Repair

Rick · 23rd December 2006, 02:27 AM

Only rarely do I let things slip from my hand .

Then they have to be fixed; this was a badly shattered wrongko.
Learn by doing ......

David · 23rd December 2006, 04:00 AM

A shame Rick, but a very clean and professional job. What kind of glue did you use?

Rick · 23rd December 2006, 04:10 PM

Hi David,

Carpenter's wood glue; it dried a bit darker than I thought it would.

That end of the wrongko is all end grain carved thin so when this area hit the floor the piece literally shattered; almost impossible to get the edges lined up perfectly and miniscule pieces were just plain missing. I had to reshape the wrongko a slight amount to get it anywhere near decent looking.

The repaired area was finished with 3 pound cut orange shellac; lots of coats, lots of sanding in between.

I hope to never do such a thing again in my lifetime.

Battara · 23rd December 2006, 06:25 PM

Very impressive job for a depressive event!

A. G. Maisey · 23rd December 2006, 10:15 PM

Ladrang wrongkos are very easy to damage. In fact, any good quality Solo wrongko is very easy to damage, as even the gayams get the edges carved paper thin. These things are works of art, and need to be treated as such. If you trawl the markets in Jawa it is rare---very rare--- to find a second hand wrongko that does not have some damage.

Many of the keris that I have bought outside of Jawa have been badly damaged when I bought them, and honestly Rick, I would not call the damage to your wrongko at all serious. Yeah, it was a nasty thing to happen, and when it did I reckon all the blood rushed to your feet, but it was really a minor injury as far as ladrangs go. In Solo, a wrongko that has been badly damaged will often be given a sungging treatment---repaired, and then painted.

In Jawa the most usual adhesive and gap filler would be button shellac, which is fragile, but if supported provides pretty good adhesion, or in recent years some sort of super glue rubbish, which is good for maybe 12 months, when it lets go.

Ordinary wood working glue is not really very good for this sort of repair, five minute epoxy tinted with a suitable artist's colouring agent is the best approach. In a wrongko like your's, Rick, I would have tinted the epoxy with burnt umber, and the resultant dark brown viens would just have looked like original wood grain. I would then have sanded and polished the wrongko again
and finished with a commercial gunstock finish.

Wood working glue is not real good, because to achieve a good bond with wood working glue, you need to clamp the joint. It is almost impossible to clamp a joint in the top part of a wrongko. You can use a stocking wrapped around it sometimes, but for a joint like the ones in your job Rick, I doubt if this would be possible.

Did you apply the shellac with a brush, or a rubber?
If with a brush, did you kill it after your last coat, or can you still pick up brush marks if you put light across it?

Sometimes you can get big holes in a gandar, or dry rot in old atasan. The best thing to fill these holes is plastic putty---I've used some stuff called "Plastibond". Again, you tint it with artist's colour. Over-fill, polish back. With a gandar you need to fix some sort of support for the filler inside the hole ; a thin piece of bambu is good for this, just epoxy it in place on the inside, and then you can fill to your hearts content.

I've put up pics of this wrongko before, but its a good example of what you can do with epoxy and colour. I did this repair many years ago, but the when I got this wrongko, the top part was in pieces, and the gandar had big holes in it. The dark brown patches you see on the left hand side of the gandar are patches of Plastibond. Some of the brown graining in the top part of the wrongko is tinted five minute epoxy . The finish is Birchwood Casey Trueoil.

I reckon that it is possible to fix just about anything that might be damaged in a keris, or its wrongko.

Rick · 23rd December 2006, 10:46 PM

Hi Alan,
The first picture is the completed project; the other two close ups are in-progress photos.
The first few coats of shellac were wiped on then the last coat or two was applied with a brush and wooled then hand rubbed.

Brushmarks?

Me?
Never!
I'm very picky about final finish.

I hope the glue holds up.

BluErf · 24th December 2006, 10:08 AM

Hi Rick,

Even with flash and at such close distance, the damage is not very obvious. I think you did a great job!

Alam Shah · 24th December 2006, 10:46 AM

Rick, excellent work. Nice finishing touch, hardly noticeable.
Wood pattern does help.

