Wood Problem....Have you EVER???...HELP!!

[scottp55]

I have a Big problem with a 3D project I've been working on 2 days.
Chunk of Firewood White Oak That I've kinda been planning for about a year....a scrap that I cut off the end gave me this in April;

And both ends and bottom cut Good wood on this.
I did a Roughing Toolpath at the highest point of this piece, and got good wood at .375" down, and good solid eyebrows and beak at about .75"...so I stopped the Roughing.
Then I do like I do, and started a Rough Finishing Toolpath with Z-Zero cheated up...and gradually brought Z down to where it was already cut.
Problem was at wheelchair height, I didn't notice immediately the HUGE void I made MUCH larger with my last .1" pass
I picked at loose stuff, and probed all the junk out, and here is what mirror showed;

And here is what eyeball is supposed to look like in comparison;

I knew I had to take quite a bit more off, and can jig it up fairly accurately, so maybe a better pic unjigged;

As it is, it looks like I have to go down at least another inch to POSSIBLY get to clear wood again
Has ANYBODY used a mixture of either chips or sawdust to pack such a large void, AND add a little to to pad the surface, and then cut it??
I have Thin/Medium/Thick CA, TB I/2/3, and Gorrilla "Clear wood glue(no foaming)", but in epoxies only Devcon "2 Ton"...
All kinds of Foredom bits,dental tools,mini tools for packing solidly.

I HAD hoped to have the Owl poking his head out of the hole, but no problem if he's inside the hole hiding from the sun like they do.
If I cut down another .2" I'm going to lose that eyebrow's ridge feathers.
4 inches on right side of wood was going to be cut off for a tiny project, but I can cut off the punk to solid Oak and get from extremely fine chips to bigger chips?

ANY personal experience with anything like this would be VERY gratefully accepted!!!
I know it won't match...
and even considered using Macassar Ebony super fine chips or very fine shavings I have for a VERY funky Owl ( "If you can't match the grain...Celebrate the difference!")
No vehicle, and no ride till after Weds. snowstorm...so preferably work with what I have.
Help?????
scott

[scottp55]

Oh...here's an overall pic of wood;

[eph210]

HI Scott

I have used TB3 with sanding dust to fill voids many times. I keep containers of sanding dust of various species on hand if I am after a particular colour.
It never matches exactly so I usually end up using walnut dust to get a nice organic looking contrast.
I mix the dust and glue on a piece of plastic until it is like peanut butter and then push into the void.
It does shrink as it dries and deep voids require overnight curing. Shallow voids are ready in about an hour.
I have also used CA glue and 5 minute epoxy but prefer the TB3.

Euan

[tomgardiner]

Gorilla glue is out unless you fancy adding a foamy tumour to the poor owl.
Titebond with fine sawdust may or may not wet out the wood fibres and will always be an apparent repair. It also swells when exposed to oil finishes.
Epoxy I think would be your best bet. You can use very fine sawdust (no doubt you keep jars of various species of dust for such occasions) or you can use powdered pigments (lee Valley sells a variety of earth pigments). Epoxy does not shrink, wets out wood so blends well with oil finishes and cures at a rate you can choose. I don't recommend 5 minute epoxy though - it remains gummy and doesn't machine well.

[scottp55]

Thank you both VERY much!!
Found another piece of white Oak with similar colors, AND a huge knot hole, so will make some fin chips tomorrow and do some testing.
Have some Walnut dust to to stir in...and thinking If I pack/pad it and just run the last toolpath again,I can keep the height as is, and fix any smaller voids where I didn't add enough.
I'll test TBIII and see if epoxy on hand will carve/cure....lots of testing before I actually do the piece.

