Hello all! I’m a new member to Fine Woodworking but I have been benefitting from the collective knowledge on the site for a few years now. I’m a hobbyist and recently started to make a few furniture pieces. I am in the process of making a stool and I was planning to use a piece of KD spalted sycamore for the seat. I milled a slab that I picked up locally and thought I did a good job of avoiding the rotted/punky areas. Unfortunately, I discovered a few soft spots on the seat blank. They sand faster then the surrounding areas and I am able to dent them slightly with a fingernail. I had originally planned to carve the seat some with a travisher or angle grinder and use round through tenons. My question: Can the soft areas be stabilized enough to be use the intended purpose and what are some options that would achieve this with minimal change to aesthetic?
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Replies
Abatron makes a product that soaks into punky wood and consolidates it. I've used it with good results. It's a two part product, similar to epoxy.
I would not trust the treated punky areas for the leg tenons. Also, you need to try it on scrap to make sure your finishing process gives the desired effects on both treated and untreated areas. One way to minimize any difference is to treat the whole seat. Still good to try on scrap first.
Just to clarify, the legs and rungs will be white oak but it may be difficult to completely avoid the treated punky areas when drilling the mortises. Am I asking for trouble or, in theory, should the seat be strong enough to remain in one piece once it's treated with Abatron liquid wood? I appreciate your help and I understand there is a good amount of speculation here!
Smiths also makes a wood resin epoxy that I have used many times. It's a slow drying epoxy,takes a couple of days or more for a full cure depending on temperature. That is to allow for the resin to fully penetrait. It does turn rotted wood ( that is kind of what spalted is) back to wood again. I am unfamiliar with Abatron but I have tried some other products that claim to treat soft wood and have been less than impressed with the results. Smiths Epoxy is in Richmond California give them a call.. I've called to consult for various projects and Steve Smith picks up the phone! He knows alot about epoxy. I looked up abatron, their" liquid wood" seems to make similar claims to the Smiths epoxy and is used to accomplish the same results.
For a bench,after the epoxy cure, I wouldn't worry too much about weakness at the joint but I might consider some kind of stretcher between the legs to stabilize them ,i would on almost anything anyway!
One option is to use a wood stabilizer such as Minwax Wood Hardener or Pentacryl Wood Stabilizer. You can apply the stabilizer to the soft areas using a brush or spray bottle and then let it dry according to the manufacturer's instructions. This will help to harden the soft areas and make them more stable. Another option is to use epoxy. Epoxy can be used to fill in the soft areas and provide additional strength and stability.