Replies

1. 
   philip | Feb 18, 2008 07:58am | #1

   Unless they are really small defects or gaps I would advise you to fill with WOOD. Can you show a picture?

   Philip Marcou
2. 
   frenchy | Feb 18, 2008 07:56pm | #2

   Tiger,

    My filler of choice has always been sawdust for the smaller cracks and gaps and solid wood for larger gaps/holes.

     mix some walnut saw dust with dark glue and have at it..  slightly over fill and then let dry at least a day..  what is sweet is the wood in the sawdust will absorb whatever finish you use and make the repair virtaullky invisable.

3. 
   JamesS | Feb 19, 2008 04:08am | #3

   Tiger:  I always use sanding dust collected from my ROS, but instead of using glue, I use blonde shellac. Sometimes using glue, the repair comes out looking darker than the project.

   James

1. 
   frenchy | Feb 19, 2008 04:23am | #4

   JamesS 

      I've  avoided using shellac because some time in the future I might want to strip the finish and then the Denatured alcohol will melt out the repair..

    But you make a good point.. I haven't noticed a darkening because of the glue but I certainly understand how it could be so. Maybe because I make a really thick paste of it and then jam it semi Dry into the gap or crack which doesn't tend to flood it a lot.. The cramming it in part forces the glue out and holds the paste in well though..  

1. 
   JamesS | Feb 20, 2008 08:43am | #5

   Frenchy

   Good point on the semi-dry. IF I use glue (rarely), I do it the same & add some dry dust "crammed" in too.

   I usually use shellac though.

   James

   James

4. 
   Scottp57 | Feb 20, 2008 05:06pm | #6

   Tiger,

   I actually just did a test with some fillers for a walnut table I am working on.  On a scrap, I used shellac and sanding dust in one crack and the walnut wood putty (the brand that Woodcraft sells) and let them dry, then finished them both the way I'm going to finish the table.  The wood putty actually looked the best.  You may want to try that putty and the dust/shellac on a scrap and see which one looks the best with the walnut lunber you have.  You may get a different result depending on the color of the wood, etc.

   Good luck,

   Scott 

1. 
   HWG | Feb 21, 2008 01:21am | #7

   Tiger, I have used all of the above suggestions, with success.  I have also used epoxy glue with no filler at all, if the holes/cracks are small and the wood dark (as in an oil finish). Woody

5. 
   danmart | Feb 21, 2008 01:33am | #8

   Take a look at Bob Van Dyke's video here on FWW. He uses epoxy colored with some dye powder. Its worth viewing.. maybe your void is similar and you can get an idea or two.

1. 
   9michael9 | Feb 21, 2008 03:02pm | #9

   That is what I would do.  Epoxy is a great filler and easy to use.

1. 
   frenchy | Feb 22, 2008 12:32am | #11

   9michael9

     The reason I don't like expoxy is because it doesn't expand and shrink at the same rate as the parent wood does in moisture.. wood shrinks and swells in the precense of moisture and while you may intend to  never let the piece out of an airconditoned climate controlled room. reality has a differant way of happening..

   The airconditioner fails on the most humid day of the year and the repair man can't get there for 3 days?  It's gonna swell..   During the peak of the heating season when everything is drier than a desert and it will shrink..

    Now maybe you've never had a filling crack or loosen due to thses conditions..  but I'll continue to use real wood sawdust for that reason..  

1. 
   9michael9 | Feb 22, 2008 12:38am | #12

   Thanks, I'll remember that tip.

1. 
   frenchy | Feb 22, 2008 05:10pm | #13

   9michael9

    Sorry I should have put IMHO (in my humble opinion) and remember the advice you get here on the internet is worth excatly what you paid to get it,, (nothing) 

6. 
   Telemike | Feb 21, 2008 09:00pm | #10

   I usually pack small cracks and voids with fine sawdust from the random orbit sander and soak it with low viscosity cyanoacrylate glue. I've also used the epoxy and sawdust method with success. However, when filling cracks and voids, I prefer to use a filler that is just a shade darker than the finished wood.

   I recently put douglas fir crown molding atop my kitchen cabinets. Because the kitchen (and the rest of this old house) is so out of square and nothing is straight, I had some cracks to fill. I used Durham water putty and colored it with acrylic artist paints. Where I got the color right, it looks seamless. Given that the filler is high up in the room, perfection was not critical.