5 replies to this topic

[rmorein]

My Mizar Kaiser OTA came in a classic mahogany plywood case. The lid has a crack in the upper ply, along the grain, about  6 inches long. Is there a wood penetrant that  would strengthen this  area and  help prevent the crack from progressing?

[LuscombeFlyer]

There are several ways to fix that and prevent further damage, but I'd need to examine it.

 

Can you provide a clear, close up photo?

[RichA]

My Mizar Kaiser OTA came in a classic mahogany plywood case. The lid has a crack in the upper ply, along the grain, about  6 inches long. Is there a wood penetrant that  would strengthen this  area and  help prevent the crack from progressing?

Not really.  Cracks are caused by drying and contracting of the wood.  Filling it in with wood filler should patch it ok.  You can buy it and mix the colour to match, more or less.  If the wood has cracked then separated, but the dimension is the same, it may be possible to glue and use wood clamps to force it back together.

[Kasmos]

I've done a couple of box restorations and I repaired some splits and lifting using wood glue. I used toothpicks and pins to lift the bad spots to get the glue in and clamped and or weighted them down. I used wax paper to cover the areas so the glue doesn't stick to the clamps 

 

While it may not be exactly what you're up against you can get an idea of what I did in these two links:

 

https://www.cloudyni...-in/?p=12829820

 

This one had more severe damage that might be a bit more relevant since it wasn't only along the edges

https://www.cloudyni...pes/?p=13532661

 

On home repairs I've used Abatron Liquid Wood. A two part resin like liquid but it's not really intended for clear finished wood. It's aber in color and it will change the way the wood looks. 

Edited by Kasmos, 23 January 2025 - 05:13 PM.

[rmorein]

A picture:

 

 

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[Kasmos]

That looks fairly minor. If it's not lifting I'd probably just leave it alone and just be careful when handeling it. If it's from drying out, maybe you can occassionaly treat it with 1 part Linseed Oil to 1 or 2 parts Mineral Spirits. I used some Watco Oil (called Natural but sort of Amber), on two sets of dried out tripod legs and it really revived them, but it also darked them quite a bit.