Epoxy or what to fill cracks

[poolhound]

I am about to start to work on the 2 live edge slabs I bought to turn into our outside table. There are a number of cracks & knots and some insect damage. Interested to see what other folks have done to fill/repair these and what may be the pros/cons

For the show side I intend to fill some of these defects with turquoise inlay or similar. For the underside I just need whatever will be structurally best, easiest to apply and ideally cheapest.

[JimD]

Jon,

I haven't worked with a live edge slab but for the smaller things I have needed to patch up, I have used 5 minute epoxy. Simple and relatively cheap. On the underside, you might want to consider construction adhesive. It won't show, presumably, so appearance shouldn't be an issue. Dutchmen could cover any large flaws on the top.

[atgcpaul]

For more "formal" pieces I've used 5 minute epoxy to fill cracks and knots in walnut. I have tried to mix in walnut dust and I didn't like the dull, grainless look of the patch. So now I either mix in black dye or leave the epoxy clear. If the crack goes through to the other side, I will put some blue masking tape on the back side because the epoxy will flow out and through.

For a more "arty" pieces like my Nakashima bench (http://www.sawdustzone.org/showthread.php?59257), I used bowties to span the crack. It's essentially a free repair but does need some attention to detail.

[poolhound]

I fully intend to use bowties in the top as I have to 'join' the two slabs together in some fashion. Jim I like the idea of the construction adhesive for some of the underside filling as for $3-$4 for a tube that would go a long way. The Devcon 5 minute epoxy was $15 in lowes for the 9oz pack so I may just give that a try. For the topside I really need something that will dry clear do any of you know whether the Devcon one is clear?

[atgcpaul]

For the topside I really need something that will dry clear do any of you know whether the Devcon one is clear?

I've used the smallish tubes of Devcon. It does dry clear.

To conserve epoxy and especially to make cleanup easier, I surround the border of the crack I'm filling with blue painters tape. Then I fill the crack. If you don't fill over the tape too much, you can peel it off and break the epoxy at that joint. Although it says "5 minute epoxy", I find I need to let it sit overnight to achieve full hardness. You may have less working time since you're in AZ.

You want to avoid sanding it too much. When I flush it to the surface, I like to use a chisel bevel down to scrape it flat or if it's a bigger area, a block plane. If you're mixing in turquoise, you'll probably have to sharpen more frequently.

I usually do a top coat of shellac on my projects followed by oil/varnish. I'm not sure if varnish alone will stick to the epoxy.