Need your thoughts.

[TreeWizard]

Yesterday I started a roughout of a stylized eagle head. I found a piece of black cherry I had left over from a shelf I made many years ago and thought for my first stylized carving the cherry would look nice.

I got the pattern drawn on the blank and cut out on the bandsaw, then started to rough it out with the Pfingst carver and suddenly what appeared to have been perfectly blemish free piece of wood ended up with a small but very loose knot on the top side of the head.

It appears to go all the way through the wood and exits under the head. Help! Does anyone have any way to salvage this piece without filling it with wood filler and painting it?

[carver33]

I think I'd try to stabilize the knot by forcing super glue into both sides and keep on carvin'

Bill (Aiken, SC)

[doris]

if you can pull out the knot in one direction, without destroying it, then i would cover it with glue and put it back in...if you cannot pull it out, then i would probably leave it as is, or maybe put a little glue in to stabilize it,,, having said that, i should note that i am no expert in these things, this is just what i were trying if i were in your situation...

[AlArchie]

Here's what I'd recommend....but don't holler too loud if it doesn't work. I've done this before and it worked out fine. If, Like Doris mentioned, you can't remove the knot and replace it with some glue, mix up some 1 hour clear epoxy and load it in around the edges of the knot from the top. Keep feeding it in untill it drips out the bottom. That thick epoxy should adhere to both the knot and the surrounding wood and cappilary action should draw the epoxy into all the fine nooks and crannies along the length of the knot.

You could probably use the 5 minute epoxy if you can work fast. That might be a little less messy.

Al

[sitesby]

Just one note regarding the glue. I have had good success with using "Gorilla Glue" as it expands into all the little cracks. As mentioned before keep feeding until it runs out the other side. You will need to wait a day for it to fully setup and then clean up the glue expansion, but it has worked on basswood projects.
I also recommend testing on the scrap left over from the bandsaw work.
Good Luck.

[mark yundt]

These are all possible fixes and will work just fine.
One other alternative that I use in restoration of carvings where there is a crack,, or hole is to simply get rid of it.Especially a knot.
Just drill it out and make a plug from a scrap piece WHERE THE GRAIN MATCHES AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN FIND IT. I emphasize this because if you are filling a hole in end grain for example,, and you make a plug from flat saw stock,, the repair will be more obvious as the grains don't come near looking the same. Whatever size hole you need to eliminate the knot,, just drill it out. Then make a SLIGHTLY larger plug,, or make a piece that is slightly tapered,, add some glue and drive it in tightly. The joints will pretty much disappear because as you force the plug in,, it will conform to the hole and vice- versa.
Then just cut off the excess and carve/sand it smooth. Actually if you do this while the glue is still wet,, it'll automatically fill any irregularities you might have .
Now the reason I prefer this method,,,instead of the others which will work is this.

When you go to carve using the other methods you'll run into epoxy or some other glue trying to fill a gap. Here you won't have this. Also with the other methods you still have an ugly loose fitting knot with a ring of glues around it. This makes a mess when trying to finish or stain the piece. If you do stain,, it won't take here and you'll have an ugly stain free ring of glue to stare at ruining your piece. Might as well paint a bullseye on your carving.With this method,,you may have a slightly different grain match,, but you will have no ring of glue or epoxy to even consider,,the stain will take and although it isn't a Perfect match,, it's a good solution. One I can live with as it's less obtrusive.
The other solutions are wonderful. but I prefer not having all those other issues to deal with.
Here I'm showing a quick mock up of what can be done. I didn't pick a perfect match just so it shows up better for the photograph... a little effort and i could have found better match.. I also didn't use a knot hole..a hole is a hole after you drill it out. and you can see the plug I made. Add glue and drive it in, carve it off and the joint looks pretty good. I even carved down into the plug and it still looks fine. Better I think than a ring of epoxy to deal with. Plus,, consider how closely we're looking at this,, from a normal viewing distance,, it disappears even with the slightly odd matched grain.
My methods of filling cracks are similar to this as well.
Beats looking at a knot hole I think.

[Simplyme]

Its amazing what I can learn from this site........

A fan for life.........

[doris]

ah, yes, that looks great, much better than keeping the knot and have glue lines around. i will remember that one, thanks !

[Hugh-P]

I know its good cause I like it, grin, great job !!!!!!!

[Dicky]

Great tip Mark. Thanks for sharing.