Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Aug 20, 2005 04:37pm | #1

   You can make wood fillers from the sawdust, but the color match can be a hit or miss deal. 

   I would take a piece of scrap flooring and sand on it until I had about 2-3 teaspoons of sawdust.

   Take another piece and put several dings in it (nail holes, scratches, etc)

   Separate your sawdust into three piles and mix three batches using white carpenters glue, yellow carpenters glue, and carpenters glue for dark wood.  The consistency should be about like cake batter - creamy but not runny.

   Use some of each batch to "fix" the dings in your sample piece.  When it's dry, sand it smooth, stain, and finish just like your floor and see which one you like best.

   Personally, I seldom use fillers - either home-made or store-bought.  For the past year or so, I've been using those wax crayons to fix the "dings".  They come in dozens of colors and can be mixed if necessary to get a good color match. 

   I apply my stain and let it dry, then fill the dings with the appropriate crayon (mixing colors if necessary).  Then I lightly scrape them smooth and apply my finish.  I've had great results and most people don't notice the repairs.

   
   

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   Edited 8/20/2005 9:56 am ET by Dave45

2. 
   daisy | Aug 20, 2005 04:57pm | #2

   I mix fine sawdust with yellow glue to fill small bad cuts in my had cut dovetails.  For larger bad cuts, I shave off slivers of wood and insert with glue.  This seems to work well.  Be careful with the glue though as you know it will not stain.  I rub down with water before it dries.  Good luck.

3. 
   daisy | Aug 20, 2005 04:59pm | #3

   Regarding dings in floors, there's an article in a recent issue of Fine Woodworking on how to steam out the dings.  Check it out.

1. 
   LeeGrindinger | Aug 20, 2005 05:11pm | #4

   Liquid hide glue is a better glue for this than PVA, yellow glue. Liquid hide glue dries hard making it much easier to sand and it's transparent to most stains, it will match better. PVA remains soft, clogs sandpaper and does not take stain.LeeMontanaFest

4. 
   bleubassplyr | Aug 20, 2005 07:36pm | #5

   Using the sanding dust is a good idea. Normally I use the finish I'll be applying to bind the dust. For example, sawdust mixed with poly for something that will have a poly finish. You can also use shellac with the dust. It dries quickly and will take most finishes.

   There are more old drunkards than old doctors.  Ben Franklin

5. 
   generalkael | Aug 20, 2005 09:55pm | #6

   Saw dust filler works well, but like the others have said matching color can be difficult and sometimes a little dye can be mixed in with decent results.

   On a slight variation of this conversation, a little trick I figured out. When sanding a large piece of the same type of wood, clean out your sawdust catch on your random orbit sander before starting. Do all of the wood of the same type, dump it into some container with a lid or a zip-lock, label it with the type of wood, and use it later for filler. Then you don't have to worry about having to sand a scrap later.

   Scott

6. 
   brianmexico | Aug 20, 2005 11:57pm | #7

   Rich,

   For small hairline cracks I will often hand sand the area with the crack, then wipe everything down with a tack cloth being careful not to remove sawdust that has been forced into these areas (don't use your compressor to blow things clean). Your first coat of finish will seal in this dust, and after preparation for the second coat, it should dissapear somewhat.

   Cheers,

   Brian

1. 
   Kevin | Aug 21, 2005 12:45am | #8

   That's almost the same procedure that Jeff Jewitt uses. Except that he runs some superglue into the hairline crack first so that the dust generated both fills the crack and is leveled by the sanding process.

7. 
   IanDG | Aug 21, 2005 02:07am | #9

   TimberMate is the filler par excellence for floors and comes in a full range of colors -- or you can use Neutral and mix in stain to the color you want.

   For using the sanding dust as a filler, here's a description and picture of the process.

   IanDG

8. 
   pieterdp | Aug 21, 2005 05:39pm | #10

   I have used fillers made from wood dust when I had no other option.
   Commercial fillers usually works better.
   A slight color mismatch on a floor might be acceptable if the patch is small.
   I have found that applying the filler after the first finishing coat works best because the glue in the filler seals the wood pores around the patch and leaves a mark when finishing

9. 
   WillGeorge | Aug 21, 2005 05:50pm | #11

   You never said how much you needed..

   for fine cracks.. Linseed oil on the surface.. Sand away and make a slurry.. Wipe surface with a card scraper or other flat hunk of something.. Let it dry a day or so.. See what it looks like..

   Most small defects will never be noticed on a floor.. At least by others.. YOU will ALWAYS see it cus' ya saw it!