I have an old hatchet I’d like to restore. The wood handle is unique, I can’t find a replacement. There is a good sized chunk of the wood missing. Was thinking about making an outside mold of aluminum foil and filling with wood filler. Thoughts??
I have a similar “project” for an old fishing rod of my Dad’s: Mice had chewed a good size chunk out of the cork handle. :-(
I’ve had vague suggestions of mixing ground cork with some sort of adhesive, but, which adhesive? It needs to cure 100% water / sweat / repellent, etc., resistant. It also must not shrink when drying / curing, although I suppose one could oversize the “mold”, and then sand later, if the filler is sandable. Clear silicone cement, once cured, tends to collect dust and such, so, that’s not great, although possibly the paintable variety would do better? Plain old Bondo (hahaha - I accidentally mistyped that as “Bondi”!) likely would work if appearance is not critical, but, again, I’d allow for some shrinkage and then sand, whittle, etc., once fully cured. I’ve used an adhesive called “Vulchem Max” for a variety of projects needing an adhesive / filler that cures tough and rubbery - again, there, appearance goes by the wayside, and you’d have to have a good mold. A mold could be 3D printed, I suppose, but, then again, there would then also be the possibility of 3D printing right over / on top of the original part, I would think. However, I don’t believe I know anyone with a 3D printer handy.
Oversize the repair and use Plastic Wood, then sand?? Maybe... I’d generally stay away from water base wood filler,.
Polypropylene(?) plastic file folder material sort of wrapped around the handle might function as a sort of mold if the handle is basically a piece of dowel rod, but it’d leave a seam or seams that could be sanded off. I think the polypropylene would be inert, with most filler materials, but, best to test out first. PP sheet material will tend to block off air exposure — a consideration, also.
Extra high density foam gap filler might even work, but it might warp a weak mold lacking “exits” to “relieve” the expanding foam. Does it stick tenaciously to polypropylene? Dunno...
This is all off the top of my head — I’ll bet there’s better info. and vids on You Tube.