Woodworm treatment and to repair or not ??

[Vincent]

Making a new box sounds like a good idea. Would you use pine or some of that famous English oak?

[Vincent]

and I'm going to teach him another lost art, that of lead-loading.

Oh boy. I haven’t heard anyone talk about lead-loading for a very long time. I bet most people have never heard of it.

I bet you can braze too. That’s another art.

[Peter Laidler]

I learned the secret of lead-loading after a few dismal failures and the practice had ceased at the BMC factory a Cowley due to health and safety stuff. Then a friend told an old retired worker that I was having problems working the lead under the blowlamp with the hardwood blocks while it was in its transitional putty state. He phoned me and told me that the only wood to use was hickory which didn't contaminate the solder/lead while it was in its putty state. He was dead right. Got some blocks of hickory and it worked a treat. Mind you, by then I had enough failed attempts.......... But the practice was good!

Incidentally, it was this health and safety nonsense that that ended lead loading on the MGB and GT and Triumph GT6 and TR6 bodies. Look at the later MGB and GT bodies and you'll see the panel join inboard of the rear lights and the rear panel. This used to be lead loaded and smoothed. Likewise, between the GT 'C' post and the roof. This seam was lead loaded too but after the practice of leading was stopped as a H&S issue, they just stuck a nondescript and cheap GT badge across the open seam

[Vincent]

Hickory! I will file that bit of info away for future use. Thank you.

Does lead loading work with dissimilar metals, like say aluminum and steel?

I have been using the TIG welder to braze with silicon bronze. The heat is very controllable and isolated. It’s great for thin metal that might warp using traditional brazing with a torch. You can also braze dissimilar metals together with it, though I mainly use it on Sterling SMGs.

[Peter Laidler]

You won't get it to adhere to Aluminium (of any sort?)

[bigduke6]

Making a new box sounds like a good idea. Would you use pine or some of that famous English oak?

Will stick to the original material (Pine) have got the ideal piece but its part of a shelf at present.

[Flying10uk]

Another method of treating woodworm which hasn't been mentioned is to freeze it for a prolonged period at below -5 centigrade. Obviously there are limitations on the size of the item that can be treated and size of the freezer available. I have heard "Experts" state a minimum time of 48hrs but I normally go for a much longer period of say 2 weeks at below -5 centigrade. I normally place the item in a plastic bag and remove as much air as possible before sealing the end with tape and then doing it again so that it is double wrapped in plastic. Then just stick it in the freezer and check that the freezer is below -5. It is important that the item is left in the freezer and not periodically removed to access other items. I usually instruct other, more conventional, users of the freezer in my household not to remove the item even for a brief period.
This method is especially useful if the item that you are treating is something that you don't wish to have a chemical treatment on it.

[Peter Laidler]

That's a bl---y good idea Flying10! Is that a fact? The 'doubt' as I see it is that wood is a good insulator and if the buggers are tucked up in there, they could survive for quite a while. -5degrees or not. In much the same way as we were taught to burrow down in a wood/thickett/brush hidey hole to survive the bitter winter while evading.

[henry r]

the local archival library uses the same methods on all new items for their collection.

not sure of the length of time or temperature they use though.

[Flying10uk]

It's useful for things like children's toys for obvious reasons