Wood repair suggestions with knot left in

[ElectroMike]

Couple of years ago I picked up a Toothpic holder at a garage sale. The wood appears to be Mahogany and the inside was made to fit a 24mm knot, the wood also appeared sealed. I had a new Finest Badger knot to use and rushed to put it together. The reason I say "rushed" is, if I thought about it more, I would have sealed the inside and outside of the wood better.

After about a dozen+ uses, the knot broke in and I found this to be one of my favorite brushes in the stable, mostly for the quality of the knot.

Unfortunately shortly after, the wood developed a few hairline cracks towards the top edge of the rim.

I like the knot and like the handle, any suggestions on how to seal the outside and inside of the wood and keep the knot in one piece?

I was thinking of covering the hairs with a plastic bag, then tightly wrap it with tape so that it's compressed and drip some CA glue inside to coat the inner walls, then coat the outside, unless someone can offer me other ideas! Below is the brush, before the cracks.

 

[Mr Bob]

I am only guessing, but that looks much more like olive wood than mahogany - would need to see it closer to make a better guess.

If it is olive wood, it might not have been finished with any products as the wood itself can be rubbed out and polished to that soft gloss I see in your handle without oils and varnish and such. However, olive wood is prone to cracking. Constant moisture changes will increase the possibility of cracking.

I do not know about dripping CA inside the knot wall. My first thought is that it will not sink in too deeply as it will spread through the knot hairs first.

CA will seal the cracks on top. If they are larger cracks, you can mix in some similar colored fine sawdust with the CA. You can seel up the entire handle, but the knot hole is where moisture will expand and contract that wood. I would remove the knot if I could, then seal it up with CA.

 

[Graydog]

The inside edge should already be sealed by the knot epoxy you used . I can not see the cracks from this photo

 

[ElectroMike]

I am only guessing, but that looks much more like olive wood than mahogany - would need to see it closer to make a better guess.

If it is olive wood, it might not have been finished with any products as the wood itself can be rubbed out and polished to that soft gloss I see in your handle without oils and varnish and such. However, olive wood is prone to cracking. Constant moisture changes will increase the possibility of cracking.

I think you are correct on the wood. I'm not that familiar on my wood type but Olive Wood did cross my mind! If it is prone to cracking, then I might keep using it until it comes fully apart, then remove and reuse the knot in a different handle.

 

[ElectroMike]

The inside edge should already be sealed by the knot epoxy you used . I can not see the cracks from this photo

The knot was 65mm, and it's set at 48mm, so it's sunk a good ways and is sitting on a short dowel topped with a coin which are both epoxy sealed at top preventing any moisture from getting down.

Here is what it looks like with the cracks I was able to zoom in on:

 

[Big Jim]

From the picture it looks like the cracks are from the outside. I would try CA from the outside. It may take several applications. Finally it may help the seal the entire outside with CA once the cracks are filled.

 

[bakerbarber]

I am googling toothpick holders now...

Thanks for the tip.

Good luck!

 

[ElectroMike]

From the picture it looks like the cracks are from the outside. I would try CA from the outside. It may take several applications. Finally it may help the seal the entire outside with CA once the cracks are filled.

Any tips on how to cover it smoothly? I would like to apply CA while it's spinning, but obviously with the knot in place it's a challenge!

 

[ElectroMike]

I am googling toothpick holders now...

Thanks for the tip.

Good luck!

This is the second toothpick holder I picked up, also drilled 1" wide but based on the results of the first one, I'm holding off on putting a knot in this one:

 

[Big Jim]

If you really want to prep it well, consider stabilizing the wood before you do anything else. If you search around here you should be able to learn about it. Essentially you put the handle into a bath of resin and put it under vacuum for a few days so that the resin is infused into the wood. I don't remember the name of the resin product at the moment, but it is available at most paint or hardware stores. A pint sized or size pickle jar works for the vessel. It seals to the jar well. Add a vacuum tap / nipple to the middle of the lid. A hand held vacuum pump works although a small powered one works better. Pump up the vacuum with the handle immersed and check the vacuum and refresh it from time to time. You will see bubbles coming out of the wood as long as there is still air in it. When you take it out, let the resin run off and then let it dry. You may want to or need to do some polishing or touch up, especially to make sure the knot hole isn't closed up. The resulting product behaves the same as a resin handle but with the wood appearance.

 

[ElectroMike]

Jim, I have never read such a procedure, that sounds like a great idea, thanks for the info!