Hey folks, been a while since I've had an opportunity to come by and check
in. Been kinda hectic around here with the dissertation in full swing and
just returning from a trip to see the outlaws in Germany. Which leads me to
a quesion, I brought back some birch from Germany and a piece of beech from
a wood pile where we stayed. The beech turned beautifully. The birch on the
other hand, not so well. The wood seemed to be soft, almost rotted, but
still quite solid. The tree was supposedly cut this spring. Since I've no
experience with birch, I was wandering if it is the nature of this wood to
rot rather quickly, or is it just that darn soft. Either way, anyone have
any suggestions for what I should do. I hate to toss it aside, it come from
my mother-in-laws garden and I figured to return to her a bowl from her
tree. Is there anything that can be put onto the wood that might harden it?

Thanks in advance,

JD (Kentucky)


--
He that will make a good use of any part
of his life must allow a large portion of it
to recreation.
- John Locke

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:11:32 -0500, "JD" wrote:

Hey folks, been a while since I've had an opportunity to come by and check
in. Been kinda hectic around here with the dissertation in full swing and
just returning from a trip to see the outlaws in Germany. Which leads me to
a quesion, I brought back some birch from Germany and a piece of beech from
a wood pile where we stayed. The beech turned beautifully. The birch on the
other hand, not so well. The wood seemed to be soft, almost rotted, but
still quite solid. The tree was supposedly cut this spring. Since I've no
experience with birch, I was wandering if it is the nature of this wood to
rot rather quickly, or is it just that darn soft. Either way, anyone have
any suggestions for what I should do. I hate to toss it aside, it come from
my mother-in-laws garden and I figured to return to her a bowl from her
tree. Is there anything that can be put onto the wood that might harden it?

Thanks in advance,

JD (Kentucky)

Sounds like the wood might be "punky"?

Try dripping a little very thin CA on it... Keep out of "sniffing" range,
because if it's punky, you might see smoke/steam and you DON'T want to breath
it..

Usually, if the wood is punky but not ugly, CA will harden/stabilize it and it
should turn and sand fine..

Like any glue, it can effect or even reject a finish, some more than others..
I've found that Danish oil blends pretty well with CA.. YMWV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote: Try dripping a little very thin CA on it... (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A product called "Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer" is wonderful for punky
wood. I have seen it used, and used it myself, for stabilizing some pretty
porous rot. I have used it to repair (rather than replace) rotted window
sash. Made by Smith and Company, Richmond, CA.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...
:
: "mac davis" wrote: Try dripping a little very thin CA on it... (clip)
: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
: A product called "Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer" is wonderful for punky
: wood. I have seen it used, and used it myself, for stabilizing some
pretty
: porous rot. I have used it to repair (rather than replace) rotted window
: sash. Made by Smith and Company, Richmond, CA.
:
:
I'm in the UK, and used to turn a lot of really punky wood, mostly Beech
and some Birch. A lot of it was almost spongy. Beech when dried properly
is usually a nice close grained firm turning wood which will take the edge
off your tools reasonably quickly, Birch is more open grained, can be
almost fluffy, can turn ok and can have an almost translucent sheen when
finished. Both these woods spalt and rot down really quickly.
I used a product sold for solidifying rotting window frames/sills. It was
quite expensive to use because it is so thin that a whole tin would just
disappear straight in to the wood. I sometimes used 2 or 3 tins before it
was saturated.
Once it had hardened I was left with a really spectacular piece of spalted
wood that I could turn into anything. It holds together really well, cuts
and sands well and takes a nice oil finish.
I just cant remember what it was called.
Watch out for the fumes from these volatile products even if you are working
outside, and especially if you are using a respirator, wandering around your
workshop stoned on these fumes is really dangerous even if it feels good at
the time.

Hotfoot.

In message , Hotfoot
writes
used a product sold for solidifying rotting window frames/sills. It was
quite expensive to use because it is so thin that a whole tin would just
disappear straight in to the wood. I sometimes used 2 or 3 tins before it
was saturated.
That's interesting, I run that concept through Ronseals technical
department towards the end of last year , and they said that the
solution only penetrated about 1/8th inch. Maybe something I will give
a try now.
--
John

"John" wrote in message
...
: In message , Hotfoot
: writes
: used a product sold for solidifying rotting window frames/sills. It was
: quite expensive to use because it is so thin that a whole tin would just
: disappear straight in to the wood. I sometimes used 2 or 3 tins before
it
: was saturated.
: That's interesting, I run that concept through Ronseals technical
: department towards the end of last year , and they said that the
: solution only penetrated about 1/8th inch. Maybe something I will give
: a try now.
: --
Probably if you paint it on to a window sill it would probably dry quicker
and not penitrate, but when you have a larger lump of rotting log, you just
keep pouring untill its taken what it needs.
You have to give it some time to harden otherwise you end up spraying
yourself.
Hotfoot.
: John

