Need some advice

[Bushwhacker]

I had a limb fall on my garage and hired a guy to remove it. When he backed in the drive way his trailer had a couple of log cut offs in it, the shapes caught my eye and I ask if they were scrap. He said yes they would go to the mulcher with my tree limb. So I took a couple of them.
I ran one of them through my planer about a million times and got it flattened very nicely. It ended up about 3 inches thick.
The heart of the piece looks like a butterfly (well it does to me) It has some cracks in the heart that I want to fill.
I need to know what would be a good filler and also would coat the whole piece with it. I want something that would harden and be clear to show off the grain of the wood.
I plan to leave the bark on the sides since it is very tight and all there.
I can get my resident tech (Sandra) to take a picture of it to post if needed.
I intend to post it once it is finished.
Thanks

Bushwhacker

[Stick486]

epoxy is the best way..
if the wood is green you need to dry it 1st...
got pics???

System Three Sculptwood or West System or similar...
check w/ Highland Hardware, Woodcraft or Rocklers...

[Cherryville Chuck]

I've been filling cracks in wooden plane bodies with West System epoxy using their #206 slow hardener. Mixed at their recommended 5 parts resin to 1 part hardener the mix stays liquid for long enough (maybe an hour) that I can keep pouring more epoxy on or sweeping puddles into the cracks as the air leaks out and the epoxy seeps in. It takes overnight for that combo to set up so you have time to work with it. Most other mixes dry too fast and you'll probably get air bubbles and if you are using it as a top coat something that dries fast may not level itself, the same reason I try to avoid other fast dry finishes like fast drying varathane. Epoxy also fills gaps and will help hold the piece together.

Casting resin could work too if you can get one that is slow setting.

[Bushwhacker]

20221110_083644.jpg

epoxy is the best way..
if the wood is green you need to dry it 1st...
got pics???

System Three Sculptwood or West System or similar...
check w/ Highland Hardware, Woodcraft or Rocklers...

It is still wet so may take a while to dry out. I plan to leave it in my (Garage) shop for a few weeks to see how it acts.
The original piece of wood was about 5 inches wide at one side and sloped to three inches on the other. The side I selected to be the back was relatively flat so I planed the front side and then the back.
I took only a tiny bit off with each pass and it took about a million passes and made a huge pile of shavings. It is heavy as hell so probably contains a lot of water.

Bushwhacker

[Stick486]

It is still wet so may take a while to dry out.

yup... butterfly...
talk to @HandyDan about his drying technique...

[HandyDan]

You need to seal the ends ASAP. Wood glue works good for this. I dry bowl blanks soaking them in alcohol overnight. Three inches thick is too thick for my method. If you have a kitchen scale you can weigh it and deem it dry when it quits losing weight. I do put thick wood on the furnace ducts this time of year. Keeps them warm and dries them.

[Bushwhacker]

You need to seal the ends ASAP. Wood glue works good for this. I dry bowl blanks soaking them in alcohol overnight. Three inches thick is too thick for my method. If you have a kitchen scale you can weigh it and deem it dry when it quits losing weight. I do put thick wood on the furnace ducts this time of year. Keeps them warm and dries them.

What does that mean Dan, "seal the ends"? How would I do that with this piece of wood? And is it necessary with a slab of wood
I put it aside in my shop and placed dead wood under it so the air can flow around it.
If it splits or cracks as it dries, I plan to fill it with epoxy. Might just add to the beauty of it. we'll see.

Bushwhacker

[Stick486]

What does that mean Dan, "seal the ends"? How would I do that with this piece of wood?

w/ this piece of wood it's the face... think end of the log it came off of....

[HandyDan]

The end grain should be sealed with a coat of glue or latex paint. The ends lose moisture quicker causing cracks. Leave it be if you want it to crack.

[Bushwhacker]

The end grain should be sealed with a coat of glue or latex paint. The ends lose moisture quicker causing cracks. Leave it be if you want it to crack.

I appreciate your advice and assistance but feel that you could have left that last sentence off.

Bushwhacker