Cherry...Bomb

[Eric Roach]

3 out of 4 plugs made with black cherry recently have swelled and split the topcoat. The splits have radiated out from the belly hook hole.

Two of the split plugs were sealed with Helmsman; one soaked for 75 minutes, one for 3 hours.

One of the split plugs was sealed with a Tung mixture for 3 hours.

The one plug that didn't split was sealed with thinned E-Tex.

Couple of questions:

1. Do any of you that seal frequently with thinned epoxy use that method successfully on hardwoods such as cherry, maple, birch, etc.? This was the first time I tried it.

2. Can anyone with experience using cherry recommend a sealer?

Thanks in advance.

Eric

[numbskull]

In hardwoods, drill your hook holes parallel to the grain lines, rather than across them. Wood expands much more across grain than along it.
Soak in sealer for several hours and plan for the weight gain that occurs.
Prime inside your hook holes.

[Eric Roach]

Thanks for the feedback, very helpful.

[wrikerjr]

I heat and epoxy seal with straight epoxy in birch and maple had one split. That is one amongst probably a thousand. Heating helps big time.

[Eric Roach]

Yesterday I sealed a soft maple plug in thinned E-Tex. I threw it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it was jeting out steam by the end...Wonder if that is normal or do I have a wet piece of wood?

The heated plug did seam to absorb more E-Tex. I had about an 8 dram mixture and the plug absorbed maybe 6 drams.

[wrikerjr]

Originally Posted by Eric Roach

Yesterday I sealed a soft maple plug in thinned E-Tex. I threw it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it was jeting out steam by the end...Wonder if that is normal or do I have a wet piece of wood?

The heated plug did seam to absorb more E-Tex. I had about an 8 dram mixture and the plug absorbed maybe 6 drams.

Eric,

I don't microwave I have a dedicated toaster oven that i heat the plugs for about 5 minutes or so and then epoxy coat the inside and outside. Sometimes the plugs will steam if you leave them in too long.

[ProfessorM]

Originally Posted by wrikerjr

I heat and epoxy seal with straight epoxy in birch and maple had one split. That is one amongst probably a thousand. Heating helps big time.

I too prefer this method and i think it is a little easier to control how much weight the plug gains too as you tend to leave it in a reg. sealer a little longer for hardwoods and sometimes it takes on too much weight. Doesn't seem to happen that often with the epoxy sealing but I have not done 100's yet so that theory may be just that a theory.

[Eric Roach]

Thanks for the feedback, guys -- much appreciated.

I'm trying a new solvent-thinned epoxy as a sealer. It's a 2-coat process. So far it's working very well on hardwoods.

Best part is, the wood is totally sealed and ready for paint within about 10 hours (when using a hot box for curing).

I'll write something up seperately about this later.

Thanks again.

[wrikerjr]

Originally Posted by Eric Roach

Thanks for the feedback, guys -- much appreciated.

I'm trying a new solvent-thinned epoxy as a sealer. It's a 2-coat process. So far it's working very well on hardwoods.

Best part is, the wood is totally sealed and ready for paint within about 10 hours (when using a hot box for curing).

I'll write something up seperately about this later.

Thanks again.

Eric,

I do not thin my epoxy at all. I find that the complete epoxy does well and never needed a reason to thin.

Kindest,
Billy

[Eric Roach]

Billy,

I'd guess you skip the priming process and go right to the acrylics?

[wrikerjr]

Eric,

Sorry for the late response. I still prime all my plugs.

Kindest,
Billy