REPAIRS TO THE BLOCK

Unfortunately, you can’t be fearless and not make mistakes. So what do you do when your tool has found its way into an area where it’s not wanted?

A small bruise or dent on an end-grain or plank block can be repaired by lightly sanding the area and then soaking it with a few drops of water. Allow the first drop of water to be absorbed into the surface, then follow with further drops until one drop remains on the surface over the dent. Light a match, hold it over the drop and boil the remaining water off. Be careful not to burn the wood! This should swell the cellulose fibers in the damaged area and make it level again. You might have to do this several times before the wood swells enough to repair the damage.

If your tool has slipped out of control and made an unwanted cut in the block, you can cover your trail by incorporating the line into the image. If this isn’t an option, as a last resort you might have to drill out the offending part and insert a plug. (This works better on end grain blocks.) To do this, you will need some doweling made of the same material you’re carving and a drill bit to match the size of the dowel. A tapered plug will give the tightest fit. Drill about halfway into the block and insert the piece of dowel into the hole with a small amount of carpenter’s PVA glue. You might need to tap the plug gently with a hammer. Protect the rest of the block with several layers of masking tape before cutting away any excess plug with a fine saw. The next part isn’t easy either. You must try to level the plug with sandpaper. Even with the best effort, the plug may still be visible in the final print.

Another technique can be used to repair shallow scratches and dings. Auto body scratch and finishing putty (not the body filler used to repair dents) can fill the finest of scratches. Follow the directions on the tube and finish your repair with a very fine sandpaper. You can use wood filler too, but I find it crumbles and doesn’t hold well in small scratches.

Resingrave can be repaired with epoxy, which can be purchased at any hardware store. Epoxy works better on small scratches and dings than on deep cuts.

Unmounted linoleum can be repaired by cutting another piece of lino to fit into the damaged area. Cut out and remove a shape around the damaged area that follows the contours of your image so that the replacement piece will not be conspicuous. Use PVA glue to attach a sheet of bond paper to the backing of your lino. The repair space should now have paper showing where there used to be lino. Outline the replacement shape in the new piece of lino, then carefully bend it to break it through to the burlap backing. Cut through the burlap with a knife. Now glue the replacement piece onto the paper backing on your original block. If your lino is mounted, you can try to remove the damaged area with the burlap backing intact by carving it out with a chisel and gluing in a new piece of lino.

 

 

 George Walker. If I only had time to write. 1985. Wood engraving; 3" x 3. 875"