"Fred Holder" wrote in message
...
On Jan 3, 6:27 am, "Kevin Cleary" wrote:
Hi,
Does anyone have the recipe for glue soup?
How long does the process take?

Thanks,
Kevin


Hello Kevin,

If you are talking about the glue mixture to soak cracked bowls in
that Wally Dickerman came up with a few years ago, it is a mixture of
50 percent white glue and 50 percent water. The soak time should be at
least 24 hours in my experience. The few times I've used it the
process worked great. You do have to let it dry after soaking. The
first time I used it was with a 14" salad bowl that I had rough turned
and was drying to give to a friend for a house warming gift. I pulled
it off the shelf and it had a big crack in it. I decided to use
Wally's process. It took almost two gallons of white glue and I used a
rock to hold the bowl under the solution. I took it out after 24 hours
and the crack was still there. I said to myself, Wally it doesn't
work. I threw the bowl out on the woodpile in the rain. A few days
later, I picked it up and the crack was closed. Brought it in and let
it dry off for a couple of weeks and final turned it. That was about
five years ago and she is still using the bowl with no crack.


http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fp...tr113/ch03.pdf

"Wood is dimensionally stable when the moisture content is greater than the
fiber saturation point. Wood changes dimension as it gains or loses moisture
below that point. It shrinks when losing moisture from the cell walls and
swells when gaining moisture in the cell walls. This shrinking and swelling
can result in warping, checking, splitting, and loosening of tool handles,
gaps in strip flooring, or performance problems that detract from the
usefulness of the wood product. Therefore, it is important that these
phenomena be understood and considered when they can affect a product in
which wood is used."

Soaking, or throwing wood outdoors in the rain will reexpand it as it comes
back up to the FSP, and the water-soluble glue acts as "bulking" agent as it
polymerizes, to preserve the shape. Also acts, presumably, as a glue to
readhere cracks, which is a plus. Will change the finish aBsorption
characteristics of the wood as it diminishes the aDsorption which goes with
water uptake and release. PEG, another bulking agent, will do the same, but
at the cost of making the piece almost unfinishable.

Best be a magnificent piece before I'd contemplate resoaking. Results
aren't guaranteed beyond minor surface checks.