Walnut finish

[DFC1047]

Hi,
novice "woodworker" here.
I have some walnut, tree slices at the moment, from which I am intending making a chest of drawers. Apart from thickness planing, jointing etc. etc., before I start cutting I would like a bit of advice from those who know please.
I have 4 "slices" of nominal 20mm thick walnut, and each has a split knot, for want of better terminology, photo below.

Is it possible or even worthwhile filling them and leaving them as a feature so to speak, or is it more trouble than it 's worth.
Thanks in advace.

I'll repost when advice re "finish" is required.

 

[ED65]

Any cracks of similar small voids are easily filled with 5-min epoxy and whatever you want to use as filler. It's fairly common to make a feature of them by making the epoxy black, and recently glow-in-the-dark fills have become trendy.

 

[DFC1047]

ED65 ,
That sounds brilliant !! , could you point me at a bit more info please

 

[ED65]

All you need to begin with is a basic 5-min epoxy. Practically any two-part epoxy seems as good as any other for this type of thing so if you have any cheaper brands of epoxy there in France they should do the trick.

If you want to colour it black you can use a drop of black oil or enamel paint. Once mixed you just dribble it into the hole from the mixing stick until it's sitting proud of the surface and then let it harden. Depending on the temperature after about an hour or so it'll be hard but not fully cured and it will plane down very nicely to flush it with the surrounding wood.

Once cured it will sand and take finish very well.

 

[DFC1047]

Thanks a lot, that sounds perfect. I'll do that on all pieces tomorrow

 

[custard]

All you need to begin with is a basic 5-min epoxy. Practically any two-part epoxy seems as good as any other for this type of thing so if you have any cheaper brands of epoxy there in France they should do the trick.

If you want to colour it black you can use a drop of black oil or enamel paint. Once mixed you just dribble it into the hole from the mixing stick until it's sitting proud of the surface and then let it harden. Depending on the temperature after about an hour or so it'll be hard but not fully cured and it will plane down very nicely to flush it with the surrounding wood.

Once cured it will sand and take finish very well.

I agree with 5 minute Epoxy, but they're definitely not all the same. If you want a clear finish (which personally would be my preference, certainly on European Walnut) then you need a crystal clear finish like Devcon, many (like West for example) have a slightly yellow tinge which gives the game away immediately as a filler. The other thing is that despite being labelled "5 minute" if you try levelling off after 5 minutes you'll have a real mess where the very top surface ends up cloudy and milky. Leave it for about 30-45 minutes before levelling, it still won't be rock hard but it'll level cleanly.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Metal powders can look good as well.

 

[DFC1047]

Once again, thanks for all the advice.I was thinking of the working time when mixed and thought there is no real urgency for it to set so I've just ordered some 15 minute setting epoxy, which is advertised as clear finish.
In fact just got all the wood through the thicknesser, used the spindle moulder for edging each piece for jointing, which
I must say, was a lot easier than using the jointer, and the squareness on the edge was perfect. Glued up the 4 lengths for the top. Some beautiful grainining in the wood.

 

[ED65]

I agree with 5 minute Epoxy, but they're definitely not all the same. If you want a clear finish (which personally would be my preference, certainly on European Walnut) then you need a crystal clear finish like Devcon, many (like West for example) have a slightly yellow tinge which gives the game away immediately as a filler.

I'm not sure if it was unclear so in case it was, I wasn't suggesting the 5-min epoxy as finish, just as a binder for the fills.

Yes almost all cheap epoxies are at least a little yellow, and a bit annoyingly they can even vary noticeably batch to batch, but any slight colour they have doesn't matter when made into a dark filler material by tinting as I was suggesting.

The other thing is that despite being labelled "5 minute" if you try levelling off after 5 minutes you'll have a real mess where the very top surface ends up cloudy and milky. Leave it for about 30-45 minutes before levelling, it still won't be rock hard but it'll level cleanly.

Good info, but I did suggest waiting about an hour.

 

[DFC1047]

Thought I might as well stick with the same post.
I've been experimenting with finish .........used Finpol, Danish Oil and a french Furniture Oil. using some scrap, I sanded down finishing with 400 grit, then 3 coats of Finpol. With the oils, I tried the wet sanding with 400 grit then rubbed across the grain, and also without the wet sanding.
I prefered the oil finish, not a great deal of difference sanded/unsanded TBH. Darker coloration than with Finpol ( only slight) , but the woodgrain looked nicer with the oil.
Now decided to have a go at doing some simple band inlaying.................question, if I used a light banding eg. Satinwood , could I still finish the whole area with oil.
Obviously all new to me...............any suggestions/advice would be great.

 

[custard]

if I used a light banding eg. Satinwood , could I still finish the whole area with oil.
Obviously all new to me...............any suggestions/advice would be great.

If you were banding/inlaying with Arctic Sycamore, Holly, or one of the very white woods then you might be concerned about the yellow tinge that oils always bring, but Satinwood is pretty yellow to begin with so there are no issues oiling it.

How are you getting on with your table saw, is the guarding/riving knife proving reliable?

 

[DFC1047]

Thanks for the info. Not bought the banding yet as I was waiting for reply, so I will now get it ordered. Just fancy trying to put some on the drawer fronts, nothing fancy, just a square outline or similar.

Table saw ..............chatted with a retired engineering friend, and I am going to use the existing knife, but move the mounting pointcloser to the blade ,underneath the table. Also change the shape of the blade to curve around the saw blade. When it is done I will take a photo.

Still thinking of my welfare Custard !!!! thanks ha ha .