Worm hole filling

[Timbuck]

Some swine has given me an old ancient Banjolin as a gift (not my favourite instrument) but it's in bad need of restoration and I'm not busy at the moment so i might as well get it fixed ...besides the usual split vellum the most noticeable thing is quite a few worm/termite holes. Some are rather large, so what is the best way to fill them ?

A2FAC70B[url=https://flic.kr/p/2nM7Vba]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2nM7V9r]EB48ACB7-5341-4C9E-82B4-02262D9F78B8 by Ken Timms, on Flickr[/URL]
0E5FECBE-A074-4B16-BDF0-8768702B4D51 by Ken Timms, on Flickr-4F76-41BB-8EC6-031CE3755826[/URL]

 

[Paul1973UK]

I was going to suggest gluing in some cocktail sticks (USA toothpicks) and trimming flush and staining to colour match and a drop of shellac to finish... but that hole in the neck looks too big... about 5mm diameter?
Sawdust and wood glue? wood filler? personally I'd rather plug with wooden dowel and use the above mentioned process so to some extent there will be some wood grain to help hide the repair.

 

[Patty]

I was going to suggest gluing in some cocktail sticks (USA toothpicks) and trimming flush and staining to colour match and a drop of shellac to finish... but that hole in the neck looks too big... about 5mm diameter?
Sawdust and wood glue? wood filler? personally I'd rather plug with wooden dowel and use the above mentioned process so to some extent there will be some wood grain to help hide the repair.

Wooden matchsticks? Like the thick fireplace ones?

 

[Paul1973UK]

Wooden matchsticks? Like the thick fireplace ones?

They could work if they're thick enough? round them off by putting in a drill and sanding until round. Can be done with any scrap of wood trimmed to size.

 

[Tom Snape]

Some are rather large,

Speaking of large, I shudder to think what worm or insect made this hole in this piece of found wood I recently brought home.

 

[Timbuck]

I thought I'd have a go at filling the large hole in neck first , so put a probe into it to see how deep it is..I was surprised that it was almost right through at approx: 7/8"deep.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2nMcsas]A2E348FC-B7AA-496A-A17C-8E675A622D73 by Ken Timms, on Flickr32072B4B-093F-42B2-A8E7-3B73230C7A8E[/URL] by

 

[Kekani]

Epoxy to fill the depth. Epoxy and wood dust for surface.

I showed a friend how to do this on his Lomi Sticks. He used to toss the pieces that have “blemishes”. Now he accepts, and sometimes accentuates them.

 

[Timbuck]

I ended up filling with CA thin glue using accelerator ...it leaves a black spot but I like it and gives the instrument a bit of history.

 

[sequoia]

Epoxy to fill the depth. Epoxy and wood dust for surface.

I showed a friend how to do this on his Lomi Sticks. He used to toss the pieces that have “blemishes”. Now he accepts, and sometimes accentuates them.

Also you try the recent posted idea of finger nail polish and cinnamon. I have not tried it myself.

 

[Timbuck]

Worm holes filled , FP repaired, New velum, Neck re-set, Metal parts polished, Tuners serviced and greased, New bridge fitted, One new tensioning hook made, new string set and frets dressed, replace (too high)zero fret with a lower one. ... as the nut width is only 1 inch wide I can't really play it with my fat fingers... tuned as a ukulele I can manage a C chord and a C7 and it sounds OK.


040BB908-62DD-466A-B970-05F84F90B692 by Ken Timms,