# Repair wood defects by filling or .....



## wmodavis (Aug 28, 2007)

I have obtained about 40 board feet of old reclaimed Narra that has nail and screw holes that need to be filled so they are as hidden or inconspicuous as possible. I have read of using fine sawdust (which I have access to) and wood glue mixed as a filler. Has anyone tried this? What tips can you offer? Any good alternatives for hiding holes? I intened to cut around defects as much as possible but hope not to waste more than necessary.

Narra, known as the Burmese Rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus) is a tree that yields valuable timber. It is known as Narra in the Philippines, Sonokembang in Indonesia, Angsana or Sena in Malaysia and Singapore, padouk in Fiji, tnug in Cambodia, and Pradu in Thailand. Narra is the national tree of the Philippines.

It was a good find and I am hoping to build some speaker cabinets with a nice clear lacquer finish.


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## Waldschrat (Dec 29, 2008)

Hello Bill,

yeah, I have tried the whole sawdust and white glue mix, it works ok but it is not perfect. With clear lacuer finish it will not be too bad (depends on laq, i would think), as with oil, it is extreme and you almost see the holes more.

I find that the japanese style knot hole repair set cool, because you fill the holes with a piece of wood cut from a scrap (you might need a dowel cutter if you do not already have one and they can be expensive) and it glues in and you see practically nothing especially if you match the direction of the grain and are carefull about the color and all that. there are normal cone shaped drill bits that are cheaper, and work well too. and you can get dowel cuters that mount on the workbench from veratas 
http://www.dick.biz/dick/page/homepage/detail.jsf

this is a link to a company where I order alot of my hand tools. they ship all over. they are not the cheapest, but they do have generally good quality, I have yet to be dissapointed.

there is as well special types of filing compound that is clear which you can buy from finishing companies (at least here in germany) and its a clear compound that smells like acetone and you mix it with sawdust and this works a lot better than the "white glue/sawdust" mix, I think, especially if you are going to use lacuer finish.

who offers this where you live? I do not know, maybe someone else knows this stuff and what it is called or who offers it, where you are living.


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## jcash3 (Dec 15, 2007)

You can try incorporating the holes into your design. I'm just finishing a dining room table out of antique heart pine. It was cut and milled over a hundred years ago into 24" square beams. I had it resawn and made a table from it. 2 of the legs have nail holes all the way down them, and worked out great with the taper. The aprons have nail holes scattered out throughout them. Even the top has a few nail holes in it including where i edge glued 2 boards. You can cut, usually a diamond pattern out with a router and then fill with a piece of scrap wood. You only need about and 1/8" thick piece. Cut your patches first, as a diamond or parrallegram, use that to mark where to cut. Use a router and a small strait bit to remove most. Finish with a chisel. glue and set the patch in.


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## wmodavis (Aug 28, 2007)

I'm trying the white glue and sawdust on a small piece to see how it works out. Don't have too much available here as far as purchased fillers without overseas shipping so will try to make do.

And the customer/design does not allow for the rustic look the raw holes would give so I either have to waste a lot of the wood or fill the holes adequately for a lacquer finish.


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## Waldschrat (Dec 29, 2008)

Bill, ok, I now know what you mean, and what your customer wants… White glue will have to do… When I do this I always try and mix as little glue and as much dust as possible to make a higher wood/glue mix. Joey has a good point as well, although, I do not think I would do the patching with a router, I prefer my very well sharpend chisel, and make diamond forms and zig-zag patch forms with that. I guess a router is good with larger sections though, it all depends how big the holes are. A chisel to me is fast safe and very straight not to mention a chisel can make a very small cut straight cut. I suppose it is all a question of what one is used to.


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## kiwi1969 (Dec 22, 2008)

Try using "super glue" with the sawdust. Sorry don,t know the technical name. Good find on the narra, it,s only available reclaimed here as it,s illegal to log.


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## jcash3 (Dec 15, 2007)

When patching I use an 1/8" bit to remove most and then pare back to the line with a chisel. I've done the glue filler. I use a stainable woodglue from elmers, and the dust from my random orbital sander. It does ok for small areas.


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