Breaking small parts

[George P]

I have a problem occasionally of breaking small parts of my carving (tails, feet, hat tassles, etc). Would coating the small part with yellow wood glue help strengthen it? Would acrylic paint stick to the glue? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

George

[BrandantR]

You can use a thin super glue and soak the small part to strenghen it. You can paint over it, but you will have to use undiluted paints to do so. The best way to deal with carving fine details is to take into account the direction of the grain when laying out the piece from the start. Here's a post from my blog that goes into grain orientation if you care to look. Hope this helps.

[Steve Reed]

Agree with the above, soaking in superglue works well. Some stains and paints won't adhere as well to the piece however. If you intend to paint the "hardened" part, you can prime it with Gesso if that's appropriate for what you're doing. Just my $.02

[tweendykes]

Even with strengthening or hardening of the wood I still find that the best way is to keep tools sharp whilst supporting the wood with either a gloved finger or some packing.

If it should break it can be repaired imediately with MitreFix or simmilar two part isocyanate glue to give an almost invisible stronger than wood repair.

Patience brings its own pleasure.