, tapering down
to maybe
1/16" at the center, running thru the entire 6" thickness.

The length of this wedge might be longer than the radius of the piece,
IOW, 9"-10".

This wedge can be repaired using thickened epoxy.

Think of a dentist filling a tooth.

Thickened epoxy (think Hellmann's mayo) would fill this wedge, just
like a dentist filling a tooth.

The bond between the wood fibers and the thickened epoxy exceeds the
strength
of the wood itself.

The strength of the thickened epoxy exceeds any other part of the
wood.

You can machine the cured epoxy with conventional tools but they will
need to be
sharpened more frequently.

Swinging an 18" dia x 6" thick piece of wood between centers on a
lathe would certainly increase the pucker factor, but if another crack
developed, it would be in the wood, not the thickened epoxy.

You are the wood turner, not me.

What are the chances of additional major structural cracks developing
as a result of machining?

I'm certain you could reclaim a lot of pieces using the filled epoxy
technique; however, the results might look like UGLY on an ape.

But then again...........................

I'm not an artist.

Lew


If I have that big of gap, I either cut the piece into other shapes or leave the
gap in it, Lew..
I might gill a large gap later, after the piece is turned, with a contrasting
color or with epoxy/copier toner mix, but normally I'd just leave the gap in the
piece..
My style seems to have evolved into rough with smooth/polished features..


mac

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