23rd December 2006, 02:27 AM	#1
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	Repair Only rarely do I let things slip from my hand . Then they have to be fixed; this was a badly shattered wrongko. Learn by doing ...... Attached Images

23rd December 2006, 10:15 PM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,893	Ladrang wrongkos are very easy to damage. In fact, any good quality Solo wrongko is very easy to damage, as even the gayams get the edges carved paper thin. These things are works of art, and need to be treated as such. If you trawl the markets in Jawa it is rare---very rare--- to find a second hand wrongko that does not have some damage. Many of the keris that I have bought outside of Jawa have been badly damaged when I bought them, and honestly Rick, I would not call the damage to your wrongko at all serious. Yeah, it was a nasty thing to happen, and when it did I reckon all the blood rushed to your feet, but it was really a minor injury as far as ladrangs go. In Solo, a wrongko that has been badly damaged will often be given a sungging treatment---repaired, and then painted. In Jawa the most usual adhesive and gap filler would be button shellac, which is fragile, but if supported provides pretty good adhesion, or in recent years some sort of super glue rubbish, which is good for maybe 12 months, when it lets go. Ordinary wood working glue is not really very good for this sort of repair, five minute epoxy tinted with a suitable artist's colouring agent is the best approach. In a wrongko like your's, Rick, I would have tinted the epoxy with burnt umber, and the resultant dark brown viens would just have looked like original wood grain. I would then have sanded and polished the wrongko again and finished with a commercial gunstock finish. Wood working glue is not real good, because to achieve a good bond with wood working glue, you need to clamp the joint. It is almost impossible to clamp a joint in the top part of a wrongko. You can use a stocking wrapped around it sometimes, but for a joint like the ones in your job Rick, I doubt if this would be possible. Did you apply the shellac with a brush, or a rubber? If with a brush, did you kill it after your last coat, or can you still pick up brush marks if you put light across it? Sometimes you can get big holes in a gandar, or dry rot in old atasan. The best thing to fill these holes is plastic putty---I've used some stuff called "Plastibond". Again, you tint it with artist's colour. Over-fill, polish back. With a gandar you need to fix some sort of support for the filler inside the hole ; a thin piece of bambu is good for this, just epoxy it in place on the inside, and then you can fill to your hearts content. I've put up pics of this wrongko before, but its a good example of what you can do with epoxy and colour. I did this repair many years ago, but the when I got this wrongko, the top part was in pieces, and the gandar had big holes in it. The dark brown patches you see on the left hand side of the gandar are patches of Plastibond. Some of the brown graining in the top part of the wrongko is tinted five minute epoxy . The finish is Birchwood Casey Trueoil. I reckon that it is possible to fix just about anything that might be damaged in a keris, or its wrongko. Attached Images

24th December 2006, 10:46 AM	#8
Alam Shah Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,248	Rick, excellent work. Nice finishing touch, hardly noticeable. Wood pattern does help. Last edited by Alam Shah; 24th December 2006 at 02:05 PM. Reason: grammar

23rd December 2006, 04:00 AM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,125	A shame Rick, but a very clean and professional job. What kind of glue did you use?

23rd December 2006, 04:10 PM	#3
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	Hi David, Carpenter's wood glue; it dried a bit darker than I thought it would. That end of the wrongko is all end grain carved thin so when this area hit the floor the piece literally shattered; almost impossible to get the edges lined up perfectly and miniscule pieces were just plain missing. I had to reshape the wrongko a slight amount to get it anywhere near decent looking. The repaired area was finished with 3 pound cut orange shellac; lots of coats, lots of sanding in between. I hope to never do such a thing again in my lifetime.

23rd December 2006, 06:25 PM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,221	Very impressive job for a depressive event!

23rd December 2006, 10:46 PM	#6
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	Hi Alan, The first picture is the completed project; the other two close ups are in-progress photos. The first few coats of shellac were wiped on then the last coat or two was applied with a brush and wooled then hand rubbed. Brushmarks? Me? Never! I'm very picky about final finish. I hope the glue holds up.

24th December 2006, 10:08 AM	#7
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	Hi Rick, Even with flash and at such close distance, the damage is not very obvious. I think you did a great job!