Do you think epoxy could save my cookies?

[21incher]

I dug out some walnut cookies that I hacked off with a chainsaw about 6 years ago and stacked them in my barn to dry. They dried great but have shrunk out of their bark. Here are a couple pics.


 

 

 
They are about 12 inches in diameter and the bark is still intact but shrinkage has left big voids. I know nothing about using epoxy but it seems if mixed with the proper sawdust it could save them. I have a stack all with the same issue that I am going to make bowls from on the cnc router and really want to keep the bark intact and try to hide the imperfections without it looking like plastic. I see many here use epoxy and was wondering if there is a recommended type of epoxy to experiment with to fix them and keep them out of the woodstove, Thanks

[terrifictimbersllc]

Did you consider cutting the bark in one place so you could pull it tight, and glue it back on with an appropriate glue?

[doc henderson]

glue is the easiest and will look the most natural.  you can do anything with epoxy, but the cost does add up.  could just tint it black, or add color if you are an artist.  or even pine cone seeds to reduce volume and make it interesting/organic.  some threads on here and @tule peak timber is the "wizard of crap" meaning he does a lot of reclaimed stuff, and makes it all look natural even when he does major transplant work ect.  take a look at his gallary, and look at his posts.  some of the most amazing projects on the forum.  I think he goes through 55 gallons a month of epoxy.  might be fun to try if you are looking for something new.  I have glued bark back on several projects.  It is usually permanent, as the cambium being soft is what allowed it to come loose.  may have to trim a small section of bark to get the circumference right.  clamp it with a ratchet strap.  I would do most of my heavy wood sanding, and then replace the bark and sand it flush.



 

[21incher]

Thanks  for the ideas. I tried  a ratchet  strap and nothing  would  move. I was thinking  maybe  an epoxy that I could  mix walnut bark sawdust with but that probably  wouldn't flow down  into  the areas,  or as a last resort try to cut the bumps and glue as terrifictimbersllc and doc  suggested. Only  other  thing I thought  about is soaking  the bark with  water to soften  it for compressing and try polyurethane glue but that only seems to come  in a Tan color. I just never  have luck drying  cookies with  the bark on. Tule peak timber definitely can make anything mother nature throws him look awesome. 

[Southside]

I find dunking cookies in milk does a lot to make the not so good ones a lot better, but I suspect that advice won't do you much good in this instance.   :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Please ignore southside's advice. :D He is thinking about food....again.
Glad Doc chimed in here as he has done a LOT of walnut cookies. Part of your issue is that you have more bark than circumference on those cookies, so the math for a good matchup is not there. So as Doc observed, you may need to remove some bark to make it 'fit' again. However, you can't slide the bark around to even it out, can you? so this is still a problem.
 If they were in my hands I think I would take one and make one side flat (sanded or planed, probably sanded because the bark will disappear in the planer), get a piece of MDF and lay a flat plastic sheet on it, then take the cookie and mask the bottom joints where the bark meets the wood and clamp the cookie to the MDF to it to keep it flat and prevent any leaks you can. Then I would mix up some epoxy and just as it is ready, throw in some walnut dust, then pour into the gap all around. This is going to be a mess because epoxy will leak out the side gaps in the bark and I am not sure how to deal with that. The epoxy WILL penetrate the smallest crack, in fact, that is part of the problem here. You may have to go around each cookies and do small crack pours to deal up the bark first, then do a full pour to close the gap between the cookie and the bark. If you can pull that off, it will look cool (you can add dyes to the epoxy, black, brown, turquoise, etc. for effect or concealment). As you have sat on these for 6 years, you could just take one and do it in stages to develop the process. I have seen how you think, I know your skills and attention to detail. I know you can save these.
 I use the epoxy you can get at Home Depot, nothing special and it works fine for me. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. I believe these are salvageable. In the unlikely event that they are not, DO NOT throw them in the fire, I will come get them and use them without the bark, which I think looks better anyway. :D ;D Those cookies dried up really nice! Good luck and keep us in the loop.

[doc henderson]

@Southside , high fiber cookies are prob. good for you!  
if the cookies only need one beautiful side, take your walnut flour, and make a paste.  you can force it into the back to help seal it up.  if you are messy, it may be hard to get out of the end grain.  acetone can help clean up some.  you can separate the bark and even if in 4 pieces, it can be glues on in sections and a 1/4 inch or so sliced off.  trees taken down when dormant are more likely to keep the bark.  after 6 years they are good and dry, and the cambium separated.  epoxy is expensive and fun, but has a little learning curve.  if you want them perfect and not take a chance, glue them.  If you do not care too much and want to get into epoxy, go for it.   8)

these bar tops will have three different epoxy preparation amounting to about 400 bucks.  
they were puncky, and the pith split.  cupped enough I had to re-mill to get flat.  



 



 

book matched spalted quartersawn sycamore slabs.  low viscosity to stabilize, reg. to fill voids, and bar top for the final coat.  I used total boat.

[21incher]

Thanks. You guys are the kings of epoxy. I will look in Home Depot for epoxy next time we wander out that way. Has anyone ever used hot glue to seal the bottom of cracks and gaps? I am going to play with one as Old Greenhorn suggested.  I am going to try and seal the bark with several coats of polycrylic first and then hot glue the bottom cracks  to hold epoxy. Actually looking at them today I think it may  be best to try and carve out a 1/4 inch x 1/4 groove around the intersection of the bark and white wood then fill with a colored epoxy to hide the flaws and make it look like it was a design element. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Crusarius]

Epoxy gets hot as it cures. This may or may not be bad with hot glue. definitely a worthwhile idea though. But I would make sure I have something on standbye to back it up if the glue does soften and fail. Otherwise there is a good chance you will have a nice epoxy floor or bench before you know it

[doc henderson]

I have use epoxy thickened with saw dust, to seal the back and then it looks the color of the wood, but not the texture.  so if there is a top and unseen bottom, that will work.  I used it in unseen areas of my bar tops.