Lesson learned! The hard way!

[John B]

That's a real bugger Ray.
My 1st option for recovery of the piece, is to stain it all to match the darker timber. Not as pretty but you will still have a nice item.
As for taking it apart! What type of Weldwood did you use. The contact cement, you may be able to release the pieces by soaking in Turps, or thinner.
If it is the epoxy or PVA I would say you are buggered.
You would have to decide that the project is a stuffed and you can't stuff it up any more then it already is, so just do your best to gently pry of the top and bottom.
With a little luck you will have a number of reusable layers and with a lot you will be able reuse them all.
Good Luck

[NC Scroller]

Seriously doubt it is coming apart short of cutting the layers apart with a band saw. Best advice is to call it a learning experience and to use it as is  

[Rolf]

Where did you get the Padauk?  I have never seen wood color bleed like that. I have had issues when sanding with the sanding dust discoloring the neighboring wood. 

It almost looks as if the the wood was dyed to enhance it.  I would think the color is part of the wood and not soluble.

I would put a piece of the scrap in the same solution and see if the color bleeds out.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Rolf

[OCtoolguy]

15 hours ago, Dave Monk said:

Wow! That totally sucks.  I sure can't give you any advise. 

I'm thinking a torch Dave.

[OCtoolguy]

11 hours ago, Rolf said:

Where did you get the Padauk?  I have never seen wood color bleed like that. I have had issues when sanding with the sanding dust discoloring the neighboring wood. 

It almost looks as if the the wood was dyed to enhance it.  I would think the color is part of the wood and not soluble.

I would put a piece of the scrap in the same solution and see if the color bleeds out.

I might give that a try. I'm thinking seriously of just painting the whole thing and use it for nails and screws.

 

[OCtoolguy]

21 hours ago, John B said:

That's a real bugger Ray.
My 1st option for recovery of the piece, is to stain it all to match the darker timber. Not as pretty but you will still have a nice item.
As for taking it apart! What type of Weldwood did you use. The contact cement, you may be able to release the pieces by soaking in Turps, or thinner.
If it is the epoxy or PVA I would say you are buggered.
You would have to decide that the project is a stuffed and you can't stuff it up any more then it already is, so just do your best to gently pry of the top and bottom.
With a little luck you will have a number of reusable layers and with a lot you will be able reuse them all.
Good Luck

It's the Weldwood that is white like Elmer's. First time I've used it mainly because it dries clear. 

[John B]

3 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

It's the Weldwood that is white like Elmer's. First time I've used it mainly because it dries clear. 

That would be the PVA. It is typically stronger than the timber.

[OCtoolguy]

Well, to update, I figured I had nothing to lose at this point so I filled a sink with cold water and set the basket in the water. I figured that if the padauk continued to bleed, it might even out some. But, to my surprise, nothing happened. So, I got my spray bottle of alcohol and spritzed it really good and then the color began to run. It's the alcohol that was causing the bleeding. The lighter poplar is taking on a pinkish hue and the cherry doesn't seem to have been bothered. And, my mixture isn't 90% as I thought. It's really just 70% straight out of the bottle. Anyway, I let it sit for about a half hour and low and behold the glue started letting go. So I now have the top and bottom loose from the rest of it and soon, I'll have it all apart. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel and it won't be an oncoming train.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by OCtoolguy

[TAIrving]

Good to hear that you are getting it worked out and will be able to save the project.

You seem to have answered 2 questions, one about the glue - it is not waterproof, and the other about the padauk bleeding - due to alcohol.  

I wondered about the latter, did a search and found a Woodcraft article that confirms that the pigment in padauk is alcohol soluble.  Woodsense: Spotlight Padauk (woodcraft.com).  They recommend not finishing padauk with shellac because of the alcohol thing.  

[OCtoolguy]

3 hours ago, TAIrving said:

Good to hear that you are getting it worked out and will be able to save the project.

You seem to have answered 2 questions, one about the glue - it is not waterproof, and the other about the padauk bleeding - due to alcohol.  

I wondered about the latter, did a search and found a Woodcraft article that confirms that the pigment in padauk is alcohol soluble.  Woodsense: Spotlight Padauk (woodcraft.com).  They recommend not finishing padauk with shellac because of the alcohol thing.  

That's good to know as I usually shoot a couple coats of spray shellac on these baskets. This time I guess I'll use poly. Thanks.

[OCtoolguy]

Well, here it is in all of it's "colorful" glory. One coat of tung oil mainly because I had never used tung oil before. I figured this was a good time to try it since the project is flawed anyway. It still has some spots that are a bit pinkish but all-in-all it's useable. I'll use it on my desk for odds & ends. Next one will be better.

Edited April 3, 2022 by OCtoolguy

[Dave Monk]

I think it came out awesome.  Congrats!

[OCtoolguy]

37 minutes ago, Dave Monk said:

I think it came out awesome.  Congrats!

Thanks Dave. I saved it but that's about all. I would never sell something this flawed. 

[don watson]

Ray, the pics I see are the teeniest pics known to man, I can't see a thing except for a tiny coloured square ??

[Jim McDonald]

3 hours ago, don watson said:

Ray, the pics I see are the teeniest pics known to man, I can't see a thing except for a tiny coloured square ??

Don: Something has happened to @OCtoolguypost. Those photos were there Saturday morning.

Hopefully Ray can repost them.

[OCtoolguy]

I tried to do an edit but screwed it up. I think I fixed it. Sorry.

[meflick]

I can see it Ray. I don’t  see any flaws.   I like the Coloring.  Gives it character and makes it one of a kind.

[don watson]

Thanks Ray I can see the pic in all it's glory. Very nice indeed, shame about the bleeding but a very nice piece just the same.

Don W

[preprius]

oh your recovery seemed pretty good.

I like this kind topic.  how to recover gracefully from a bad oops.

[OCtoolguy]

Thanks for all the kind comments. It looks far better in the picture than in reality. When I soaked it apart the poplar segments became very flimsy and when they dried they took on a shape of their own. So when I glued them up they didn't all line up the way they should so it's a bit out of whack. The best part of this experience is the lesson learned.

[don watson]

Thanks Ray, your last line says it all, " The best part of this experience is the lesson learned."