dealing with a defect in Birds Eye Maple
I’m building a blanket chest with birdseye maple panels. I resawed a board and created a bookmatched front panel. I noticed a small dark area on one board while doing the glue up, but didn’t find it distracting. But after sanding the dark area grew considerably (see photos) and now I am seeking opinions on what to do about it.
Options that I have considered are:
1.Leave it and enjoy it. I would probably opt for this but oddly enough the dark spot only shows up on one half of the bookmatch, so it kind of takes away from the bookmatch effect. I also find my eye drawn to that spot, in a negative way.
2. Patch it. I don’t have any experience with this but if I hear that it is possible to get a nearly invisible patch I’m willing to give it a try. If you think this is a good idea I’d also appreciate some pointers on how to do it, thickness of the patch to use, etc.
3. Use the flip side of the panel. Again, oddly enough, the dark spot is barely visible on the back side of this 3/8″ panel. The downside to this is that I lose most of the bookmatch effect.
4. A heavy coat of dark enamel paint. That has the added advantage of hiding all those little circle things in the wood that are so annoying. (just kidding).
Are there other options I should consider?
Thanks,
Jerry
Replies
Not a blemish in my eyes. Just Character. Enjoy!
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
I'm with Bruce.....
Bruce,
It looks like a bird that found his girlfriends pasties!
What's nice about it is that every time Afton looks at the piece he'll be fixated on that character in the wood, wondering if I........
I'm gettin as bad as Mel,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
"I'm gettin as bad as Mel,"
Gawd preserve us. Don't go there......Philip Marcou
Could be a worm or grub excavation, which is why could be why it grew when you sanded it. Presumably some woodpecker got the critter before it could extend the tunnel.
I agree with Bruce. It's exactly that kind of individual mark that helps separate what you do from factory-made stuff.
Norman
Its called a feature and should stay. Looks fine.
Jerry,
Got a fine tipped brush and some India ink? Brush a little on the "pristine" panel to match the "defective"one. Or maybe some dye or stain.
Don't try to patch it though. The grain pattern on bird's eye is very difficult to match up. You'd see it for sure.
I'm all for character. But a dark spot like that on one side of a panel and not on the other might look like an inadvertent coffee stain or something when you've got the piece finished. That's why it might be better to add something to the other side to have the two closer in "character."
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Jerry,
For sure I would not worry about that- it is a natural mark, not a defect and it appears to be level.
But if you had to "fix" it the last thing I would do is paint it i.e I would NOT paint it. I don't agree with Zolton when he says it would be difficult to fix, but I am not sure what he has in mind as a fix.
If I had to fix this with an invisible repair I would carefully select a suitable piece of stock which as matching colour lines- easy to do with that wood. I would use this by planting it into a shaped hole covering that "defect". The profile of the hole follows those grain lines and therefore is invisible to most people-especially if they don't know what they are looking for.
I have described this process in previous posts and if you could dredge the archives if you wanted to find them
Jerry,
Another approach would be to lighten that dark area with a couple of light coats of artist oil paint. You can buy them in small tubes. A color that is close to the darker highlights in the panel would be what I would shoot for; Something like a raw sienna maybe?
Use a small brush and dab a light coat on the dark area, then use a dry brush to smooth and soften it. Keep the paint confined to the dark area and let it dry completely before you finish the chest. You don't have to blend it perfectly to the rest of the panel, just take it down a shade or two.
Regards,
-Chuck
Af,
What you have is what's called a mineral streak. Similar to a worm scar, but worm scars have an exit hole from the worm. I would leave it and enjoy the contrast.
Lee
IMHO, it is pretty cool to allow this kind of "character" to appear in a piece. Do not let this deter you from using a very beautiful piece of wood.
Thanks to all for the input and suggestions. Normally I like wood with some character marks like this, but for some reason this one just isn't sitting right. I suppose it is because it is practically the only dark area on a fairly large panel, i.e. I would rather have 5-6 random marks like this rather than just one. It would be especially helpful if it had a "twin" on the other half of the bookmatch.I like the idea of trying to soften the color with some artists paint, especially since if it doesn't work out, nothing is lost. And if it doesn't work out I may try Zolton's duplication suggestion.And I'm still open to ideas or other suggestions.Jerry
Jerry - Actually, what you probably have is a bark inclusion. They're very common in maple and cherry. Unfortunately, it's likely that the differential absorption of the bark will make painting/staining difficult, and the fact that it's a much darker color makes it all the more problematic.
My personal choice would be to just leave it, but if it bothers you, a dutchman is likely to be the only really bullet-proof solution. A dutchman is just a relatively thick wood inlay glued into a routed-out recess over the defect. They're fairly common in repaired table tops, chest lids, etc..., and can take lots of different forms, from double-dovetails (probably the most common) to the machine-made ovals that you see in birch plywood that covers knots.
The best way to get this to visually match is with a dutchman that doesn't have a regular, geometric shape (such as an oval or a square). You can accomplish this fairly easily if you've carving tools - you simply describe an outline with various sweeps of gouges, cut that outline out of a 3/8" thick piece that matches the color of your panel, place the patch over the dark area, carefully scribe it with a knife, and rout out the recess with a router plane, laminate trimmer, or dremel with a router base. If you're careful to get a tight fit and to not have the edge of the patch cross one of the bird's eyes, the outline will not be all that noticeable, particularly if you're going to finish it with a dark aniline dye.
Thanks for the info on dutchman, I hadn't heard that term used to describe a patch before. From reading your comments I get the impression you have used the technique quite a bit. I may be "learning to appreciate" the character mark more and more as I can imagine it is not easy to get a nearly invisible dutchman without some experience.Jerry
"From reading your comments I get the impression you have used the technique quite a bit."
Yeah, more than I'd like. ;-) Dutchmans aren't hard to make, and it's a useful skill to have under your belt, but obviously, do it in scrapwood first.
Others on the thread have declared that what you have is a mineral streak. I work with a lot of maple, and my opinion is different. I get a lot of "ambrusia" maple, where the ambrusia beetle has left an opening in the wood and the wood's stained with minerals and fungus around the hole. On that basis, I still think it's a bark inclusion - it looks just like wood I've got in my shop with a fair amount of bark inclusions.
However, there's a way to tell the difference. Bark inclusions, though considerably harder than the outside bark of the tree, are still a good bit softer than the surrounding wood. Usually, you can dent them with a hard press of your fingernail. If it doesn't dent, you probably do have a mineral streak.
You have a huge problem! One that can not be fixed and the best thing is to ship it to me for a proper burial. If you want i'll send me shipping address to you. Heck I'll even pay the shipping so you don't have to look at that "defect" and end up needing wood counseling.
dk,
From the pictures the panel has other dark streaks as well , you can call them inclusions if you want to , they do look consistent with the mineral streak figure and color seen in some Maples .
The Beetle you speak of that likes Maple is an Ambrosia Beetle and they call the wood Ambrosia Maple , it happens to be one of my favorite to work and build with. I find the beautiful colors in Eastern Soft Maple and now and then find a few boards with the Ambrosia colors .
regards dusty
The crown on this book case was especially Ambrosiatic
Edited 1/11/2009 2:26 am ET by oldusty
Again, thanks to all for taking the time to add comments and suggestions. I've not been able to spend any time on the project in the last few days so I can't say that I've made any decisions. Since most of the comments I received were to leave the character mark in the wood tells me that I am probably being too sensitive to it. Perhaps in a few weeks I will have some photos to post of the completed project and you will see what I decided.In regards to whether the dark area is a mineral streak or a bark inclusion: The dark area is somewhat softer than the surrounding wood and softer than a few other (but smaller) areas on this board that resemble what I have always considered mineral streaks Also, as I have sanded it just a bit more the color seems to be changing to a slightly lighter shade. So I would guess that dkellenc is correct about it being a bark inclusion.Jerry
Jerry - Actually, what you probably have is a bark inclusion.
That's no bark inclusion - it's a mineral streak. There won't be any absorption issues with a mineral streak like with bark inclusions.
Lee
I have seen the dovetail key or bow tie feature used in many works as an inlay in contrasting grain / wood . ( decorative patch )
If this project is your master piece , or you just don't like the look , I respect that , By all means make a new one look more carefully for the signs and use each piece to the best .
dusty , got wood ?
paint it white
Mineral streaks, which is what the dark spot is, are quite a frequent occurence in maple. It's a characteristic of a naturally growing product, maple........Leave it be and enjoy it. It doesn't distract from the piece at all.
Jeff
If you haven't assembled the panel into the chest just yet, why not set it aside for a future project and select another piece of wood for this application? This sounds radical, but it is often the best solution for a problem piece of wood that doesn't quite fit the project at hand.
Mike D
You're working with natural wood, not plastic. I didn't even notice the dark spot until I saw the second picture.
i like it. gives it character. don't see that in mdf or ikea stuff. i vote to leave it there and appreciate it.
It would be a good Idea to pursue finding out how to "resize" or "adjust" the size of your posted pics so we can view the whole pic on screen at once.
I have a mac, use an application called Preview and reset the size to 640 x 480
there are some recent info on this site about how to do the same with PC/Windows etc.
My old mentor used to say " if you have a "mistake" in a work make it obvious rather than try to descise it."
You could inlay a diamond shaped "frame" around it in string inlay and make another similar but different one on the other part putting something similar in that frame.
Probably best to leave it as is. I like it fine. On some of my stuff I will go as far as "inlay" a tiny turquoise beed or something into a spot like this as well. Just make an under size hole a bit deeper than half the thickness of the beed, wet the wood and press the beed in. It will make a seat for its self and the wood should draw down around it as it dries. Kind of goes without saying; worth a bit of practice on scrap first ! The panel may not be thick enough or the dark area strong enough I don't know.
roc
I would say leave it as it is. As in do nothing..
Anybody that has a problem with it does not understand wood (as a living thing) and taken to a room in a safe, warm house. The tree may not understand!
As it has Character! That which makes a wine distinctive AND at a higher price!.
I agree with Philip's fix but I want to stress that it is a fix that requires a considerable level of skill to be an improvement. If you want to try it do at least a couple of test runs on scraps first... until you feel confident. I have painted them out but that way is even MORE difficult and not entirely satisfactory.
AS if you reallly need another opinion, but.....
I would consider the design of the piece first. In modern, clean, contemporary furniture/cabinets that use use veneer and miter corners etc, it would not be appropriate. All flaws are visible, and uniformity is mandated. I would select another piece of wood. (one of the reasons I don't like this style of furniture, it shows defects and the wear and tear of life!)
If I am correct, it is a 3/8" panel to fit in frame, in which case it will be an interesting part of the real world. The frames will not all match purfect, the other panels will vary, and your in situ visual will be less selective.
AZMO
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-------(*)/ (*) http://www.EarthArtLandscape.com
If anyone even dares to mention it to you after the piece is done, you tell them: "The Navaho believe that is something is perfect it belongs to the devil, therefore the way to tell that the rug you are buying is made by a true Navaho weaver, is to find the flaw that they have deliberately woven in. that is why I have chosen to leave this tiny flaw in my work, to not give it to the devil!"
Personally, it's just proof you used real wood and not plastic.
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