Filling knotted box lid??

[TomO]

Hello all,

I am looking for some ideas for finishing a couple of keepsake boxes I have been making. The lids are pretty highly figured elm and there are holes/gaps in a few of the knots. I cant make my mind up what to do! I have some shellac sanding sealer and hard wax oil. I was planning on finishing with these.

So in summary, what should I fill the knots with (if at all)?, will the filler look weird when the box is finished with the finishes mentioned?

The pictures show one of the boxes. The knots in the picture of the lid are partially filled with dust from sanding the curve smooth (its a bit early to use the hoover to clean them out).

 

[Russell]

On pieces like that I dont like to see them filled. I would blow out and clear the dust with a compressor and the use an oil not a wax as this collects in the holes. This does mean that the holes may well collect dust later on or even the fluff from a duster when the palace cleaners come round :lol:

 

[knappers]

Nice box. Very nice dovetails.

Si.

 

[mickthetree]

really nice looking box.

Could you fill with some sort of resin?

I think I've seen them filled with lead before and polished.

 

[TomO]

Thanks for the replys,

russell, I know what you mean about not filling the knots, I don't want it to look as though I have tried to repair or hide them in any way.
I have not used the hard wax oil yet, I bought it because I like the ease and look of oil finishes and thought this stuff was a best of both worlds. Will this gather in the knots?

mickthetree, When I researched before posting this topic I found alot of people mentioning resin. When I looked for some to buy I was unsure of the actual product I needed. Filling with lead sounds amazing! I would love to see a picture of this effect. Would it dent or scratch easily though?

 

[Shrubby]

Handsome box ! To fill the knots with resin have a look at the Alec Tiranti website.
They sell pigments and metal powders to colour 'Cold Casting Resin'
Matt

 

[mickthetree]

that looks like a good place to start.

I cant offer any advice as to the lead option, just remember seeing it on some furniture makers website over the years.

The resin option sounds good, although I guess you would need to resand the lid down to final grit again.

 

[john bossley]

hi, you could always try fine sawdust and ca glue, dust as close to your wood as possible or a contrast colour, start packing in layers and apply ca to each layer, beware , wear some plastic or latex gloves or you will become very attached to your work,just an idea,jb.

 

[john bossley]

hi, a bit more information, if you have a practice , you could try staining the repair area by useing a fine artist brush and colouring in from the outer edge in cicles following the shape of the knot hole, overlapping by half the brush width and patting dry each time, the stain will have layers of colour looking like a real knot with growth rings, also if you do this put a coat or two of finnish on first so the ca glue does'nt stain the good area around each knot hole, again wear gloves as ca and sawdust also gets very hot very quick, and you cant pull your finger off [not that ive been so stupid myself you understand , also the best tamping tool is various sizes of drill bits,jb.

 

[tomouse]

I'd go for Konig hardwax's. Prtty easy to get a colour match when you start blending them and they are rock hard once set.

 

[tisdai]

A little trick i found usefull when doing smaller or some places with limited acces. To stop the filler getting everywhere, Use a medium sized syrynge without the needle and just squeeze some in, If needed add some dark pigment to it so it does not take away the knots that make the chest look so elegant.

Cheers

Dave