Need your thoughts.

[dnstehly]

I hadn't read the second page of this thread before submitting a reply. So I'll edit to say, with all due respect to the excellent suggestions made so far, I'll come back one more time with a recommendation for the merits of polyester casting resin. It's made by "Castin Craft" and sold at most craft stores such as Michael's. I use this technique on knots, worm holes and all sorts of blemishes frequently. Drop the resin onto the knot with a medicine dropper. It is very fluid and will fill every available opening. If the knot goes clean through, cover the bottom with duct tape before introducing the resin. This will avoid having it run out onto parts of the carving where you don't want it. It generally requires two applications as the resin soaks into the wood and really adheres tenaciously. Also, it dries totaly clear and transparent so that any that shows around the edges of the knot simply looks like part of the finish. The second application should be made so that the resin piles up slightly on top of the knot. After drying about 24 hrs. the "pile up" can be rasped smooth to the surface, sanded, and buffed off with #0000 steel wool.