I'll show pics as I go for large cavities and carving.
Thanks again!!
At least I have 2 starting points...only ever done small cracks and boring holes from insects before, and that was CA (thin) in layers.
scott

[scottp55]

Thanks again guys!!
Leaning towards epoxy after Tom mentioned swelling with an oil finish on TB glues...still going to test both, but this was possibly a gift for Step-Mom's "Owl" collection on her birthday.
Birthday is 17'th....so backburner right now as with testing I'll never make it in time.
I was playing with a carpet needle on those cavities this Dawn, and still have to do a .01-.02" Finish pass with a .25mm TBN...and my probing showed it's going to open up the fissures on his forehead also(which go as deep as .2")

.....so testing....doing the Owl....and the worst case is I go down to China again searching for interesting wood....
OR it's small projects OR Firewood Again!
I originally thought it was insect damage, but now I think that "Bump" I used for the head was a healed over broken branch cavity.
IF it comes out I'LL keep it as it reminds me so much of the 11 yr old standing dead trees in the beaver pond I look at every dawn.

Not quite as Friendly an Owl as I think she'd like, so maybe a Tiny one in the other piece of Oak firewood, and it'll give me some better shavings.
Thanks again,
scott

OH...Devcon "2 ton" is 30 minute working time Tom.....Should I order something you've used that cuts well afterwards?
Has anybody cut West Systems epoxy with wood chips/dust? which one?

[tomgardiner]

Over New Year's I decked a walnut river table with $850 worth of Eco Epoxy for a client. It required a tuning of the feed and speed to cut without shattering the epoxy leaving small craters. River tables are the latest craze and our retail suppliers are having a field day selling live edge boards and gallons of epoxy.
I have machined epoxy repairs made with West System epoxy. (Some in my phenolic cnc table ouch). It routes much like wood but I was taking light passes as you will be with the owl. I suggest as fine a wood dust as possible that way you will get a uniform colour and a smooth consistency that is easier to flow into the voids.

[scottp55]

Thanks for the extra tips Tom!
I was thinking of picking up some Eco-Epoxy,but my downriver kayak needs some repairs also...so might as well buy the West Systems now.
SHOOT:) And here I was carving White Oak firewood today for another Owl for my Step-Mom...and VERY carefully adjusted the cuts to give me thin .2" long fine shavings
Good....I'm very good at taking light cuts
Phenolic table....wish I had gone that way with all the humidity swings here.
Thanks again,
scott

[Rcnewcomb]

Sometimes the material make you adjust your design. That happend to Gutzon Borglum as he was carving Mt Rushmore, so you are in good company.

"Washington, being the first president, was carved first. His likeness was unveiled from behind a massive American flag in a ceremony on Independence Day 1930. Jefferson came next. Workers began carving next to Washington’s right shoulder, but eventually found that the granite was insufficiently stable. Borglum ordered the partially formed face to be blasted off the mountain, and they started over on the opposite side of Washington. As progress continued, plans had to be adjusted and abandoned according to the suitability of the rock. Lincoln’s head was moved from its original planned position and placed where Borglum had intended to carve a massive inscription."

Original design...

Actual finished...

[scottp55]

Thanks Randall...........I'm just REALLY glad my discoveries are Smaller
I DID misread that wood though....in the Jigging pic (that scared Phill05 so much he sent me drawings of a jig he made for irregular shaped stone:)....

You can see there was a branch inclusion, but as I milled it down, it got smaller and smaller so I Assumed!...that the Oak had healed itself.
IF I ran into that branch inclusion, it angles downwards 2.5" from the eyeball, so If I make a hash of a repair...I May be able to carve my way out of it.

I can always make some small ones like the very first pic, that was made from the chainsaw "Touch" piece I cut off as scrap:)

I've certainly learned a lot from this piece, from orientation, to drawing, to cutting!

FUNNY...I didn't notice until I looked close at the last post pic that I was serial numbering my pieces
I had to go take that piece into bright light to see it...but there it was:)
I looked a Bunch of places, and I'll be darned if I can find anything in shop/house/garage that would have made that mark!!
Thanks again!
scott

Actually every piece teaches me something.
Oak I carved yesterday managed to twist up on one side .01"....so added a clamp, and had to change my height for the .25mm TBN from a .01" cut planned, to .02", and STILL can't guess what the final coloration will look like....OR if the Linseed soaked punk layer will take the detail.