Questions: Using wood to preform a nickel-silver job

[nebraska]

I'm wondering how functional and durable these "cap and ring" components - typically constructed of nickel silver - would be if they were made from wood. Would they adequately preform the task of holding a fly fishing reel to the reel seat? Would they last 50 years?

What woods would you recommend for their construction?

How would you protect the wood (e.g. impregnating, varnish, etc.)?

What wall thickness would be sufficient?

[a1gutterman]

I'm wondering how functional and durable these "cap and ring" components - typically constructed of nickel silver - would be if they were made from wood. Would they adequately preform the task of holding a fly fishing reel to the reel seat? Would they last 50 years?

What woods would you recommend for their construction?

How would you protect the wood (e.g. impregnating, varnish, etc.)?

What wall thickness would be sufficient?

Hi Chad,
IMHO, the metal parts will outlast any wood replacements that you may build, regardless of wood type. Considering the use, again IMHO, no way on a 50yr life expectancy. That being said, wood ones, especially made by yourself, might be something to be proud of, by a son or grandson (at least for as long as they last!).

[shipwright]

You are going to have short grain problems. Perhaps if you laminated up blanks out of thin squares your chosen specie(s) with alternating grain orientations (like a little piece of plywood) and then turned the rings you could achieve enough strength. The thickness would have to be somewhat more than the metal ones. You could alternate colors as well and come up with something quite handsome. As for longevity, There are lots of wooden boats around that are well over a hundred years old.

God hates a coward... give it a try

Paul M

[charlese]

If you can get some - try lignum-vitae. It was used for bearings (collars) for the propeller shafts on quiet running submarines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae

http://www.lignum-vitae.com/

[iclark]

thin wooden rings do not hold up to having the cross-grain put in tension.

the thought of making a thin plywood ring sounds like it might work.

another possibility would be to take a very thin veneer and soak it in epoxy or CA so that it is flexible and then wrap it several layers thick around a mandrell with the grain running in the circumferential direction. once it hardens, you can slice rings as long as you want. my guess is that the rings wold hold up about as long as the guide ties do. maybe a bit longer. it might take a couple of tries to get the mandrell diameter and non-stick coating right.

Ivan

[skou]

This is just my opinion as a NOVICE woodworker, but with some limited experience with metals.

If you were to make the wooden ring sabout 200-300% thicker, and used some laid-up woods, (the afore mentioned plywoods) they just MIGHT last. What you really need to consider, is that most wood isn't designed to last in a tension stress. It works best in a compression stress. You are looking at a ring of some kind, and the ring will need to withstand stretching. Metals can withstand this force much better than wood could.

I don't even know about the previously mentioned Lignum Vitae. When used as a seal, it was compressed. It is also an "oily" wood, which is why the Navy used it as a bearing material. (In fact, they may still be using it.)

steve

[pennview]

another possibility would be to take a very thin veneer and soak it in epoxy or CA so that it is flexible and then wrap it several layers thick around a mandrell with the grain running in the circumferential direction. once it hardens, you can slice rings as long as you want. my guess is that the rings wold hold up about as long as the guide ties do. maybe a bit longer. it might take a couple of tries to get the mandrell diameter and non-stick coating right.

Following-up on what Ivan wrote, I recall making bracelets over 20 years ago using veneer. I would boil the veneer, strips 1 x 18 inches or longer, in water for five minutes or so till they were pliable and then wrap the veneer around a can to dry, securing them with copper wire. I'd place the cans on a wood stove so they'd dry quickly. After dry, I'd apply wood glue where the strips overlapped, using a couple of strips to increase the thickness of the bracelet, wrap them around the can again, secure with masking tape and let dry. Then I'd mount them on a mandrel on a lathe, use a skew chisel to clean up the edges and cut them into narrower widths, sand, finish, etc. Here's a picture of a couple of the bracelets:

[ATTACH]7508[/ATTACH]

What I don't recall is if the veneer would be pliable enough to wrap around a mandrel as tightly as needed to make a nut for the fly rod, but I'd suspect that some veneers would do it. I've also used thin CA glue to harden wood so that you can use a 10-32 tap to thread wood that has held up well over several years.

Art in Western Penna

[mickyd]

You are going to have short grain problems. ....

Paul M

Can a piece of burl be used? Burl has no grain direction, correct?

Also, I was wondering how the marine epoxies that are used to stabilize dry rot would work on a piece with 'short grain' problems or for that matter, stregthen any wood that will be used in tension? Would that reinforce (via impregnation) a piece of wood that already has good structure or does the epoxy only penetrate into wood that is punky?

[Ed in Tampa]

I like the veneer idea even better than the plywood idea.
But either should work.
In the plywood idea the thickness of the layers will deternine the strength. The thinner the plys the more there will be and stronger the finished rings.

In the veneer idea again the thickness of the veneer will determine the strength. The thinner the veneer the more turns or layers there will be and the stronger the ring will be.

One way ply wood the beauty of the rings will be seen looking down on them, especially if you use many different woods or different tinted woods. In the veneer method the beauty will only be seen in the beauty of the wood, possibly some interest when viewed from the side if you used a colored epoxy to bond them together.

[Ed in Tampa]

Another idea you might consider how about bonding a thin wood veneer to the metal rings? That way you would have the beauty of the wood but the strenght of the metal.