S.O.S.~~Disaster Mistake!

I am not exactly sure which wood ios going to be cut out, but if:

1. If you are going to cut the wood out …outside of the last oval couldnt you just do a new oval, a little narrower of the oval with the mistake…that does mean doing an entirely new oval…

2.or just add a decoration/design in the spot…like your husbnd said…either way let us know which way you go…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

If this is a painted project you can fill it with body filler (bondo) smooth,sand and primer and paint. If not follow your hubbys Idea and make a dublicate shape(you can make a tracing) on the other side for ballance and make them a branch or whater you think it looks like. plan “C” make the bottom line wider at the bottom and blend into the thinner lines on the sides and do the same at the top. What ever you do I know it does and will look great

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Thanks for the suggestions Napaman. I’m pretty much done “cutting” any more wood out. Lesson learned…do the routering before the dremeling. LOL.

Jim~ I’ll give that some thought overnight. I’m NOT touching tools again tonight! Thanks for the encouragement.

-- Robbinscabin

Cut a patch using same grain etc, then scribe a line with a knife. Remove the excess with a straight bit and clean up with a SHARP chisel and glue the patch in. Sand, and recut your oval…..It’s not as bad as it looks…..trust me :)

If you are going to paint this or glaze it, this will work PERFECTLY….I’ve done it lots of times, you just need to cut your patch clean and use a SHARP chisel properly. If you want some tips, PM me, but you can make this invisible….

Try a practice patch first if you are in doubt…..Oh, and try to only patch as deep as your cut….You’ll have to rip or chisel your patch down to that depth, but if you are painting, a good grain match is not important.

JC

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan

You make it sound so easy! I am not painting that area (I will be adding color to the pine tree and to a few other details). It will be stained a Colonial Maple color. My only question is how do I match the grain on plywood? Just look through my scraps until I find something close? Thanks for the tip…It gives me hope.

-- Robbinscabin

Yes, you could even put some thin paper over the area to be repaired, and trace the pattern…..then try to match it up. Once you have a likely candidate, mark it off and get to practicing! When you are ready, cut the real patch and go to town…..

If you are real scared, you could also use a router inlay kit and do the repair that way…..the result will be perfect, but it will cost you $40 for the kit….

JC

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan

You could rout the oval wider. It would probably look just fine.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

You guys ROCK!! Thanks for the tips and the encouragement. She loves me, right? It’s kinda her job to love me…mistakes and all. LOL.

-- Robbinscabin

Maybe you could cover it with a name or welcome plaque.

Since it is clear you don’t have experience with patching and matching grain I would advise AGAINST trying to patch it. Under a deadline is no time to be learning a new skill. Go with a fix that leverages your skills (jigsawing and carving). The screen door you have in your posted projects holds the answer (in reverse). Incorporate a cutout into the design much like you used the leaf element in your other screen. Otherwise, I would suggest the widening of the oval (as John suggested).

-- criticism: the art of analyzing and evaluating the quality of a artistic work...

Thanks for all of the options. In the morning light I think I can fix it…Wish me luck. I’ll let you all know how it turns out.

-- Robbinscabin

what about using the same patter you have, but routing it again with progressively larger bits until the mark is gone? It would look different than it does now, but if you can visualize it, maybe you would be ok with it? I’m not that good at visualizing this stuff though.

Change the design of the bottom of the outer oval.

-- Sevitski

Not to side with the husband here, but with your talent- a couple of pine cones, leaf shapes or other simple images carved between/on the two borders would, I think, be very attractive.

Lew…I knew you’d say that. You hubbys love to stick together! LOL. I’m heading into the workshop now…finally (prior obligations) to figure it all out. Thanks a bunch, everyone.

-- Robbinscabin