Barong restoration suggestion...

Federico · 16th December 2004, 07:56 PM

One thing I have done on swords that will be used for hard practice, has been to do a pitch plug on the end. Essentially the sword will be held in place with a strong modern epoxy, but for aesthetics, I leave about a 1/4" room at the joint which I then fill with pitch for looks.

Spunjer · 16th December 2004, 09:29 PM

zel and federico,
will the pitch hold the hilt in place? i can actually spin the hilt around so evidently it's no longer attached to the handle (wood shrinkage, maybe?). can i use something like superglue to hold it in place then add the pitch on top of that, or will the pitch take care of it?

ibeam · 16th December 2004, 09:53 PM

Good luck Spunjer on your resto project.

Nice job Zel on the restoration.

Have you or anyone done any Plume or Beak Restoration on the kakatua pommel on a barung? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated?

Spunjer · 16th December 2004, 10:05 PM

battara is the man...

http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002259.html

Federico · 16th December 2004, 10:18 PM

Spunjer, what are you planning on using your barong for? Practice or display or collection? Pitch alone (if you removed the loose hilt, cleaned of loose particles, and re-filled) is a good enough adhessive. For security, for practice swords, as I noted in my post above, I have used epoxy (such as JB weld) and left a small gap for pitch to be placed so that superficially it will appear like it is held by pitch. I would not recommend superglue to fill any large cavity. A slower drying 2 part epoxy would probably work best. I prefer JB weld myself, but the drawback is that mistakes cannot be corrected as it can only be removed mechanically (eg. breaking the hilt).

Ibeam the only real cockatua restoration would be to recarve the cockatua down or to replace it completely. I would not suggest tacking on a new crest or beak, as there would a number of problems.

A. finding the banati would in the first place is difficult,
B. finding banati of similar grain and color
C. hiding the joint

One could try staining to hide, but as the wood ages, the contrast would become apparant. Ironically ivory is easier to do this with, as joint lines can often be mistaken as stress cracking. But, with wood, I really havent seen anyone add pieces that werent obvious replacements. The only thing I could think of, if you really want a bigger cockatua, perhaps add silver tips (eg. beak and crest) to the cockatua. Jose/Battara could probably whip something amazing up.

Spunjer · 16th December 2004, 10:49 PM

federico,

it will be purely collection/display...

Battara · 16th December 2004, 11:10 PM

ibeam, I would suggest the following:

a) leave it alone
b) carve a small piece of wood to match the rest of the wood and glue
c) glue a piece of wood and then wrap the piece with some twisted silver wire

Here is one of the pictures missing in the post that I think Spunger is refering (thanks Spunger). It is a pic of some of the work I did for Ian on his barong - I created a silver cockatoo head that was missing on his barong:

Federico · 17th December 2004, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spunjer

federico,

it will be purely collection/display...

If it is going to be just display, why not just go with pitch? It is very easy to work with, at least in my opinion, and best of all very repairable. If something goes wrong, or if you need to adjust things later on, a little heat and boom it off. No damage to blade or hilt. Vs. modern epoxies, depending on the type, it can be a real chore to remove. Either harsh chemicals or mechanically (essentially breaking the hilt off).

ibeam · 17th December 2004, 05:01 PM

Thank you Federico and Battara for the suggestions.

Battara,
Do you have any pictures you can share that you have done restorations similar to items #b & #c

# b) carve a small piece of wood to match the rest of the wood and glue
# c) glue a piece of wood and then wrap the piece with some twisted silver wire

BTW, excellent job on the Silver Kakatua on Ian's Barung.

16th December 2004, 09:53 PM	#3
ibeam Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 134	Repair Good luck Spunjer on your resto project. Nice job Zel on the restoration. Have you or anyone done any Plume or Beak Restoration on the kakatua pommel on a barung? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated? Attached Images

16th December 2004, 11:10 PM	#7
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,352	ibeam, I would suggest the following: a) leave it alone b) carve a small piece of wood to match the rest of the wood and glue c) glue a piece of wood and then wrap the piece with some twisted silver wire Here is one of the pictures missing in the post that I think Spunger is refering (thanks Spunger). It is a pic of some of the work I did for Ian on his barong - I created a silver cockatoo head that was missing on his barong: Attached Images

17th December 2004, 05:01 PM	#9
ibeam Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 134	Thank you Thank you Federico and Battara for the suggestions. Battara, Do you have any pictures you can share that you have done restorations similar to items #b & #c # b) carve a small piece of wood to match the rest of the wood and glue # c) glue a piece of wood and then wrap the piece with some twisted silver wire BTW, excellent job on the Silver Kakatua on Ian's Barung.

16th December 2004, 07:56 PM	#1
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	One thing I have done on swords that will be used for hard practice, has been to do a pitch plug on the end. Essentially the sword will be held in place with a strong modern epoxy, but for aesthetics, I leave about a 1/4" room at the joint which I then fill with pitch for looks.

16th December 2004, 09:29 PM	#2
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	zel and federico, will the pitch hold the hilt in place? i can actually spin the hilt around so evidently it's no longer attached to the handle (wood shrinkage, maybe?). can i use something like superglue to hold it in place then add the pitch on top of that, or will the pitch take care of it?

16th December 2004, 10:05 PM	#4
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	battara is the man... http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002259.html

16th December 2004, 10:18 PM	#5
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Spunjer, what are you planning on using your barong for? Practice or display or collection? Pitch alone (if you removed the loose hilt, cleaned of loose particles, and re-filled) is a good enough adhessive. For security, for practice swords, as I noted in my post above, I have used epoxy (such as JB weld) and left a small gap for pitch to be placed so that superficially it will appear like it is held by pitch. I would not recommend superglue to fill any large cavity. A slower drying 2 part epoxy would probably work best. I prefer JB weld myself, but the drawback is that mistakes cannot be corrected as it can only be removed mechanically (eg. breaking the hilt). Ibeam the only real cockatua restoration would be to recarve the cockatua down or to replace it completely. I would not suggest tacking on a new crest or beak, as there would a number of problems. A. finding the banati would in the first place is difficult, B. finding banati of similar grain and color C. hiding the joint One could try staining to hide, but as the wood ages, the contrast would become apparant. Ironically ivory is easier to do this with, as joint lines can often be mistaken as stress cracking. But, with wood, I really havent seen anyone add pieces that werent obvious replacements. The only thing I could think of, if you really want a bigger cockatua, perhaps add silver tips (eg. beak and crest) to the cockatua. Jose/Battara could probably whip something amazing up.

16th December 2004, 10:49 PM	#6
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	federico, it will be purely collection/display...