Posts: 2,482
Threads: 0
Joined: Aug 2004
In my Army career I said that I didn't have a problem, just another chance to excel. Well now I need help with excelling.
This board is going to be very visible on my 18th century PA Secretary. My dilemma is what do I fill the hole with or do I put a Dutchman in?
Jim
Posts: 14,396
Threads: 1
Joined: Dec 2006
Location: Traverse City MI
Epoxy. I went to a paint store and got a bit of black paint tint. Worked well
Posts: 16,152
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2005
I use plug cutters. I have a set from Lee Valley that are fantastic. I just drill out the offending knot, and then cut a plug from a scrap that hopefully cut off the same board. I try to match the grain and then I put it in and sand it smooth. I've got mistakes, er features, that one could never find unless I pointed them out.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.as...&cat=1,180,42288
Posts: 12,684
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Lewiston, NY
Articles I've read in FWW say (and show) that a diamond shape plug will blend in the best. There are additional steps you can take to make the plug blend in, like scratching in missing graining to match the surrounding area, adding color streaks with an artist's brush, etc. If it's in a critical area it would be worth finding that FWW article and, of course, practicing on some scrap first.
John
Posts: 8,885
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2000
use resin -- stain the area first, build a little dam with masking tape and fill with resin -- after it hardens, sand -- you can add some coloring to the resin to make it match closer, but in my experience just using clear works well.
Dogs Understand Why We Ride
I do what the voices in my wife's head tell me to do.
A Nation Of Sheep Breeds An Administration Of Wolves
Leave a good footprint -- you may only pass that way once.
PRAYERS FOR EVERYONE
Posts: 11,636
Threads: 0
Joined: Dec 2006
I fill with epoxy...typically I mix in wood sanding dust from the same species of wood to help match the void with the surrounding wood. My opinion is to always celebrate the wood variation... don't try and hide it.
Posts: 20,381
Threads: 4
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: CinDay
Halfathumb said:
This board is going to be very visible on my 18th century PA Secretary.
Either use that board in a less visible place, or get a new board. Would be a bummer to spend all that time on a nice piece to end up with an eyesore.
If the defect were larger I am all for embracing the imperfection, but a small defect like that is something you'll not make disappear, and the repair will draw the eye. If it were a coffee table in the SW style I would say, yeah, go for it, lay in some Turquoise. 18th century, not so much. My $0.02
Worst thing they can do is cook ya and eat ya
GW
Posts: 20
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2008
For small holes I have used dried fine ground coffee grounds and CA glue. Force some grounds in cover with CA, More grounds and CA carefully applied and then sanded after the glue has dried.
Posts: 10,118
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: South Alabama
Just about any kind of fine dust will do. Sweep enough in to fill the hole, and then drop enough thin CA glue onto it to make it stay put. (For deep voids, you may have to do this in two layers.) Sand it flush.
You can use matching sawdust to make the fill inconspicuous, if you must. Or you can use this as an opportunity to add some pizazz!
Use some metal filings from brass, aluminum, or copper to put a little shine into it. Or get yourself some crushed coral or colored rock (you can get little bags of it on Amazon) and use that. Lots and lots of possibilities here.
Steve S.
------------------------------------------------------
Tradition cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour.
- T. S. Eliot
Tutorials and Build-Alongs at
The Literary Workshop
Posts: 22,495
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Regina Saskatchewan Canada
Put a rusty bent nail in it.
Blackhat
Bad experiences come from poor decisions. So do good stories.