I wanted to show how I dealt with punky wood that would normally be thrown away. This is a bit of rose root that was falling to bits as I moved it and thought that it would be ideal to show what I do. I thought that the drill would also come through the sides in various places but it didn't which is a shame so that I couldn't show how I dealt with that but good because I didn't have to make up the void.
First of all it was soaked in super thin ca. Do this outside unless you want to spend the next few days on a respirator and upwind too. I cut the blanks and then drilled them. Because they weren't square I had to try and get one side level and as upright as possible and then go for it.
After the tubes are glued in, I then soak the ends in ca to harden them up.
The while turning, I occasionally stop the lathe and ca any soft parts that have appeared and at a few cm from the final diameter I start to fill in any holes with the shavings and ca those in.
Finally a few coats of ca and a polish... hey presto.
Some of the photos aren't so good because I was using a point and click and its difficult to see that it was focusing on something I wasn't. I may try again later with a more twisted and more punky bit to get some better pictures.
