When to fill a knot with epoxy? Is it always necessary?

Pine has knots & sap. If you’re not going to plane it should be ok.

M

-- The hump with the stump and the pump!

Pine has knots & sap. If you re not going to plane it should be ok.

This is a 1.5” thick piece of walnut. I’ve already planed and sanded, ready for finish. Just now realized I should double check leaving the crack before I went any further.

The knot in question:

It’s your choice. If it is going to be exposed might leave it alone or fill it with a colored epoxy to draw attention to it your choice. The only time you really need to glue or epoxy a know is if it is loose.

-- Bruce, Boise, ID

Walnut is a very stable wood. Should be ok unless subjected to extremes of humidity and temperature. That is a beautiful piece of wood! I’m not sure of scale/size from the picture, but have you considered a small butterfly of a complementary wood. Might look nice.

-- Dave Smith - If our phones fall, we panic. If our friends fall, we laugh.

I leave all knots as they are, just natural character.

I would advise against using a dutchman in a knot. you could be left with a mess in a hurry. I mix up copper powder and walnut sawdust to fill my walnut cracks and knots.

I fill cracks in black walnut knots with epoxy mixed with lamp black.

-- Roger M, Aiken, SC

It wouldn’t take that long to fill it with epox and sand. I fill all cracks with epoxy before milling.

-- I always knew gun nuts where afraid of something, just never thought popcorn was on the list.

For me, it depends on whether the crack is confined to the knot. In other words, could you remove the knot with a chisel cleanly and if so, would the crack be gone? If not, I like to fill the crack to try to prevent further checking.

-- I collect hobbies. There is no sense in limiting yourself (Don W) - - - - - - - - Kenny in SW VA

This is what I did on a walnut box. I saved sawdust from my cuts and mixed it with TB-3 and used it as a filler. Since the sawdust was from this piece of wood, it worked out well.

While it did not end up perfectly smooth, it did/does take the emphasis off of the crack and it blends well. Just my 2-cents worth…

-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."