I’m in the processes of finishing a small box that has a veneered top. Where the top meets the rabbit on the top of the sides, it didn’t mate that well and there is a rather large gap, about 1/32 or a little more.
Being naive and being my first project I thought that if I sanded with BLO and a fine wet/dry sand paper the slurry would fill in the grains and also help fill in this void. As you can see in the pictures is this is not the case.
What should I use to fill in that gap. I’ve read many books, but I am confused which method would be best for my problem.
My final finish is going to be shellac. Then depending on how good (or bad) it looks glossy, will determine if I use wax w/ steel wool to reduce the gloss.
Attached are pictures of the top, that silver circle is just a quarter to give reference on the size of gap.
Replies
Hmm. If it was me, I'd cut a thin sliver of the wood used for the edging (walnut?) to fill the gap. Glue it in and sand (or scrape) it flush. Making a slip to fit a gap this small is tedious, but any "filler" other than a wooden slip in a gap like this will just make it look worse, IMHO.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Think about how to turn your problem into a design element. For instance, rout a 1/8" groove over the gap and inlay some material like brass, or contrasting strip of veneer, etc. The best fill job in the world won't be good enough.
DR
Are the sides proud of the top of the veneer (I can't tell from your picture)? If so, I agree that a small 'trim strip' would hide the gap better than a filler. Something along the lines of a quarter round or bead detail may work.
I don't disagree with the others, in that a inlaid strip might be your best option. But another possibility........a gap like this can be filled with shellac burn-in sticks. Since it looks to be a uniform width, the filler stick can then look like a solid inlay of material, not unlike the effect of a wood inlay. However, if the gap is not uniform on all four sides, you are best to make it so. Or, you could get really good with the sticks and the end result will visually go away. But this latter scenario isn't likely. It takes a good bit of practice to master them. But there's no time like the present to begin!
The top is flush with the sides.
I was sort of thinking of the going with the shellac stick before I posted, but wasn't sure if that would be a good option here. The gap isn't uniform around the veneer. What does this shellac filler look like after its cured and under a shellac finish? The reason that I ask is because if its dark then it could match with the dark walnut.
When you refered to shellac stick, was it the same thing that is in the Tage Frid's book where he heats a pile of shellac and rolls it into a stick?
If I go with the inlay suggestion. What kind of router bit should I get? I'm assuming a upcut spiral bit. What would be some good techinques to prevent tearout on the veneer?
Thank you all for your help so far.
Also, the shellac stick route. I've been practicing shellac on a scrap piece and can see how one can fix finishing mistakes. If I do attempt this and don't like how it turned out, is this something I could router it out and try the inlay approach. Basically I'm asking does it hurt to try the shellac stick route first.
When I referred to shellac sticks, I should have mentioned that this stuff is available in a variety of formulations. Some are lacquor and others are unknown. I'm sure that others on this forum can talk with authority about formulations. Anyway, I have both shellac and some other stuff from Mohawk Supplies. (http://www.mohawk-finishing.com) The product from Mohawk works well for fixing mistakes in that it flows a bit easier and scrapes off cleaner. My shellac sticks are a bit trickier to use on an already finished surface. In your case, either will do. As to whether the color or appearance will change under the actual finish....I don't know. But it is an easy thing to check. Simply put some stick on a piece of scrap and cover with your shellac of choice. The sticks come in so many colors, I'm sure you can find something you are pleased with. Can you router later? By all means. The shellac will cut out easier than the wood. But I think you will get better results using a DOWN-shear router bit. This forces the topmost wood fibers down where they are supported. Now, all that said, with the gap being uneven, I would encourage you to work to straighten it and make it uniform width. Perhaps a sharp utility knife and a straight edge will cut enough to help.
You may use rag wrapped around a small piece of wood, say 1/4' thick and 1/2" wide maybe 1.5" long, and dip this in lacquer thinner then rub over the spot where you applied the burn in stick to level it. It helps if you do most of the leveling with a sharp chisel or plane iron.
The gaps don't look too bad and acyually would probably disappear if you rubbed out the shellac and applied a dark paste wax.
J.P.
I think that, if the gap was really consistent, the shellac sticks would be an OK way to do it. Since you have said that it's not consistent, it strikes me as a bit like Bondo, no offense. If the sides are straight, routing with a 1/8" straight bit and inlaying a contrasting (darker) wood might make it look like you planned it. I doubt that it would be the first time someone fixed a problem like this in the same way.
Nice burl, by the way.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Edited 2/6/2006 11:02 pm by highfigh
Calf, If that had happened to me I would go for one of two ways- an inlay strip as Ring has suggested, or this way:- (but definitely no bogging or shellac or ANYTHING but wood)
I would merely rout a rebate , the width being sufficient to just trim the edge of the Walnut(?), the depth being to just below where the rounover ends on the sides. You could then glue in strips of either the same timber or a contrasting timber, mitered at the corners. Very easy, and nobody would be able to tell what had happened in the first place-more so if you used the same timber and had the new round over begin on the glue line.
Clear as mud?
Ok, first I want to say thank you all for your suggestions. This may get flamed by all of you, but decided to see first how the filler looked and if it doesn't look good to go with back to the inlay. I figured its worth a try and worst case I learn two new techniques.
On a test piece, I created a small gap the same size of the one I have on my project. I tried shellac stick but found that mixing sawdust and shellac to a putty gave better results in this instance. I read the shellac-dust-filler when reading how to make the shellac stick. When applied this to the box, it dried to a orangeish color, which I was shocked because the test piece didn't. However, once I applied BLO it matched the surrounding wood.
It looks ok so far. I think its the randomness of the burl and darkness of walnut that maybe my saving grace. Its hard to tell where the filler begins and ends against the burl. It could be also that a 1/32" looks big when its a gap, but not so big if its level. Right now it just looks like a glueline.
I agree that this could be a good time make the mistake into a design feature. Like I said, I can always rout out the filler if its looks like crap as I french polish it tonight.
I'm curious about the filler you concocted. Exactly what is it? It doesn't sound like you used the burn-in shellac I wrote about in a prior post.I'm glad to see you are keeping an open mind and experimental attitude about this. That philosophy will serve you well.
I remembered in Tage Frid's book about how to make a shellac burn stick where he had a some shellac, added a little denatured alcohol, caught it on fire and when the fire went out rubbed it into a candle.
On that same page he mentioned just mixing sawdust with some shellac to make puddy filler. Its the same idea that people use with yellow glue and sawdust to make filler. I basically sanded some scrap, put it into a cup and slowly mixed shellac until it had consistency of that natural peanut butter. I used it like any store bought filler and applied it with a putty knife. I wiped the putty knife with BLO before applying it because I thought it would be easier to clean. Not sure if it was needed.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled