Woodchuck question.

philthygeezer

philthygeezer

Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
746
Hey all.

I've got a 20" villager sirupati that I am refinishing the handle on. It's got a couple of fair-sized cracks in the wood handle. I tried soaking the handle to close the fissures to no avail.

So how do I fill the cracks? I have super glue and Birchwood Casey pore-filler. Should I:

1. Fill with Super Glue and then finish with Tru-Oil

2. Fill with the B-C pore filler and then continue with Tru-oil

3. Put an initial 2-3 coats of Tru Oil in to bring out the grain, sanding the handle and letting the residue fill the cracks. Then finally fill with the B-C pore filler (the stuff is essentially a much thicker version of Tru-Oil).

Which way would you think is best?
 
Best (IMHO): Do a rough sanding of the handle and save the wood dust. Mix dust with two-ton epoxy; add dust until it definitely colors the epoxy. use your finger or a small metal spatula or something to really force the epoxy down into the crack. Glop it up a bit so that when you sand it down, it will end up flush with the surface of the wood. Let the epoxy-wood dust mix dry for a few days, and then sand down your handle as you normally would. After you get the tru oil finish on there, you probably won't even be able to spot the repair.

Sarge had good luck with ground up shells mixed in with epoxy. I think he used pecan shells, but I can't remember for sure. A search might turn it up.
 
Philthy another option you may have if you try it carefully is pulling the cracks together with a tool.
Oops, I keep forgetting that not everyone has a ViceGrip Chainwrench like I do.:rolleyes: :grumpy: I've used it successfully to draw cracked handles together with superglue in the cracks and they haven't failed yet.
Josh's suggestion is probably best unless you have some such device laying around.:D
 
I've used Josh's method several times. It works, but I've found that the colored glue is ALWAYS a lot darker than the surrounding wood. Doesn't bother me, but it's something to watch out for. Or, it may not happen to you at all. Caveat Mucilage.
 
Aardvark said:
...Or, it may not happen to you at all. Caveat Mucilage.
Click to expand...

Is Caveat Mucilage similar to Caveat Metimucil? Let the constipated beware.

I remember Will Kwan used hose clamps to squeeze cracked handles together.

Wouldn't it be better not to squeeze the cracks together? I figure the wood or horn is now not under stress. Therefore just fill in the voids inside the handle and it'll be less likely to crack again.
:confused:
 
When I mix the sawdust with epoxy, I like to add as much sawdust as possible to make the mixture as dark as possible. When you finish off the handle with an oil finish, I find that the handle will darken to match the color of the sawdust epoxy.

I noticed that tung oil will darken the handle more than Tru Oil does. So, if necessary, apply a sealer coat of tung oil thinned out with turpentine.

I chipped a piece out of a bloodwood handle on one of my knives, and I used this method to fill in the chipped area. At first the fill looked a lot darker, but after the tung oil and a couple coats of tru oil, it was actually difficult to tell that it had been fixed.
 
The fix with sawdust and epoxy will be strong, and would work best if the cracks are larger. If you use a sawdust-glue mix, try to get any oil or wax off of the handle first with mineral spirits.

Soaking the handle in water could induce rust of the tang. Soaking it in mineral oil could make it impossible for a glue to adhere to the wood.

If the cracks are smaller and narrower, you might try mixing some of the sawdust from the handle with a good wood glue, such as a yellow or perhaps a liquid hide glue. First, make sure that the handle is dried out. You can always check the sawdust-glue mix first to see how it looks after it dries overnight - on some wax paper.

I personally would hesitate to try to squeeze the crack closed with visegrips, since this could either work or make things worse by causing more cracking - it is a gamble that may or may not pay off. You have to decide.
 
arty said:
Soaking the handle in water could induce rust of the tang. Soaking it in mineral oil could make it impossible for a glue to adhere to the wood.
Click to expand...

Heh. I first washed all the grime off with mineral oil, then sanded at 220 then soaked in water 3 times. :D :D
 
Well I took all the sawdust from sanding and mixed it with BC wood filler. It's drying in the cracks as we speak.
 
philthygeezer said:
Heh. I first washed all the grime off with mineral oil, then sanded at 220 then soaked in water 3 times. :D :D
Click to expand...
for future reference
I always add Baking Soda to water in any similar situation
not perfect, but eases my mind a bit re rust in tight spaces

Any alkali should work, but not -too- strong

btw
mud makes a good crack filler
:D

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