Advice needed on how to make this knot look good please

[mini670]

Hi there forum,

Im new here, hi, looks like a good forum.

Ok so i have been messing about with a piece of waney Oak, its cracked along its length so been putting butterflys in.... However near one edge is a big knot, one half had gone a bit soft and crumbly so i carved it out. Overlapping into this knot is one side of a butterfly.
I'm really unsure how to make this looks good. Been toying with resin (never used it before), but worried it would look funny since it is quite an expanse.
If anyone could offer any ideas id appreciate it muchly.
See photos below
Thanks

 

[Jacob]

how to make this looks good?
It's firewood - would look good in a fire. :lol:

 

[MattRoberts]

I'd go with epoxy resin and a very dark tint. Lovely keys!

 

[mini670]

thanks,
Do you have a preferred type and supplier for the resin?

 

[Droogs]

This stuff dries crystal clear but you can tint if you want. don't forget to get hardner as well:

http://www.easycomposites.co.uk/#!/resi ... resin.html

 

[ED65]

It's very common these days to fill defects like that with dark resin or epoxy, usually black or very dark brown. But you can tint the resin any colour you like so if red or violet takes your fancy...

You don't need anything more than Poundland epoxy glue for this type of thing. It seems to be just as good as equivalent name-brand epoxies and of course is only a fraction of the price.

Tinting can be done with oil paint or enamel paints and dry powders. If adding paint you won't need much to get a good solid colour and adding too much weakens the epoxy so add it in sparingly judging colour as you go. Additionally or instead of paint you can fill with fine sanding dust (Google "epoxy wood flour" and you'll see how this is used in boat building for example), and well-dried coffee grounds can be used for a dark brown verging on black. Again you can Google this if you want to see how it looks.

You'll want to overfill the hole slightly so the epoxy is slightly proud, then bring it down flush. I like to do this mostly with a plane but you can do the entire job by sanding if need be. The epoxy should be quite well hardened or completely cured beforehand as if it's slightly rubbery still there's a danger it can pull free of the surface and leave ugly flaws around the edge.

One last thing, if part of the defect meets up with a crack that runs the full thickness of the board you'll need to seal the bottom before adding the epoxy. Parcel tape or duct tape work well for this.

 

[Racers]

Just leave it how it is.

Oak knot box by Racers, on Flickr

Pete

 

[Geoff_S]

I agree with Pete, just leave it like it is. But then that is just personal preference.

I have a friend who decided to have a solid oak T&G floor laid, but was adamant with the fitter that the oak should be knot free. It was installed, knot free to an exceptional standard. Was she pleased? No, because she thought that it looked like plastic laminate (it did!)

Then there is the other friend who also decided to have an oak floor but had all the knots filled with black filler. Yech

The knots are there, other than disposing of that bit of timber, nothing is going to hide them and in my personal opinion no amount of any type of filler is going to make them look better.

 

[MikeG.]

I wouldn't leave it as it is. There is too much loose stuff for me. It looks like it needs a good clean out, and so it's a pity the butterfly is there already.

 

[Racers]

I have filled pippy oak with epoxy and instant coffee, it works well and smells nice when you scrape it flush.

Pete

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Actually, what are those butterflies doing ? One seems to be into fairly solid wood, one into nothing much.

One treatment for loose knots, which I've used for (much) smaller round-ish knots in oak, is to transplant some solid knot from a bit of scrap and inlay it into the cleaned up hole.

 

[Lazurus]

Easy composites water clear polyester resin, tinted a nice dark blue. Put a wall of hot glue around the hole and slightly over fill, sand back through the grits and polish to finish. Look up "river tables" on you tube, there are some stunning examples.

 

[OscarG]

I can't offer any help I'm afraid but wanted to say I love that inlaid dark wood butterfly, looks great!

 

[OscarG]

Just leave it how it is.

Pete, box looks great! Can I ask how you finished that please?

 

[Racers]

Thanks, its finished with Danish oil, one of the best finishes for oak.

Pete

 

[custard]

You're the one who has to live with it so it's your call, but IMO decorative butterflies and epoxy infill is a bit too much.

Incidentally, those butterflies will be really hard to sink in to any depth while still achieving a gap free fit. I'm surprised you've done as well as you have, so full credit there. Personally I work a tiny angle (one degree or less) on a couple of the sides of the butterfly so it's wedged in tight with zero gaps. But the little notches you've cut into the "wings" precludes this approach.

Designing on the hoof rarely works out well. The vagaries of waney edged boards means it pays to plan out every detail in advance before you pick up a tool. I appreciate you're only "messing around", but you've clearly got a lot of talent so I hope you take things further. With more serious projects you don't want to find yourself in the home straight but still wrestling with a big uncertainty like this.

Good luck!

 

[Tasky]

This stuff dries crystal clear but you can tint if you want. don't forget to get hardner as well:

I'd vote for this approach, depending entirely on who it's for. Some people like this kind of character in their wood, while others prefer the more uniform surface you'd expect from furniture shop veneer.
Personally, I'd consider a tint that is complimentary to the surrounding wood colours, rather than anything too dark and contrasting.

Thanks, its finished with Danish oil, one of the best finishes for oak.

Danish oil, you say?
Interesting............ certainly looks lovely to me...... [grabs notebook and scribbles down "Danish oil good for Oak"]!!

Any particular brand you'd recommend, for use on some American White Oak?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've used it on oak no problem - do you have any idea why manufacturers advise not to do it? I tried to check this out with Liberon (iirc) but didn't get an answer after their advice - which was that it was ideal for all hardwoods except for oak.

 

[mini670]

Apologies for the unintentional bump, and late reply.

Wow, thanks for all the replies, very helpful.
Ok well im no carpenter. Was looking for a TV stand (for not much ££) to fit a specific alcove gap, couldn't find one so started messing about with this.
Got some epoxy glue from good old poundland today and tried the coffee grounds trick on the underside that wont be seen. Just drying now.
I did want to leave the knot as it was, but it crumbled a bit when putting that joint in, so out it came. Feel something has to be done though, those edges of the butterfly look strange exposed like that.
The butterflies are maybe not required in that area, but some other areas require them. those two in the photos will hopefully complement the others. Perhaps gone over the top.... have to see when the other ones are in.

Pete, also love that box, looks great. Was going to use tung oil as a finish, but now considering the danish oil.

Also learnt that the piece of oak was not fully dry. Planed up lovely and flat, but two weeks later cracks opened up more and has some twist now... Considering using a router sled thingy to make flat again.

 

[mini670]

Ok,
So i took advice and filled it with resin and coffee grounds. It came out not too bad.
Thanks for the help with this.

Picture of table attached.

thanks