Questions about cracks in Spalted Maple

Patrice Lemée

Patrice Lemée

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Aug 13, 2002
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I have spalted maple scales that I want to use to make a hidden tang knife. There are a few cracks at the ends.
Should I use black epoxy to fill in the cracks before working on them?
I am afraid that it will crack some more when I make the channel for the tang.
Second question is: Is there something better than epoxy?

Thanks
 
Depends on the size of the crack.Small hair line cracks I fill with thin CA.Bigger cracks or inclusions use epoxy.
Stan
 
Yes Rob they are stabilized.
Thanks Stan, these are pretty good sized cracks so I'll give epoxy a try.
 
It seems that the stabilizing should have filled the cracks, if you are worried about cracking when you channel the for the tann wouldnt you be worried about cracking when the knife is finished? Sometimes the cracks do not go very deep and when you sand the end they dissappear you may want to estimate the depth and see if when removed you have enough wood.
 
I'll look at that product Don, thanks.

Patrick, these were free samples added to an order, hence the defects. Since this will not be sold but for me I will see if they crack with use and make another handle if they do.
I will probably have enough wood when finished shaping with only smaller cracks but I wanted to "stabilize" everything before hand in case it would help.
 
I've found that highly figured wood is likely to have checks or cracks. Once it's stable I don't worry about it much, but I usually need to fill to make a smooth clean surface. I keep small jars in the shop, filled with very fine sawdust taken off the benchtop when sanding. This gives me a material for filling. I mix the dust with Acraglas to a putty consistancy, and fill the spot with that. Let it dry and then continue to work the piece as normal.

9/10 times you'd have to work at it to find the repair, and it will stain just like the surrounding wood.
 
I do as eisman does and make filler for large gaps and holes ( common with high figure buckeye burl). Small checks and crack lines are dealt with by using thin CA glue. I flood the crack and let it soak in for about 15 minutes, adding more resin as it soaks in if needed. Then I flood again and wait 30 seconds, then immediately hit it with a 220 or 400 grit belt. Repeat this flood/sand step until the crack is sealed and filled with the dust created by the belt. In many cases i can't find the crack anymore.

I seal cracks in mammoth pretty much the same way, but first soak the entire piece in this CA and then let it cure for 24 hours. I will repeat that treatment until the ivory will wick up no more resin. After the handle is sanded to near final shape, i do any necessary filling by the flood/sand technique.
 
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