I recently picked up an interesting piece of 8/4 English Oak. Given its size, shape and wonderful color, I intend it to be the top for a coffee table. Unfortunately, it has several areas of what I’ll call “rot” and a central pithy area. The attached photos illustrate the problems.
I am wondering whether it is possible to stabilize (most of) the rotting sections or whether I should, or must, selectively remove them from the piece. If it is necessary to remove it, is there a way, especially at the edges, to do so without ruining the free-form character of the piece? As for the pithy section, I would be grateful for suggestions on how best to prepare that for finishing.
Lastly, since I come from a long line of recliners, I expect the coffee table’s most popular feature will be its function as a footrest. Suggestions for a durable and renewable finish for this piece would be welcomed.
Many thanks in advance for your advice.
Eric
Replies
Are these pithy areas fairly stable--or will they break off easily? I have finished a couple of pieces similar to this although not so bad on the underside. I would tend to leave them pretty much as is, sand the piece well. I finished ours with a wipe on satin spar varnish (not poly). For the rough areas I used a brush and wiped off as best I could.
Thanks for the suggestion Gretchen.
The pithy area (I am not certain that is a proper description...) is surrounded by good wood, but it has a fuzzy, fibrous character. I am pretty sure that it need several coats (of varnish?) built up until it fills in and can be finished smooth with the rest of the board. As a newbie, I'm not sure whether to try some sort of filler before going to the finish.
As for the other areas, the underside rot is quite loose and breaks off readily. Fortunately it is on the underside and maybe a few coats of a hard varnish would help to hold it together for this purpose. I was thinking maybe to take compressed air to it fairly agressively and then apply finish to what is left. The "pitted" area on top is a little more solid but would chip off for sure if hit by a stray shoe, toy etc. I would like to keep it because it looks neat, but I'm not sure if simply impregnating it with a varnish would give it adequate strength...
Eric
By the way - if anyone knows the correct terms for what I have called "pithy", "rotted" and "pitted" I would be pleased to know them.
The underside of our boards were not anything like this--just rough sawn. For the edge you might just sort of knock off the stuff to get to fairly stable wood. This is going to be a very rustic piece. I would also not try to get the varnish to fill in to the level of the wood--just leave it crennulated. It is what it is, after all. For the bottom I might sand it down a LOT or do your compressed air trick if that is what will do it. But then sand some more.
For the place you think might get knocked out, grind it out a bit (Dremel tool?) so the worst is out. But leave it "indented". We have a pretty large knot in our burl walnut slab--8' long and 24" wide at the crotch.
What legs are you going to devise? That I will be most interested in.Gretchen
I was originally thinking of a fairly modern design that included an arched (broad rainbow) base but it is still in my head and didn't even make it to the sketch book. But I have since decided that I should really try to retain the rustic flavor of the piece. I do have an arborist friend who might be able to collect for me the perfect pieces for making a complementary free-edge type of base, but I'm going to ponder it for a while - I'm not in too much of a rush.
I think I might check out George Nakashima's book from the library (again) to see if I can find some inspiration. That is the only place I have seen free-edge table tops and the like. Maybe I should post in another location to ask for ideas?
Do you have any suggestions?
Eric
By the way, if you are ever in New Hope, Pa, be sure to check out the Nakashima woodworks. I loved it..
Eric,
There is a product--the name of which I can't now remember--that advertised it would consolidate pecky wood. Supposedly it soaked into the wood before it hardened, making pecky areas hard again.
As I recall (never reliable these days) it was an epoxy based product. You could try WEST's web site to see if they have any information on it, or try one of the sites like Homestead that carries great loads of finishing supplies. Or your luck may be good and someone else will know what product I'm so dimly remembering, what it's called, and if it's any good.
Alan
Alan,
Thanks for the tip. I went right to the Homestead site but didn't find anything obvious. I will contact them directly.
Sorry but I am new to the finishing area (and most other woodworking ones as well!). I wasn't able to find anything when I typed "WEST finishing supplies" into Google. Have you got a URL for them?
Again, as a newbie, can I ask if "pecky wood" is a common woodworking term?
