An acquaintance asked me to see what I could do with a couple of wooden
(turned) urns that his wife had used as vases. The urns have been turn
"down the log" so I will be dealing with end grain.

The person who turned them told her not to put flowers in the urn as the
moisture would harm the wood. So she didn't. At least not directly. What
she did do was to put the flowers (in a plastic container and put that in
the wooden urn. She was either unaware of both the moisture on the outside
of the plastic vessel and/or the condensation that would form on its
outside. Of course the urns got damp/wet, the finish came off (inside only)
and the bottoms got rough/punky. The outside of the urns looks very good, no
water damage. What damage there is, and its not severe, but definitely
needs to be treated now to keep them from being totally destroyed.

The question is, what to treat the wood with (its is now dry). I had
thought that I might used MinWax WoodHardner or thin CA glue. I could use
shellac, but I am not sure just how much wood preserving it would do.

Any thoughts and ideas welcomed.

Thanks

Deb

PS I am also going to post this on ".rec.crafts.woodturning"

Simplest fix, to me: Clean up the inside and apply several coats of
tung oil. Periodic tung oil treatment should keep it in good shape.

Sonny

"Dr. Deb" wrote:

The question is, what to treat the wood with (its is now dry).
-------------------------------
The classic dry rot problem.

Google "Git Rot", then select Jamestown Distributors to buy.

BTDT.

Lew

On 1/3/2012 9:28 AM, Dr. Deb wrote:

An acquaintance asked me to see what I could do with a couple of wooden
(turned) urns that his wife had used as vases. The urns have been turn
"down the log" so I will be dealing with end grain.

The person who turned them told her not to put flowers in the urn as the
moisture would harm the wood. So she didn't. At least not directly. What
she did do was to put the flowers (in a plastic container and put that in
the wooden urn. She was either unaware of both the moisture on the outside
of the plastic vessel and/or the condensation that would form on its
outside. Of course the urns got damp/wet, the finish came off (inside only)
and the bottoms got rough/punky. The outside of the urns looks very good, no
water damage. What damage there is, and its not severe, but definitely
needs to be treated now to keep them from being totally destroyed.

The question is, what to treat the wood with (its is now dry). I had
thought that I might used MinWax WoodHardner or thin CA glue. I could use
shellac, but I am not sure just how much wood preserving it would do.

Any thoughts and ideas welcomed.

Wooden urns should be used to store copper coins. Hence the saying, a
penny saved is a penny urned.

On Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:28:22 -0600, "Dr. Deb"
wrote:


An acquaintance asked me to see what I could do with a couple of wooden
(turned) urns that his wife had used as vases. The urns have been turn
"down the log" so I will be dealing with end grain.

The person who turned them told her not to put flowers in the urn as the
moisture would harm the wood. So she didn't. At least not directly. What
she did do was to put the flowers (in a plastic container and put that in
the wooden urn. She was either unaware of both the moisture on the outside
of the plastic vessel and/or the condensation that would form on its
outside. Of course the urns got damp/wet, the finish came off (inside only)
and the bottoms got rough/punky. The outside of the urns looks very good, no
water damage. What damage there is, and its not severe, but definitely
needs to be treated now to keep them from being totally destroyed.

He really should have sealed the inside of those. Have her pass that
on to him. People are dumb, um, I mean not well informed even though
they're told specifically. In '75, I knew a very smart and beautiful
electronics production line manager who kept a live plant on top of
her VCR cabinet. She seldom used it and seldom spilled, but when she
did, the Miracle Grow acted like an etchant on the PC board traces. My
boss got it from her and ran insulated bell wire from point to point
to get it working for her. (Yes, YOU, Peggy.


The question is, what to treat the wood with (its is now dry). I had
thought that I might used MinWax WoodHardner or thin CA glue. I could use
shellac, but I am not sure just how much wood preserving it would do.

Ahh, the perfect marriage: Wood & Water! sigh


Any thoughts and ideas welcomed.

I'd make darned sure there are holes in the bottom of the urns and
then use a thin (less viscous) epoxy, like West or System Three.

--
In the depth of winter, I finally learned
that within me there lay an invincible summer.
-- Albert Camus

On 1/3/2012 3:18 PM, Just Wondering wrote:
On 1/3/2012 9:28 AM, Dr. Deb wrote:

An acquaintance asked me to see what I could do with a couple of wooden
(turned) urns that his wife had used as vases. The urns have been turn
"down the log" so I will be dealing with end grain.

The person who turned them told her not to put flowers in the urn as the
moisture would harm the wood. So she didn't. At least not directly. What
she did do was to put the flowers (in a plastic container and put that in
the wooden urn. She was either unaware of both the moisture on the
outside
of the plastic vessel and/or the condensation that would form on its
outside. Of course the urns got damp/wet, the finish came off (inside
only)
and the bottoms got rough/punky. The outside of the urns looks very
good, no
water damage. What damage there is, and its not severe, but definitely
needs to be treated now to keep them from being totally destroyed.

The question is, what to treat the wood with (its is now dry). I had
thought that I might used MinWax WoodHardner or thin CA glue. I could use
shellac, but I am not sure just how much wood preserving it would do.

Any thoughts and ideas welcomed.

Wooden urns should be used to store copper coins. Hence the saying, a
penny saved is a penny urned.


Somebody needs to go stand in the corner for a while!

Dr. Deb wrote:
An acquaintance asked me to see what I could do with a couple of
wooden (turned) urns that his wife had used as vases. The urns have
been turn "down the log" so I will be dealing with end grain.

The person who turned them told her not to put flowers in the urn as
the moisture would harm the wood. So she didn't. At least not
directly. What she did do was to put the flowers (in a plastic
container and put that in the wooden urn. She was either unaware of
both the moisture on the outside of the plastic vessel and/or the
condensation that would form on its outside. Of course the urns got
damp/wet, the finish came off (inside only) and the bottoms got
rough/punky. The outside of the urns looks very good, no water
damage. What damage there is, and its not severe, but definitely
needs to be treated now to keep them from being totally destroyed.

The question is, what to treat the wood with (its is now dry). I had
thought that I might used MinWax WoodHardner or thin CA glue. I
could use shellac, but I am not sure just how much wood preserving it
would do.

Any thoughts and ideas welcomed.


Can't you pour some spar varnish in the urn, slosh it around, and pour out
that which didn't stick?