aro. cedar insect damage repair,possible fixes?
4/16/15
Alright fellas here's the deal. I bought a slab of aro. cedar (knowing it had damage, price was to good to pass up/ new challenge). As you can see in the pic, the damage is extensive. I cleaned out all the dead and eaten wood thoroughly. Went as far as blasting it with walnut shells to really scrub it out. There was only one place that had a hole through the slab. I filled it and most of the deepest parts surrounding it with acrylic.
Now to the question at hand. The damage follows the core of the tree and I am sure at some point that the slab will break in half along the damage. So far the best idea I have for a fix is to either run a plank of ply down the center or 3 smaller pieces going across the damage. Thanks for any help
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4/17/15 #2: aro. cedar insect damage repair,pos ...
My guess is that is not termite damage but instead the work of ants. Termites arent real crazy about red cedar. They will eat the white part however.
4/19/15 #4: aro. cedar insect damage repair,pos ...
You could slice the slab close to down the middle and leave a small but deliberate space between the 2 halves put glass over the top maybe ?
4/23/15 #5: aro. cedar insect damage repair,pos ...
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Damage follows the core of the tree and I am sure at some point that the slab will break in half along the damage. I also guess guess is that is not termite damage but instead the work of ants.
4/26/15 #6: aro. cedar insect damage repair,pos ...
If you want to keep the slab as a whole piece, I'd back the bottom with wax paper and fill with epoxy tinted black.
5/4/15 #7: aro. cedar insect damage repair,pos ...
The pith (core) of a tree is best avoided. It is a weak and unstable section of material. If this is truly the center of the tree then it is best avoided........that is unless it is already completely gone from the insect damage. In that case I'd agree with the epoxy fill suggestion.
My concern is one of cupping on the finished project with the slab bending up on either side of the pith.
BH Davis