Sometimes one can get a real unpleasant surprise with wood that seemed completely satisfactory during the inletting,. shaping and finishing. This wood was one for the books.

I at least doubled the time spent on checkering this one. I could take only a light pass, then apply finish, let it dry and repeat. Even tried shellac, nothing worked well. In truth, I was not really happy with the final result, but I'd kept client up to speed and he was understanding.

It helped my case that he purchased the wood directly from supplier

If anyone has found a sure fire way to nail down that fuzz, sure would like to hear it..


Other two photos just show a slightly different embellishment

Curious, did you use the Daly's Benite hardener on this stock? What type of English is it?

I think you're referring to the fuzzy srtock? A any rate, this was before I got wise to Benite...May have worked! But, it's finished with ship n shore sealer and Sea Fin teak oil.

Australian Walnut from Vardy. To be fair, I've used plenty of Vardy wood and been very happy.

Correct, wondering Benite if that would of helped. Agreed Australian walnut is generally good wood. As long as I have your attention due you apply the Benite before sealer or in lieu of sealer. Thanks.

Well...sorta of in between fooling around with both ways...I'm leaning toward BNenite as sealer...I find it's compatible with alkenet root...seems to really penetrate. Like to find how you do it

I'm going to buy some of the Benite and experiment, will try and report back in a month or two. I've been using Daly products, I like them.

Good idea...thinkiong of doing that myself..Let us know seeya

Hi Duane---yes bad fuzz is nearly impossible! I used to clean it up as well as I could, then using a soft toothbrush and Daly's S&S slick it down by brushing in the direction it seemed to lay down the best. This was my go-to solution,admittedly imperfect.

Some people say putting superglue on the fuzz then cutting it away works, I tried it and did not think it was worth the trouble.

BTW-did you hear that I have retired?

KF

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):

If anyone has found a sure fire way to nail down that fuzz, sure would like to hear it..

Chic Worthing always recommended super glue for checkering fuzzy wood.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...631068731#8631068731

Well...I personally did not have that good of luck with super glue. But..did not try all brands. Thought it needed to be thinner.

Did try propane trrch (CAREFULLY) .. again, mixed results

Being a hobbyist who has only checkered a couple of pieces of wood in my life I have been fortunate never to have this problem.

But if I did, I would try Genkem Magic Wood (a specialized super glue) in conjunction with Soudal activator spray.
Not sure if these products are available over there.

The above products are used by local knife-makers when they encounter cracks. In custom knives, the customers often want the most figure and burl possible, and such wood is often badly cracked. Not quite the same application, I realize that, but I think it might help.

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Well...I personally did not have that good of luck with super glue. But..did not try all brands. Thought it needed to be thinner.

I could have sworn that Chic mentioned using a solvent to thin super glue, or that he used a thinner formula. For the life of me I couldn't find any reference using the search function.

Maybe someone else knows Chic's secret?

I did find this(in addition to Chic mentioning buying his water-thin superglue at woodcraft):

quote:

Originally posted by Customstox:
Use some super glue that has water viscosity and soak the area you are checkering. It will make the density more uniform. And if you are pushing the cutter (going uphill ?), then remove the cutter and insert it in the handle so you are pulling instead of pushing.

I've ran into this a few times as well and could not really nail down a cure for it other than to work the fuzz off with a hand tool.

However, in looking at this one thing becomes apparent to me.
The rotary tool is designed to be pulled thru the cut line per line.
This would dictate that the cut starts at the root of the line and the material is pulled to the surface and ejected as cut material.
The problem: not all material is cleanly released leaving what essentially is a burr.
Just like an endmill that rotates off of an edge vs into one.
Basically, conventional milling vs climb milling.
A different approach: Cut the masters and see if there is a propensity for fuzz. You will know in a few lines if it's a fuzzer, in which case push the tool instead of pull the tool. Pushing the tool means the tooth engages the top surface 1st, cutting downward and ejecta is in the root of the cut.
I have not tried this but I'm going to on the next fuzzer I run into.
I've pushed the tool only short distances at times, like when working up to a border.
I'm not so sure about pushing a line the entire length and keep the line straight.
Might be worth a try.

I use Satellite City Hot Stuff. It's a water thin super glue. Cut your first lines and then soak it in. Stabilizes the wood and if needed repeat as you go. This has worked really well for me.

I've only ever seen this fuzz in blanks cut from Tension Wood (the form of Reaction Wood in hardwoods, including walnut - there must surely be lots of info with via Google etc for those who don't know of it).

Not all tension wood will fuzz-up, but when it does it's caused by the extra cellulose % content compared to non- tension wood. The higher up the tree the blank came from, the more apt tension wood is to fuzz, thought there are other factors I won't get into.

There will usually be a certain repeated "zone" of it that is worst, within each annual ring.

Going over the job with a high-speed steel, very sharp cutter (hand tool) is my cure, but I make those cutters and so I'm not sure which commercial cutters would work well. No need for glues if the walnut is firm in texture.

Running the usual checkering cutter of choice into a raw blank on at least two sides (at right angles not opposing) at both the grip and forend areas before making the stock will soon show up such blanks. If the stocker doesn't like working with such blanks, this is wise. Timan is correct about the electric cutters (carbide doesn't help).

There are other ways to identify tension wood blanks, but no time to write it all down. Most blank cutters/suppliers and stock makers don't seem to notice such blanks until this issue shows up. To me the wood is quite different due to the very way it is formed. Not necessarily bad - but different to work with on several levels.