I have a dining room table where, in the center, are 21 pieces of cherry making up a 5 pointed star in a 3′ square. It all came together rather nicely but I do have a few gaps where I lost it in the glue up. I filled the gaps with a glue putty mixture I made with some cherry sawdust but they opened up again in transit. I’m wanting to know what I should use to fill the gaps again (1/8″ max in a spot and that is being generous. I want something thin enough I can inject or pour in that will fill the crevaces but also maybe remain somewhat flexible so if transported again it will not crack. By the way, the table has 6 coats of an oil based varnish finish. I don’t want to sand it or scrape it. Just wipe it off after filling the voids. Any ideas?
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The requirement that you don't want to go back and do any further finishing is your toughest requirement.
I'd suggest epoxy, which can be colored to match the cherry more, or left clear (it will look almost black to the light). It's a question of do you want to match the wood, or live with a contrasting colored patch.
Another option that you could try is plaster of paris. Make a thick slurry and wipe it into the gaps, then let dry. Smooth it gently and let dry 24 hours. Then lightly sand the dried plaster with 220 grit (which shouldn't affect the oil finish too much). Then wipe on some more oil: this step will make the plaster translucent, and you will repair any damage you might have caused to the surrounding oil finish. This is a nice thing about oil finishes--they are easy to repair.
What I don't know is how durable this would be, especially if the gap is flexed. Plaster of paris was used for filling pores by the old time french polishers, and it might work for a larger gap. But it's easy to do and if it doesn't work and the plaster pops out, it just puts you back to square one.
My concern is that you can probably expect more voids to open up as the wood expands and contracts with seasonal humidity changes. Solid wood will always expand and contract. Trianglular pieces will change size and angle and the surrounding solid wood is a cross grain construction that will attempt to prevent the wood in the design from moving. Something is very likely to give.
Your design is very nice but it is normally executed using veneers attached to a composition material substrate. The composition substrate will not expand/contract creating forces that will be a problem.
Finally, for the future, please reduce the size of your photo. It takes too long to download for some folks and it cannot be seen all in one screen.
The only thing I know of that will fill without affecting the finish is stuff called Color Putty. Finish carpenters use it a lot to fill nail holes on prefinished trim. It will probably look like there's putty in the joints ..... rather ghastly. From the look of what has happened I surmise the pattern to be made of solid lumber and not veneer. So, as Howard said before me, the wood will continue to move. Has it already been transported from an area of high humidity to one of low? If it's moved back, the putty you might place will get squeezed out. But if you do use color putty, it stays soft so it can be scraped right off!
This is great. I'm still uncertain as to what I'll do. I did bring the table from our shop which was very dry to my home which is more humid. The gaps have closed slightly and I mean slightly. I'm gonna let her sit for a while longer before I do anything. What are anyone's thoughts on using thinned wood glue with very fine cherry sawdust and "injecting" it into the voids?I like the plaster of paris idea.Thanks for the input.
Dear Rudolph,
I was hoping you were going to clarify that you used veneer on this project. Unfortunately, if you used solid wood, the consensus is that the gaps are going to constantly change as the humidity change. You could use epoxy but the wood will split in other points in order to accomodate the change. No amount of finish can stop moisture (with the exception of bar-types). By the way, did you finish both sides of the table top with equal amounts of finish? Might I suggest a great book that explains wood movement (and MUCH more)... Understanding Wood - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1561583588/104-2358442-4558364?v=glance&n=283155Anybody that works w/ solid wood should read this.My regards.
"100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
It is solid wood. Thanks for the book, I will check it out. I did not finish both sides. The bottom is finished up to the skirt (about 6 inches in) and the rest of the underside is naked. Are you thinking it will move more because it is unfinished?
It will undoubtedly move "unequally" because any unfinished face of wood will gain or lose much more moisture than the finished face. I can't explain accurately the potential consequences in your case but it will create additional problems for you, such as cupping or bowing. At a minimum, you should consider applying the same # of finish coats to any unfinished wood surfaces.BTW, a general guideline to build by is to allow for 1/4" of expansion/contraction over every 12" of solid unfinished wood. Different species behave differently but as long as you plan for this amount of movement, your design should withstand time. Quartersawn splits this amount."100 Years" -- scribbled on the wall by a woodworker to remind him to do his best and as a warranty on his work -- "If anything I make fails in the first hundred years, bring it back, and I'll take care of it. After that, there will be a small charge. (Original purchaser only)"
Edited 2/21/2006 10:18 am by zombeerose
As Howard has pointed out the problem is in the works unstable design. No filler will correct this problem. Write this one off to experience, it is not worth wasting your time on.
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