Knots
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Is something like this useable in a project? If I were to use these boards as part of a glued up panel with the knot being on the bottom edge of a panel. They will be covered by a skirt which will go around the bottom. I’ve superglued them before I planed them. Or should I suck it up and go buy another board?
-Canada
Dave, for me I would just use them, seeing they will be at the bottom and covered, they should be fine.
For a non-show area, they will probably work fine. Just be sure they are tight knots and not loose. Your super-glue or a little epoxy or even just flooding them with liquid hide glue will work.
Be aware they are tough on your plane irons and chisels being endgrain. And expect some wacky grain in their general vicinity. So plan on some extra sharpening when flattening and thicknessing around them and maybe skip the smoothing.
That said, if I had my choice, I would avoid them in any project, exposed or hiden.
Hi Dave,
I tend to try and avoid using knotted timber whenever possibly, but this isn’t always possible, so – if presented with knotty timber – I tend to flood knots using superglue & accelerator, or straight wood glue. Once the glue has cured (Normally overnight) I then process the board/billet asap.
If dealing with live knots I tend to seal them using a knotting solution made up from a dilute cut of shellac. This is sufficient to seal the knot against shrinkage and prevent bleed through is applying a painted finish. 🙂
Always try and used freshly sharpened plane irons/chisel blades when dealing with knots and you’ll tend to acquire trouble free end results. Tear out can be flooded using superglue and scraped to a clean finish level with the surrounding surface. 😉
Superglue sometimes goes cloudy when set. Not too much of a problem if painting, but a definite problem if applying a clear finish. Cloudiness is readily removed by applying a second dab of superglue, which temporarily dissolves the existing glue before re-setting clear. 🙂
Thanks Gary, after looking at these boards I ended up cutting them to get rid of the knots. I get good deals here on 1×12 rough sawn boards but they can be rather knotty. Since the price and I can sort through the lumber before buying I can usually get some relatively knot free and those with knots I have been doing the superglue thing with them.
-Canada
You might as well consider – whenever possible – to drill them -out and to replace-them with the widest possible dowels , glued overnight (“sky is the limit” for their diameter) . There are a lot of combinations you can play with (wood,grain direction,wood color,a.s.o.) I did this many times and it works. The wood becomes more predictable , uniform , and saves steel edges. Alas , you cannot escape from the remaining “wacky grain in their general vicinity” – well said Rob !
But knots in the wood are so beautiful , dealing with them -such a challenge.
Thank you
Different question on knots…
I’ve been building my workbench and some of the beams have knots which are on the top of the bench.
Trying to flatten the worktop is incredibly difficult as my planes just ride over the top of the knot making a little bump.If I ever try and lay a piece of stock on the bench it’ll just make dents all over, won’t it?
thanks
Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Bondi, knot necessarily 🙂 you can plane them down, make sure your iron is sharp, and go at them in teeny chunks, say 1/4 of the plane iron at a time, depending on the knot you might have to come at them from all angles. I used crazy glue but I think epoxy would be even better for treating the knot before planing.
-Canada
Hi Dave, that’s good advice. Thank you
just so I understand you correctly, you’re saying rather than trying to plane across the full diameter of the knot I should go over it in little chunks? So a sliver of one side, then a bit more till I’ve covered everything?
Yes, will need to sharpen up the irons again – I’m sure that will help too.
I don’t understand what the glue will do to the area. Do I just slap a bit of glue on top? Won’t I just plane that off again and be where I started out before?
I tried going across them with a chisel, but that just looked messy too (probably needs sharpening too).
thank youIpswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Bondi, yes just plane them down a sliver at a time. The epoxy/crazy glue seals the knot and surrounding area, this can reduce tearout around the knot. Sharp tools are a necessity here and you might have to sharpen a few times before you are done.
-Canada
Sharp Iron is key but a knot will dull edge very quickly. If you set to take a finer shaving you will remove the Knot. As soon as iron goes dull afraid its back sharpening. Also try little circle motions from different directions. A knot is like end grain . Sometimes use a circle motion to remove end grain also to help against breakout.
I not 100% what Dave is talking about with the glue either ?Dagenham, Essex, England
Crazy glue or epoxy applied on and around the knot will help to seal the knot, I discovered it also helps to prevent tearout of the wood surrounding the knot. Leave it cure over night and you can plane the knots down.
-Canada
Question: What type of epoxy is best for sealing the knots? A quick google search
brought up “jb weld kwikwood epoxy putty “http://www.amazon.com/J-B-Weld-8257-KwikWood-Epoxy/dp/B002NJDAJY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_topI’m familiar with the other type of epoxy, where both the resin and hardener are liquid, but it’s more for making strong bonds. Was wondering if the paste variety is what you recommend?
Thanks
Carlos
New Jersey, U.S.A.
I use the 5 minute version. Works fine….
Located in Honeoye Falls NY USA. The Finger Lakes region of Western NY.
"If you give me 6 hours to fell a tree, I will take the first 4 to sharpen my axe" Abe Lincoln
The 5 min kind works fine. I just leave it overnight to make sure it’s hardened.
-Canada
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