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:11:32 -0500, "JD"
wrote:

Hey folks, been a while since I've had an opportunity to come by and check
in. Been kinda hectic around here with the dissertation in full swing and
just returning from a trip to see the outlaws in Germany. Which leads me to
a quesion, I brought back some birch from Germany and a piece of beech from
a wood pile where we stayed. The beech turned beautifully. The birch on the
other hand, not so well. The wood seemed to be soft, almost rotted, but
still quite solid. The tree was supposedly cut this spring. Since I've no
experience with birch, I was wandering if it is the nature of this wood to
rot rather quickly, or is it just that darn soft. Either way, anyone have
any suggestions for what I should do. I hate to toss it aside, it come from
my mother-in-laws garden and I figured to return to her a bowl from her
tree. Is there anything that can be put onto the wood that might harden it?

Thanks in advance,

JD (Kentucky)


Personally, I'd probably toss it. Some penetrating oils (like Watco
Danish oil) will harden wood, but it is not intended to be a fix.

On Jun 11, 3:11 pm, "JD" wrote:
Hey folks, been a while since I've had an opportunity to come by and check
in. Been kinda hectic around here with the dissertation in full swing and
just returning from a trip to see the outlaws in Germany. Which leads me to
a quesion, I brought back some birch from Germany and a piece of beech from
a wood pile where we stayed. The beech turned beautifully. The birch on the
other hand, not so well. The wood seemed to be soft, almost rotted, but
still quite solid. The tree was supposedly cut this spring. Since I've no
experience with birch, I was wandering if it is the nature of this wood to
rot rather quickly, or is it just that darn soft. Either way, anyone have
any suggestions for what I should do. I hate to toss it aside, it come from
my mother-in-laws garden and I figured to return to her a bowl from her
tree. Is there anything that can be put onto the wood that might harden it?

Thanks in advance,

JD (Kentucky)

--
He that will make a good use of any part
of his life must allow a large portion of it
to recreation.
- John Locke


Polycryl from Preservation Solutions does a pretty good job of making
punky wood ready to turn. Here is the product information from their
web site:

"Polycryl
The wood fortifier. Do you have a piece of soft, punky, or spalted
wood that you would like to turn? Then give this product a try, it
will strengthen the wood and make it easier to work with, especially
for turners. It dries clear and will not yellow in the wood. Easy and
safe to use. All types of finishes and glues can be used once Polycryl
has dried into the wood."

I've used this product a few times, but I generally throw out punky
wood, but when it has some sentimental value such as your piece of
Birch, it is worth trying to save it.

Fred Holder
http://www.morewoodturning.net

It would be interesting if one could microwave it on low to work on
all of it at a time.

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Hotfoot wrote:
"John" wrote in message
...
: In message , Hotfoot
: writes
: used a product sold for solidifying rotting window frames/sills. It was
: quite expensive to use because it is so thin that a whole tin would just
: disappear straight in to the wood. I sometimes used 2 or 3 tins before
it
: was saturated.
: That's interesting, I run that concept through Ronseals technical
: department towards the end of last year , and they said that the
: solution only penetrated about 1/8th inch. Maybe something I will give
: a try now.
: --
Probably if you paint it on to a window sill it would probably dry quicker
and not penitrate, but when you have a larger lump of rotting log, you just
keep pouring untill its taken what it needs.
You have to give it some time to harden otherwise you end up spraying
yourself.
Hotfoot.
: John




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On 12 jun, 01:11, "JD" wrote:
Hey folks, been a while since I've had an opportunity to come by and check
in. Been kinda hectic around here with the dissertation in full swing and
just returning from a trip to see the outlaws in Germany. Which leads me to
a quesion, I brought back some birch from Germany and a piece of beech from
a wood pile where we stayed. The beech turned beautifully. The birch on the
other hand, not so well. The wood seemed to be soft, almost rotted, but
still quite solid. The tree was supposedly cut this spring. Since I've no
experience with birch, I was wandering if it is the nature of this wood to
rot rather quickly, or is it just that darn soft. Either way, anyone have
any suggestions for what I should do. I hate to toss it aside, it come from
my mother-in-laws garden and I figured to return to her a bowl from her
tree. Is there anything that can be put onto the wood that might harden it?

I like to use imperfect pieces of wood for my turnings / carvings.
I use spalted and rotted birch, for example:
http://woodarts4u.com/products/29L.jpg
and
http://woodarts4u.com/products/27L.jpg
To be honest, much time was spent to keep (glue) the bark on.
Thin CA hardens, but doesn't penetrate as deep as you often want.
I have a totally gone birch burl waiting to be turned. Don't know yet
how I'm gonna stabilize it, perhaps Polycryl.

--
Fred*
http://woodarts4u.com/