Filling worm holes

I wouldn't fill them at all. People pay extra money for strategically placed worm holes and other such imperfections that only time and nature can provide.

Ted

I too like the effect of worm holes and never fill them. I use an awl and high pressure air to clean them out then use tunge oil or Minwax polywipe to finish. I slop on a heavy coat to penetrate the holes then spin the piece fast to clear out the excess and prevent runs. Wipe then finish normally as one or two coats in the holes seem to work...

bill

I wouldn't fill them at all. People pay extra money for strategically

Ted, please excuse my impertinence but I have never seen strategically placed worm holes! Are they something I have missed out on over the years?

All the holes I find are usually in the middle of some particularly beautiful and expensive exotic hardwood!

Regards, Peter Charles Fagg Freshwater, Isle of Wight,

"Peter Charles Fagg" schreef in bericht news: snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

He means that people make a worm whole with the head of a nail. Place the nail horizontal on the wood and bang on it (the head of the nail) and if needed give it a dark color. So it will looks as if it where worm wholes. I do not know if you have missed something over the years, it all depends on where you live, in France and Holland and Belgium they lke to do it (have it).

===>Seems to me that would make two worms with that process! Besides, them's horizontal worm holes. I think Prometheus was talking about vertical worm holes. Those I strategically place using the appropriate worm drive drill. Just a hint to save on having all sorts of bifurcated worms lying around, you can use the drill and just drag it across the surface of the wood to simulate a horizontal worm hole! *G*

Leif

Hi P

I just finished a 15" wormy spalted silver maple shallow bowl, there are enough smaller and larger holes in there to make it interesting, don't know how yours is but I know that my bowl is definitely not a salad bowl, would make a good fruit bowl, lots of air circulation . Point is if there are only a few holes, maybe fill them, if there are a lot make it an attribute, whomever wants the bowl certainly knows the holes are there and they will be able to keep or get them clean, blow or rinse clean comes to mind, filling the holes with clear plastic does not do it for me. A 2 part epoxy polymer can be use to fill, but it won't be easy to do on a bowl form, unless you fill the whole bowl. Lee Valley sells some, but I have no experience with it though.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Prometheus wrote:

It's just a little one, as I just have a little lathe! It's got a good sprinkling of holes that don't go all the way through the wood, and are about the size of pencil lead. It is an interesting hunk of maple, because there is simply so much going on with it- spalting, wormholes and various areas that are discolored. Kind of looks like a moth-eaten piece of desert camoflage, and it's dry as a bone, without being punky. Had a big crack down one side, but that was pretty easy to work around- I just cut it in half along the crack, and the problem was gone. :)

Ah, but they're for me- and I'm lazy when it comes to cleaning things like that!

Hmm. I see everyone just likes wormholes! :) The main problem that I'm having is that in the last bowl I turned from the same wood, the paste wax I used to finish it off filled part of the holes, and remained as rather unsightly amber-colored blobs that I'm going to have to pick out with a pipe cleaner or something. Maybe I can melt 'em out with a hair dryer, and save myself some work- it's got shellac underneith, so the wax wasn't really strictly necessary anyhow.

Maybe it really isn't an issue- the wood was free, after all, so it's not going to hurt anything to leave the holes open for now, and see how they look in a year or two. I might try out the epoxy, but I just have this feeling that it'd just pop out once the humidity drops.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

Yeah, I've seen that done, but I like shiny stuff- it's all a matter of taste. Of course, that doesn't stop me from making rustic things from time to time, just in case my tastes change.

Since the piece is finished with shellac, you might look into the shellac sticks that are meant for repairing finishes. I've never used it, but you melt it into the area you want. Martin

Clean it with the compressor hose.

And, BTW, those are 'Feature Holes' not 'Bug Holes'.

If there is any question of any of the critters still in there, a microwave does wonders killing them off.

Shellac sticks? That's a new one on me- I'm going to have to look for those. I know they have some colored wax ones, but I'd prefer to keep the holes looking sorta like holes.

Sadly, no compressor yet. It's near the middle of a mile-long list of things I need to get. A never-ending battle, that.

Yeah, but then where's the fun of having a gigantic live bug come flying out of the wood and onto you?