Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Woodworking (rec.woodworking) Discussion forum covering all aspects of working with wood. All levels of expertise are encouraged to particiapte. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Birch knots
On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 20:12:38 -0700, Larry Blanchard
wrote: I'm building a secretary desk (to fit under the model railroad) out of "natural" birch. Thats where the white sapwood and the brown heartwood are both used. I think it's a great effect, some think it's too garish. But that's not the question. A lot of the heartwood has small tight knots. Some of these knots have cracks (usually radial) but they're not loose. I've got two ideas for dealing with them. One, and the way I'm leaning, is to fill the cracks with a clear epoxy so they're still visible but the surface is smooth. My other idea is to drill them out and put in a patch. Any comments? Anyone got other ideas? If the knots are tight, why not just leave them? Sometimes they can add interest to a piece. Is the idea of the epoxy to smooth over the cracks so they don't interfere with the function of the desk? |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 20:12:38 -0700, Larry Blanchard
wrote: One, and the way I'm leaning, is to fill the cracks with a clear epoxy so they're still visible but the surface is smooth. My other idea is to drill them out and put in a patch. Epoxy will probably look much better than patches. Experiment with a little tint in the epoxy on some scrap. Planing or scraping the excess epoxy works much better for me than sanding it smooth. Barry |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Larry Blanchard wrote in message ...
I'm building a secretary desk (to fit under the model railroad) out of "natural" birch. Thats where the white sapwood and the brown heartwood are both used. I think it's a great effect, some think it's too garish. But that's not the question. A lot of the heartwood has small tight knots. Some of these knots have cracks (usually radial) but they're not loose. I've got two ideas for dealing with them. One, and the way I'm leaning, is to fill the cracks with a clear epoxy so they're still visible but the surface is smooth. My other idea is to drill them out and put in a patch. Any comments? Anyone got other ideas? Hi Larry, I'd suggest the epoxy. I too, love the variation in heartwood and sapwood. But then, I like it in cherry and walnut, also, in the right piece or floor. I would like to comment on the knots and cracks in the heartwood, which I personally like the look of but wonder why so many people think that heartwood has superior quality when it's actually the dead part of the log and where the knots, cracks, and rot are? I'm thinking of the Lowe's commercial that says all their framing materials come from heartwood. Like that's a selling point?! I can tell that guy never spent a day on the sawmill. Another one is "heart pine". Guess I should quit sawing cants. One other little bit of information about birch that you may or may not know is that "red pine" is just the heartwood sorted out of white birch. Jana |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
|
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
birch ply vs Baltic birch ply | Woodworking | |||
Finishing Birch | Woodworking | |||
compatibility of red birch and cherry? | Woodworking | |||
Birch vs. other light woods... | Woodworking |