Font bowl

[Roxie]

My Church has a small wooden Font bowl, for Baptisms, that leaks. It had been made from layers and in places they have separated and hence leak. I thought that perhaps I could coat the inside with some epoxy resin and hope that some would seep into the join which I could then clamp.
Has anyone any further ideas/suggestions to repair this vessel? I don't want to separated the layers as I think it would be difficult to re-align them and also the bowl was a donation so making a new one is not an option.
Thanking you in anticipation

John

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi John
My experience of fixing things for the Church is that it is generally a thankless task, not even enjoyable as a project.
If it were me, I would suggest lining it with a cheap stainless steel bowl. The wooden bowl would be left intact, it would all look the same (churches don't like change, it upsets their biorhythms), and nothing would leak.
Cheap, easy and it lets you off the hook.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Glassfibre the inside.

 

[nev]

Would the epoxy/ waterproof coating work on the outside? I am assuming it sits in something and the outside is not seen, that way, if it works visually it would remain identical.

 

[ED65]

Epoxy should work for this and it is 100% waterproof. Excess epoxy on the surface is going to be a bit of a 'mare to remove, best of luck with that!

If you want good penetration, heat the wood well just before application with a hair dryer or careful use of a heat gun on low. Do a quick test on some scrap first so you know what to expect, you'll see the warm surface immediately liquefies the viscous epoxy and makes it creep into crevices. I rely on this when I repair cracked tool handles so that the epoxy isn't just sitting near the surface but has sunk deeply into the crack.

 

[Lazurus]

Contact Easy Composites, I use them for casting resin, very helpful on a range of resins and applications, it is important to get the right stuff and use in the correct way, or get a local turner to make a wood liner if to want to saty with timber.
Stainless still sounds a good option though.