# Burn-In Repairs



## Larry in Harrow (Nov 2, 2010)

The thinking was that antler being a natural material, a natural flaw wouldn't look out of place.  Wrong, after finishing (CA to seal), buffing and assembly, it was too obvious.






Used a dental pick to remove any CA that was in the hole.






Filled the hole with white Burn-In stick.  Easy and quick repair, just heat a pallet knife, melt on a touch of the shellac stick and fill the hole.  I used the white stick, it was a little too white but closer than the open wound.  Many colours are available to match wood repairs.







The finished pen after a little sanding and repolishing.  The repair is still visible but a definite improvement.  If you didn't know I'd been there you probably wouldn't even notice.  






A old trick from the furniture repair trades.  Works better on wood, easier to match the exact colour.


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## Mack C. (Nov 2, 2010)

Larry in Harrow said:


> The thinking was that antler being a natural material, a natural flaw wouldn't look out of place. Wrong, after finishing (CA to seal), buffing and assembly, it was too obvious.
> Used a dental pick to remove any CA that was in the hole.
> Filled the hole with white Burn-In stick. Easy and quick repair, just heat a pallet knife, melt on a touch of the shellac stick and fill the hole. I used the white stick, it was a little too white but closer than the open wound. Many colours are available to match wood repairs.
> The finished pen after a little sanding and repolishing. The repair is still visible but a definite improvement. If you didn't know I'd been there you probably wouldn't even notice.
> A old trick from the furniture repair trades. Works better on wood, easier to match the exact colour.


 Nice repair, Bud! Can you say anal?:laugh:


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## lazylathe (Nov 2, 2010)

Looks great to me!

I did not know about the burn-in sticks!
May be of great help to some out there that have some holes in their wood pens that they do not want to fill with inlace materials!

Great job on the pen!!

Andrew


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## Pioneerpens (Nov 2, 2010)

love it! It looks great! and thanks for the tip on the burn sticks...where would one get them if one wanted them?


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## Rick_G (Nov 2, 2010)

Nice repair Larry I had heard about the burn in sticks before but have never tried them, may have to hunt a few down in several colours.  Will the colours mix?


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## DavePowers (Nov 8, 2010)

I liked it before. I think the white dot stands out more than the brown spot, maybe if I hadn't looked at the first picture. Just my opinion. Pen looks great either way.

Dave


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## Mack C. (Nov 8, 2010)

Pioneerpens said:


> love it! It looks great! and thanks for the tip on the burn sticks...where would one get them if one wanted them?


Hi Jennifer; Here's one source! I'm sure there are others.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20071&cat=1,190,42997,42999


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## IPD_Mrs (Nov 8, 2010)

Another option that would have blended a little better would be to fill the hole with the dust of the antler from turning it.  I have to agree with Dave, at least in the photos the repair stands out more.

Natural materials are not perfect and sometimes inclusions and other imperfections will give it character.


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## Chasper (Nov 8, 2010)

I go to quite a lot of extra effort to leave some of the outside bark showing on antler, and I find that those with some natural area remaining sell much better than smooth and white.  However, when there is just a little showing as there is in this case, it does tend to look like a mistake.  Nice rescue.


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## aggromere (Nov 8, 2010)

That is a way cool idea.


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## bitshird (Nov 8, 2010)

Just me, but I would have just left the hole/ inclusion as it was, after all it was Deer antler, around here the more bark you leave on the better it looks, and marrow can be filled with enough CA to like and feel like a baby's bum.


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