Tote Repair

When inspected my “new” (to me) No 3, I gave it an initial damage assessment, and I was pretty happy with the condition overall. However, the following problem was apparent:

Well, I considered the options (including doing nothing, buy a new one, use epoxy, CA glue, wood glue, etc) and I went with epoxy. I chose this because of the strength and gap-filling properties of epoxy. However, I was concerned that the epoxy would be too thick to get way down into the crack to provide sufficient strength. I wanted a way to “inject” the epoxy deep into the crack. I got some System Three T-88 epoxy, and it was pretty thick when I mixed it up.

So, I drilled a small hole (using the smallest bit I have) through a hidden area on the bottom of the tote, drilling straight down into the crack so I could have room to put a needle in there (note that I took this picture after the epoxy had cured — I didn’t want to get epoxy all over my camera).

I injected the epoxy into this hole with a syringe and a 19 gauge needle. It went in slowly with firm pressure, and I just kept injecting until epoxy started coming out the edges. Then I clamped (gently) in a quick-grip and left it overnight.

Here is the result, after an initial application of stain…

I finished it with several coats of dark garnet shellac, darkened further with a few drops of reddish-brown TransTint. Here are some pics that show the finishing process…