Occasionally my wife assigns me a project, and I have to do the best I can with my skilsaw and 10″ table saw. At the moment I’m working on a “hall tree” made of cut up parts of doors. It has a seat made of two halves of a door bottom for sides, and a slice of a slab door for the seat. After assembling it, I notice there are some small (1/16″) openings at the junctions where the pieces weren’t totally flat/plumb/square meeting up with each other. I think I’d like to fill this small gap with something before painting, and was considering either Elmers Carpenter’s wood filler Max, which I’ve already used to patch up the places on the doors where cutting them open exposed raw edges — or perhaps some latex caulking. I could imagine that the joint might be subject to slight movement over time with people sitting on it or bumping into it.
Recommendations?
Replies
Assignments
I'd lean toward leaving the joinery alone but if you must fill caulk may not hold paint well. I like using bondo for a strong filler. Nothing will stop the filler from cracking if the joints move or flex during use.
SA
filler
epoxy or wood tex both work well. Remember when you paint defects show. Use a primer to locate defects and fill if necessary.
Gap Filler
Geoff:
Could you re-post your photo? Link looks busted.
Two-part five-minute epoxy is generally my go-to glue for use on less than stellar (gappy) joinery. It fills gaps where-as wood glue cannot. Not sure if it would work in your case but send a photo and I'll have a look.
Best,
Ed
As Ed Pirnik mentioned, 5 min. epoxy is a very good option. In your case where you are painting, I suppose it doesn't make much difference what you use. The great thing about epoxy is that it blends in to your final finish. Other fillers that I've used end up being a big problem at the finish stage. They become very apparent and ruining a final finish.
I get my 5 min. epoxy at the local marine and boat store. i think 5 minutes is a misnomer as it is best to let dry overnight before planing and scraping.
Tim
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled