Close to 20 yrs ago i bought this cypress knee figure at a yard sale and it has sit in front of the house in the flower bed since then.

Over time it has started splitting and my girlfriend said i should bring it inside to keep it from breaking apart. Told her it will go like i will eventually.

But thought i would ask if it can be fixed. maybe soaked in water for awhile to put moisture back into it to stop the process?

other then that i have no clue. here's a couple pictures of it for a visual reference

Thanks

He looks like you!!! Cannot help you with your question I’m sorry. But neat post

They make a lot of epoxy resins just for that purpose, that you can fill the cracks with and others that can penetrate and preserve the wood.

Some of the epoxy resin tables are fantastic. There's a guy in Oregon, who has Blacktail Studios, who makes spectacular tables out of really charactered wood, mostly walnut. I want to try it.

https://m.youtube.com/@blacktailstudiouncut/shorts

Keith

I think that soaking it in water would only help temporarily, if that all. Brining it inside may help somewhat if the humidity range is more stable. If you soak green wood in polyethylene glycol it will prevent it from cracking by bulking up the cells and preventing shrinkage, but I don't know how much it will help on something that weathered. The ultimate issue is that wood shrinks at different rates in different directions which leads to cracking. Keeping the humidity stable and not very dry should help.

Modern heating and cooling systems are the death knell for antique furniture due to low humidity. I would not bring it inside but I would find a place outside where it doesn't have the sun shining on it.

Basically what KeithC said. Get some rubber bands made from inner tube or something elst heavy duty. See if you can bring the cracks together at all. Take off the rubber and mix up some epox and wood dust the color of your piece. Put the resin in the cracks being careful don't overfill, then bind it up hard. Let it cure then unwrap. The cracks are pretty big so don't know how much movement you will get. I wouldn't wet it.May even take slivers of the same colored wood to put in the cracks as well as the powdered wood, you can color the epox as well, I use a dab of oil paint, works good

We call it the Old man in the woods an I agree its a good likeness of me.. rough lol

I appreciate all the advice an for taking time to help

Thank you.l

Cool piece! May just be me but the epoxy route sounds like it could turn into a big mess. I’d leave it exactly where you want to look at it and continue to enjoy it. Cyprus lasts a long time outside.

I agree. Epoxy is hard to master let alone on a 3D surface. Whats done is done. I cant be fixed. The piece is cool and thats the character. Bringing inside wont help. Enjoy it while you’re both still around lol

I think Keith may have the right idea with the epoxy. If you can pull the piece together with cushioned clamps after you insert the glue, that might work. Otherwise, you might check the internet for a solution.
That is a really cool piece worth salvaging.

Wow! You are very talented to make a piece like that!

Filling those cracks with epoxy is almost impossible. I have made dozens of walnut and epoxy tables and don’t believe it can be done. Epoxy is also about $100 per gallon. Check out petracyl. It won’t close up the cracks but it sure won’t crack anymore. A piece that thick would have to soak for at least a year tho.

Get you a can of Linseed Oil and brush it on heavy.

I like it just the way it is. Any "repairs" done to will very likely make it look worse. Not worth the risk in my opinion.

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