Replies

1. 
   chuckh | Jul 07, 2006 05:19pm | #1

   It's not that difficult provided the wood fibers aren't damaged.  Follow this link. 

   http://www.woodcentral.com/dresdner/dres12.shtml

1. 
   woodrot | Jul 07, 2006 10:44pm | #6

   thanks for the info. the iron took out most of the dent.

2. 
   Rennie | Jul 07, 2006 05:21pm | #2

   I have had good luck (with small dents - no fibers broken) with placing a moistened Q-Tip on the dent and leaving it for a few hours. I know of at least one person who managed to eliminate a larger dent using a moistened cotton towel and a warm iron.

   Given the experience that frequents this forum I'm sure you will have other alternatives to choose from if these either do not work or someone reports a bad experience using them.

   Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.
   Frank Lloyd Wright

   
   

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   Edited 7/7/2006 10:24 am by Rennie

3. 
   Napie | Jul 07, 2006 05:24pm | #3

   The iron and wet towel technigue is use all the time to remove dents from gunstocks.

4. 
   jazzdogg | Jul 07, 2006 05:45pm | #4

   I was taught to lightly scrape the area before steaming out dents. It seemed a little counterintuitive, so I performed a test.

   First, I inflicted two dents in a piece of wood, circled them both lightly in pencil, and scraped only one of them as a control. After applying a few drops of water to both dents and allowing it to soak in, I steamed out both dents by applying the tip of a hot clothes iron to a bit of moistened cloth placed directly over each dent in succession: the idea is to apply moist heat directly to the dent to swell the crushed wood fibers, not to "iron the wood.".

   The dent that I hadn't scraped was still perceptible, while the only evidence of the one that had been scraped was a small circle drawn in pencil.

   Edited to add: if your water has a high iron content and you're working with a wood species, like oak, that has a high tanin content, you may want to consider using distilled water to avoid staining.

   Good luck,

   -Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

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   Edited 7/7/2006 10:51 am by jazzdogg

   
   

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   Edited 7/7/2006 10:53 am by jazzdogg

1. 
   woodrot | Jul 07, 2006 10:46pm | #7

   thanks to all for the responses. the problem has been solved.

5. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jul 07, 2006 05:54pm | #5

   Thirty-four years ago, I had the same problem. Couldn't figure it out for another 6 or seven years until I stumbled on another wood-worker at Highland Hardware that en-lightned me to steaming it out with an iron. I tryed his hidden secret formula and it was amazing.

   I would explain how you do it as I have many times since I learned. But.... LeChuck beat me to it with a few clicks on keys and all you had to do was sit home, ask and within minutes you had the answer almost instantly with the click of a small electronic mouse. Not only you, but all the world has access to that data.

   If you had told me what I just wrote in that para-graph 30 years ago.. I would have thougth you were de-lusional. The world has changed considerably. Not sure that doesn't take a little joy out of the search, but it has definitely changed for better or worse.  :>)

   P.S. keep a gallon of distilled water from the drug-store on hand as jazz-dog has mentioned. No minerals is a good thing in some cases.

   Regards...

   SARGE.. g47

   
   

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   Edited 7/7/2006 10:57 am ET by SARGEgrinder47

1. 
   woodrot | Jul 07, 2006 10:48pm | #8

   thank you for the help. i think the internet is amazing. you can learn from more experienced people on line. its like you have several mentors at your finger tips.

6. 
   DonStephan | Jul 08, 2006 04:24am | #9

   When I had to steam out some pine dents I performed exactly the same set of steps (except scraping, which I hadn't heard till now).  Worked perfectly, but ...

   When I applied the water based dye, the spots that had been steamed swelled above the surface.  Same happened when water borne finish sprayed on.  The look of the grain was different, and the bumps were small but very troublesome. 

   I'd suggest making some tests on scrap from the project, denting, steaming out, and then applying the full finishing schedule to see if the dents become highlighted like mine did.

   Good luck.

1. 
   jazzdogg | Jul 08, 2006 06:24am | #10

   Hi Don,

   I couldn't quite tell from your description what you had done after steaming out your dents.

   It is advisable to sand and blend the corrected area into its surroundings after the wood is dry.

   If you're going to be using a water-borne or alcohol-based finish, it's usually advisable to perform a pre-grain-raising routine beforehand. This is accomplished by moistening the entire surface lightly with water, allowing it to dry, and sanding, first diagonally, then with the grain, using 220-grit abrasive.

   Have a terrific weekend,

    -Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

2. 
   SARGEgrinder47 | Jul 08, 2006 04:40pm | #11

   Agree with jazz in post #11........ and if you do, use distilled water!

   Regards...

   SARGE.. g-47