Tape to seal splits for resin

[Chris152]

I recently had to fill a split going right through the wood before turning, and made a terrible mess. I used regular (blue) masking tape to seal the underside before pouring in epoxy resin. It found tiny gaps and I spent far too long trying to collect the excess from below, dropping it back into the top of the split hoping it would eventually thicken enough to hold. Which didn't really happen.
I'm sure part of the trick is getting the underside smooth, but can anyone recommend a tape that would be good for the job of sealing the resin in before it cures?
Thanks, C

 

[9fingers]

Never done this but I think I would be looking to smooth the under surface as much as possible and if the were not possible, prime the underside where you want to tape with epoxy and let that set before taping with high tack tape such as gaffer tape and apply pressure with a roller.
Maybe bulk out the filler epoxy with the powder a little to make it thicker?

Good luck

 

[Chris152]

Aha! Smoothing some of the bits I'm looking at will be tricky (they're quite uneven bits of wood), but the gaffer tape idea got me thinking - maybe a bead of silicone sealant/ caulk or even hot glue, with gaffer tape pressed well into it could do the job? Got to be worth a try.
Thanks Bob.

 

[AndyP]

Chris,
I am keen to know more about this. Which epoxy resin to you use for this purpose? I have a piece that has been sat on the lather for several months with a knot and gaps surrounding that I would like to fill. Glue and dust has not worked at all.

 

[novocaine]

Hot glue and cardboard.

 

[Malc2098]

There are too many videos for me to sort which one is the one you need, but you could do a lot worse that watch this chap for methods for resin filling and what he uses to stop it pouring through.

https://www.youtube.com/c/ManorWood/playlists

 

[Mike G]

I had exactly the same problem when I made my bog oak coffee table. In the end, I filled the underside with a tube full of pre-mixed woodfiller, the sort of stuff I would never use ordinarily. But with care, that sealed everything up in a way that tape and plastic never could.

 

[Chris152]

Thanks for the replies chaps.

For larger splits, I'll try Dave's hot glue with card or duct tape; for narrower splits, I think I'll try Mike's wood filler idea - I have an old tube which should do the job.

Andy - I've only really used resin for one bigger project, then on the recent split for turning, so not the best person to advise. And tbh, I really don't like the idea of using resin in conjunction with wood - it feels like they're at opposite ends of the natural/ environmentally friendly spectrum! But needs must, and I'm trying to turn wood that could fly apart on the lathe without. The resin I used before is this one:
https://www.fyneboatkits.co.uk/supplies ... y-coating/
It worked really well originally, less so in my recent effort, in which it didn't set as hard as I hoped - but that's after 2 years sat in the garage. Very little smell, no headache or any of that and apparently less harmful to the environment.

Thanks again for the replies - I'm quite excited to get started on some new, splitty pieces!

 

[novocaine]

2 years old it wont have set at all and will still be gel.

 

[Chris152]

Well, if it is, it's not the kind of gel you'd want to put on your hair before a night out. Maybe that's a technical term(?) but it set pretty hard, tho not as brittle feeling as originally. Reading around the net, there are variables as to how long it'll last, including resin for indoors/ outdoors use, quality, possible contamination, temperature and things like that. Some say the shelf live is halved after opening, but West say they've tested 15 year old resin and it's worked fine.
Not pretending to know better Dave, but it did the trick for me and I plan to buy new for this next round anyway.