Good Evening All,
I just finished turning a fly rod grip from a piece of maple burl and discovered several somewhat large incursions. While these incursions do not affect the strength of the the grip or the general appearance, I would like to fill and seal them before applying Tru-Oil. I am writing for assistance with this problem. I thought I might try a Cyano-Acrylate glue for this purpose. Having never used this materail before, I would appreciate any advice from any of you who have used the CA glues or tried to fill these incursions in terms of thier use and advice as to brand and type. I found two such glues in a catalog that I thought might work. One was called Quick Cure Zap and the other was called Mid Cure Zap-A-Gap. They seem differ primarily on cure time. I would appreciate any help or advice that any of you may have. My thanks for this help in advance.

Mike Blomme

i would use a medium or thick ca glue. you can mix some sanding dust in with the ca if you choose. let dry then shape, sand and finish. you can use epoxy as well, but i prefer the ca. you can get creative and add tint for a unique look as well. good luck

I haven't done it, but I've seen where people have added metal dust (Inlace, etc) into the glue and then filled the void for a really nice touch!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

I have used CA glue for many years building models of boats using wood.

I suggest you use a CA glue that has a slow set up time. This allows the glue to seep

into gaps before it hardens. Also, if you can, set your work up horizontily; this also helps

the glue to settle "down" into any gaps. Allow plenty of drying time.

I don't use products much that speed up drying; just for the reason we are speaking
of here - - - that is to allow glue to fill void spaces .

Several times I have had good success with "Elmers" carpenter glue with dry sawdust
mixed in. When dry it sands good.

jocko

I would suggest trying [www.penturners.org] search on CA for stabilizing and filling tons of info
John

Go to Michaels or Hobby Lobby and pick up a bottle of embossing powder in black or any other color they have that you might want to use. Take some thin CA glue and drip a couple of drops in the spot that you want to fill then pour some powder in and then another drop of CA. Let it harden then repeat the process until the void is filled then use your tool to shape the handle then sand and finish as usual. The black embossing powder blends in with the natural spalt lines in the wood and looks natural or you can use colored powder for a more contrasting look.

CA+ will work great for this application. Just fill up the holes in your piece. Your best bet is to let the glue dry while sitting horizontally. When it's completely dry--usually 4-5 hours--fill in some more. As the glue dries, it'll shrink back a little bit. Because of this, I always overfill my voids. Then, once the void is completely full, and even overfull--I re-sand it. What you'll find is that the hardened CA+ glue will work and sand just like the wood. At this point, just coat your wood with your finish of choice. I'm not sure if the CA+ actually absorbs any finish or not, but since I use Tru-Oil, I can never tell exactly where the gloss of the CA+ ends, and the gloss of the Tru-Oil begins.

Personally, I don't like the look when powders, metals, etc. are mixed in with the CA+ glues. IMO, it kinda' takes away from the look of a beautiful piece of wood.

Be careful to see if your void goes all the way through. It really stinks to fill a void with CA+ glue, then find out that you've just glued the grip to a mandrel.

Many thanks to all who gave me advice. Andrew, I sent you an e-mail, but it was returned indicating that it was an incorrect address. Thanks for your ideas as well. Mike barkely, I have tried inlace for trim rings and like it, but on burl I hate to add anything that might detract from the natural grain of the wood. Again, thanks one and all for your advice.

Mike Blomme