Machining Spalted Maple

[Burkhardt]

G. ,
Probably won't do you a bit of good, but had this chunk of Quilted I stuck Rockler Thin CA on a couple spots in February. Reacted into that white smoke and bubbled like crazy and drove me out of shop so just set it aside............

Good experiment! Actually the wood I used was not as rotten. I tried the Minwax wood hardener on another similar thing and while it penetrates quite well, the solid content is less than 20% and after evaporation of the solvent, the resulting wood is still quite spongy. So I went ahead today with the thin CA because that is what I had at hand. I did a rough cut first with a generous skin of about 1/10" so that tearout did not affect the final surface.

Then I let the CA soak in; the spalted wood sucks it up immediately and you are right, when applying too much at a time it starts fuming or even white foaming. The CA reacts with the wood within seconds. But applying in several sessions with a few minutes apart made it work without fumes. Then I did a finish cut, leaving another 0.015" skin, wiped on one more layer of CA and repeated the finish cut at the target depth. Took a little longer than a normal bowl but I think the result is worth it. There are still a few small rough spots that I could not sand out but overall I am quite happy with the result. It is sanded up to 500 grit plus steel wool and finished with natural, unpigmented wood stain. Given the 98 degree temperature outside it dried up within an hour.

The curly figure is spectacular and it might even have looked better without the spalting.

[myxpykalix]

WOW that is pretty...good job!

[dmidkiff]

That turned out beautiful. Glad the CA worked. Being patient with a project pays big rewards. I have thought about the cactus juice before but never tried.

[Brady Watson]

Real purdy! Love the quilting/figure

-B

[scottp55]

Congrats Gert!!
Gorgeous full figure Curly(up here they call that Fiddleback when it's that tight) and personally really like the contrasting Spalt!
I can see why you kept it stashed.
Thanks for the gradual CA tips! Counter intuitive to an oil guy where first coat is the most important.
Makes sense with the multiple cuts though. Got a thin rip of live edge Quilted that fades to a sharp point with a little punk before the tip I want to use as an accent piece and think I'll try the gradual Thin approach. Just sanding involved ,but should work. Thanks again as I was wondering how to deal with it.
You forgot to sign your piece of Art!!
scott

[scottp55]

Oh, G.
What's the best way to spread a lot of Thin like that?
I tried an AARP card once, and it worked great as a squeegee on a flat piece of thin stock.
Accelerator on that?
Thanks,
scott

[Burkhardt]

Oh, G. What's the best way to spread a lot of Thin like that?....

Good question and I have not found a good method yet. Unfortunately, CA is not self-spreading like a good laquer. When you brush or wipe it on, it will always have streaks. I have tried an epoxy squeegee and a thin piece of silicone rubber but eventually I just use a disposable nitrile rubber glove and my fingers to spread it. The remaining streaks have to be sanded out.

But that is the reason I do not use CA as the finish and only as a filler or in this case as stabilizer. If you apply a real coat of CA on top of the wood it is rarely consistent thickness and after sanding I notice regularly some blotches of glass-like CA surface mixed with spots of matte wood grain surface so I don't do that anymore. I machine or sand the CA back to the wood surface and use laquer or stain as the finish.

The problem with this thin wall bowl is however that it warped a little after application of CA. Re-machining a thin skin did not reach all surface spots anymore. I had to sand it manually on the lathe using a vacuum plate chuck.

[scottp55]

Thanks G.
Glove sounds about right for the punky live edge
Yeah, used CA ONCE on some Maple I burnt with torch thinking it wound keep tearout low on .09" font, but all it did was bond more to the carbon than the wood and minuscule tearout just ripped the entire black layer off in most places, and entire letters with others.
Thinned Lacquer was the ticket(more brittle?).
Increased font to .12" and it worked fine with CA.
scott