Eric
Eric:
This may be the stuff Alan was referring to:
http://www.westsystem.com/
Good luck.
Leon Jester
Roanoke VA
Eric, I think you should try thin cyanoacrylate adhesive. I and lots of other wood-turners use it to stabilize the funky stuff. It is a little tricky to apply to large areas. I usually just hold the tip to the work and let it flow in as long as it will take it up, while I slowly move the tip around. A small squeegee will help.
Use caution with this stuff. The fumes are really bad for nose and eyes, and that thin stuff always seems to find a way of getting on your skin which will not only glue you to the board in a heartbeat, it will burn a blister.
I get mine locally at Hobbytown USA. <www.hobbytown.com> It is not cheap. I'm guessing you will need 4 -6 Oz.
I don't know this product but it is probably worth a try on the punky (THAT is the word, I think) areas. But I wouldn't use it as the finish for the entire board. It will look like a bar top covered with a coat of plastic. In my opinion, that will rob you of a beautiful warm finish for the board proper. We have many pieces finished with multiple coats of wipe on non-poly spar varnish that we regularly use for foot stools and glass holders without damage.Gretchen
I am inclined to keep it as natural as possible - a bar-top look isn't what I am hoping for. Fortunately, the worst section is on the underside. I think I'll spend a little more time determining the implications of knocking it out and sanding to good wood - leaving it crennulated as you suggested. But the pithy area on top has a fuzzy texture that I would like to smooth out. I'm not sure if the varnish will do it - epoxy might be necessary.
Thanks to all for suggestions on epoxies and hardeners. I may need to put it into action. Unfortunately, being in the Great White North and having a basement shop, nasty vaporous substances and ventillation are a problem to deal with over the next 8 months or so...
Additional suggestions are always welcome.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Eric
Eric,
Drum roll, quietly first, crescendo! Trumpets... TAA DAAAAH! The people with better memories than mine (which means everyone) to the rescue.
The stuff I was thinking about is the epoxy product. IMHO, WEST is THE authority on all things epoxy. I've both telephoned and emailed them with questions and they've been very helpful. The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction is a great primer for using epoxy with wood--even if you have no interest in ever making a boat. Their wood work is first class, even without epoxy.
BTW, according to my dictionary:
'Pecky': 1. marked by areas of rot or decay. 2. marked by discolored or rotted grain, esp. wood.
'Punk': 2. dry, decayed wood...
So they're both correct. Those that talked wood with me all used 'pecky,' so I do too.
'Crenellate': to furnish with embrasures [like the top of a medieval castle's wall]. I've not heard 'crenellated' (the correct spelling) used to describe anything about wood--but I've not heard everything.
Alan
Edited 10/6/2004 6:07 pm ET by Alan
And I agree wholeheartedly with "pecky"--have also heard that.Gretchen
I confess that when Gretchen used crennulated I had to go to Webster's to find out what it meant. With a spelling correction I got the following:
Main Entry: cren·u·lat·ed View ImagePronunciation: 'kren-y&-"lA-t&dVariant(s): or cren·u·late View Image /-l&t, -"lAt/Function: adjectiveEtymology: New Latin crenulatus, from crenula, diminutive of Medieval Latin crena: having an irregularly wavy or serrate outline <a crenulated shoreline>- cren·u·la·tion View Image /"kren-y&-'lA-sh&n/ noun
This definition makes sense in the context of our discussion about leaving the free/natural edge/surface of the wood
So I now have crenulated, punky and pecky that I can use without fear. Fantastic!
I'll check out the Gougeon brothers - thanks.
Eric
http://www.smithandcompany.com
They sell a "Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer" that is marketed for stabilizing partially rotted wood. You could probably make your own by diluting regular epoxy with lacquer thinner, but the epoxy guys claim there's more to it than that...
Anyway, soak the wood (all of it, not just the pecky areas) with the thinned epoxy, then use regular gap-filling epoxy to fill in the holes, sand it all smooth and apply finish as usual. The epoxy will soak in and stabilize the soft areas; it probably also prevents further deterioration. It also, incidentally, renders the wood very nearly moisture-proof. The thinner stinks, making it nasty stuff to use indoors. I've used it on a couple of projects.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
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