# Cracked Cherry Burl



## Ken Johnson (Aug 13, 2012)

I am in the process of turning a cherry burl and it has some cracks in it. Would it be best to fill the cracks with epoxy or some other type of filler before continuing to turn it? I have the outer shape roughed in and can see that the one crack is deep enough to go through the side wall on one side of the bowl. I just want to make sure it doesn't come apart on me. Any suggestions?


----------



## Kevin (Aug 13, 2012)

I'll be watching this thread too. I spent 3 hours today just squaring, cleaning up, and resawing a bunch of deeply cracked burls today.


----------



## BangleGuy (Aug 13, 2012)

If you can fit the bowl blank into a toaster oven and heat it up a bit, that will help the epoxy flow into the cracks. You might also consider dying the resin a complimentary color to the burl. If you use clear, and there is an obvious spot where there is no wood and just resin, it might not look as good as a color. IMHO


----------



## DKMD (Aug 13, 2012)

Epoxy is probably your best bet for filling the cracks if that's what you're after. 

If the piece is going to be decorative rather than functional, you could consider using butterfly patches across the crack… The Hawaiians have been doing this kind of thing for years. If you're lazy like me, you can use a plate joiner to cut some slots across the cracks and fill them with contrasting splines. Here's a platter I did the lazy way as an experiment:

http://woodbarter.com/showthread.php?tid=2347


----------



## Tim Carter (Oct 16, 2012)

You can use clear packing tape and wrap the outside of the bowl/hollow form and then turn the inside without worrying about it blowing apart. when you're finished turning the piece, you can decide how you want to deal with the crack or cracks. I frequently use malachite on cherry to get a really nice color contrast.


----------

