Wood Gouges

Hi All,

In making a walnut box for my daughter, I ended up with some gouges in it from planing against the grain. Multiple boards glued together didn't help. Anyway, they are too deep for a scraper, and I'm afraid to attack it again with the plane, and sanding would take a year!

Can I mix carpenter's glue with sawdust for a filler, should I use a white glue? Is there something better, and how will it all look afterwards, and any special tips???

Thanks for any help!!!

Regards,

Rich.....

Reply to
rich
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The glue and sawdust should work fine. Once it's painted you probably won't be able to tell there was a problem.

John Martin

Reply to
John Martin

Belt sander ?

Reply to
Bob N

Boy!!! I can hear my wife's yelling at the very mention of a belt sander in the house!!! For another year, I have to work in the house, then I get to move to the retirement house with the 4 car garage. Make that, room for my wife's car, and my shop! But a belt sander might work on a bigger project. This box is 5" x 9" x 4".

I plan to use a clear finish, because I have some basswood and cherry inlays between the walnut. Would the glue and sawdust work under an oil finish??? Delft spray can???

Thanks for the ideas!

Rich.....

Reply to
rich

You didn't say which face(s) of the box were gouged & how deep nor how thick the wood is. You could take the pieces or assembeled box out on the porch & use a random orbital sander on them -- usually a little gentler on stuff than a belt sander ( also easier to control on smaller projects) You can get 60 grit paper for them , then work up progressivly to 220 grit which should be fine for a clear finish-- I wouldn't recommend filler-- although I have had some success using lacquer mixed with walnut dust to fix cracks then over finished with three or four coats of the same lacquer. Phil

Reply to
Phil at small (vs at large)

Hold on, Rich. that's a small piece. You could use a York pitch plane (or higher) to take out gouges from such a small piece in just a few minutes. Been there, done that. I've removed gouges from walnut on my own projects this past week. Like you said, it would take a while using a scraper...but a 50+ degree angle on a plane would leave it smooth as a baby's butt--no tearout.

Otherwise, I'd go with the belt sander option, but you already nixed that. I don't understand WHY, but that's what you said (something about the wife). Seems you could step outside for the 90 seconds it would take to do the job with the BS, but whatever.

Dave

Reply to
David

On 10 Oct 2005 16:29:56 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "rich" quickly quoth:

If they are too deep for a scraper, you should toss the wood and rebuild the box with fresh wood.

Otherwise, pull new hooks and scrape away. It'll come down in no time at all.

So, d'ja learn your lesson about planing agiainst the grain?

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Reply to
Larry Jaques

On 10 Oct 2005 17:36:53 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "rich" quickly quoth:

Don't you dare use -filler- on walnut, heathen!

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Reply to
Larry Jaques

Patina. Adds value.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Fine sawdust with white glue works fantastically well with narrow cracks, but I think a filling a gouge would look bad on with a clear finish. Would be fine with paint, might work with a dark stain.

If you can't sand them out, then incorporate into a design.

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Glue and sawdust makes a fill that looks like a dead fish's eye. In the finest of spots, you might not fixate on it, but beyond that, fill everything with a stained oil-based filler or leave as is.

Reply to
George

Wood flour (the dust from sanding wood, or sawdust that has been ground, a coffee mill works) makes a better filler than sawdust per se.

Shellac makes a good binder, you can mix the wood flour into

3 lb shellac to make a putty, press that into the nicks and gouges, then when it is hardened, scrape it smooth. After that, if your first coat of finish on the box is also shellac the color will blend well.

You could probably make filler with varnish or laquer too, what- ever you are usining for the first coat of finish on the piece. My only experience is with shellac and it works great.

Glue won't match the color of the rest of the finish, unless you use glue in lieu of varnish...

Reply to
fredfighter

Mon, Oct 10, 2005, 5:36pm (EDT-3) snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (rich) doth say: =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Boy!!! I can hear my wife's yelling at the very mention of a belt sander in the house!!! For another year, I have to work in the house, then I get to move to the retirement house with the 4 car garage.

Sweet. So she's not moving, eh?

JOAT The Truth Shall Set Ye Fren

Reply to
J T

Thanks for all the great information!!! I hadn't thought of using the wood dust with the finish, rather than glue. I have a small bottle full, but I'm sure I can Dremmelize more from the scrap wood as needed. I'll start some test pieces this weekend to learn the technique, and what it will look like.

And as to the future... I will not plane against the grain... I will not plane against the grain... etc.!

Regards,

Rich.....

Reply to
rich

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