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Cleaning worm holes

Hi all,

I'm working on a 25" walnut burl platter. There are a lot of wormholes on the outside which I want to keep as a "feature". But they're filled with like tightly packed sawdust. Yes I can guess what it really is. The question is whether there is a simple way to clean these out so just the void remains. I can do it with a dental pick and an airgun, but that will take a long time. I have also tried a stiff nylon brush and that works after a fashion but doesn't get into the crevasses. Has anyone solved this problem before?

Thanks

George L. Tanty Santa Fe, NM

Reply to
George Tanty
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What problem? I just leave 'em be. Finish right over them with Watco or something similar.

Barry

Reply to
Barry N. Turner

Sometimes I leave them just as they are, and put drops of thin CA glue on them, finish sanding, and put on an oil finish. If the wood is heavily spalted with lots of black, I dig them out if they are relatively soft, put black CA glue in, let it cure and then proceed with the finishing. Glenn Hodges Nashville, Georgia

Reply to
Ghodges2

George

I went to one of those dollar stores and got a brass wire brush. It is the size of an oversized toothbrush. The brush portion is about

1/2" wide and about 2"long. It has a plastic handle. I turn alot of green walnut and know what you are talking about. Just a light brushing gets it out.

RP

Reply to
RP Edington

Sounds like a job for Stephen Hawking...

-- Chuck *#:^) chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply. <

September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

Reply to
Chuck

I use a dental tool also. If they are hard, I will clean the center up with a dremel, and use a pick for the edges. That way I don't accidentally destroy it.

Reply to
Rusty Myers

Well, the euphemism is "frass," if you want to talk about it in polite company.

I use the pick and blow technique, modified where possible to introduce my pick - a dissecting probe - in along the side, where it loosens a lot more than if merely scratching the surface. If you've got a dentist friend (who would admit it?) who has the flattened end tool used for scraping calculus near the gums, it's the best.

I would avoid the wire brush, even the soft brass. I didn't like what it did to the fine detail.

Reply to
George

Glenn, where did you go to college?

moyo

Reply to
moyo

I went to ABAC in Tifton, Georgia, Georgia Southwestern, and then University of Georgia. Glenn Hodges Nashville, Georgia

Reply to
Ghodges2

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