Best Way to Fill Holes???

[joseph j shields]

I'm making a shaker jelly cabinet.

Yesterday I was cutting the legs out of the side panels with my jig saw when the blade broke and saw bounced across the panel .... leaving about 5 1/8"x1/8" deep divets in the beautiful quarter saw maple

So, the question is, what is the best way to repair the holes
(I tried to steam iron them out.... but they are not dents.... the wood is missing)

I plan on lightly dyeing the wood to get the gain to pop.... followed by a water-based poly finish.

I have saved a bunch of saw dust to fill the holes, but the question is what should I mix the saw dust with???? What kind of glue??? Will it take the dye (it is water based).

Any ideas????

Thanks,

-jj

[Jim Becker]

The best option is to just leave them and count them as "distressing". Any filler you put in is going to be noticable, especialy since you are planning to color the wood. If the dings are small, do them the same as nail holes...when you are nearly done the finishing process, fill them with colored wax pencils designed for the purpose so you can match the finished color.

[lou sansone]

Depending on where the divits are it will be hard to hide them and I have yet to find a filler that really takes dye very well. If it is really ugly, you might bit the bullet and remake that part of the cabinet if that is an option.

[Richard Wolf]

Any type of filler is always a compromise. Your best hope is to mix the sawdust with any woodworking glue,(Titebond type) and add dye or color to the mix to get it as close to the final color a possible. You can determine the final color by prefinishing some scrap. Also once you finish your jelly cabinet and it still does not match, than you can use touchup sticks, fill sticks and markers to hide the mistake. Its amazing how much can be covered with these products if you take youe time and practice a little on scrap.

Richard

[joseph j shields]

Richard,

Thanks for the tip....

I'll give it a shot.... I don't think to add some dye to the filler

Lou,

I'm making the cabinet out of some leftover 1/4 sawn maple.... I wouldn't have enough if I trashed the panel & my local mill doesn't have any left.... I got it last year for another project.

Jim,

I'll try the wax if all else fails....

-jj

[Alan Turner]

There is an epoxy filler material on the market, sold under different trade names. I know that Woodcraft handles it. It looks sort of like a tootsie roll. Cut off a piece, knead it to mix, and fill. Use the lighter shade at this time, and go ahead and finish it to final color. Then take a tiny artists brush, and paint the filler to match. Jeff Jewigtt sells a kit of paints in very small containers that can be mixed with each other to match anything!

[Steve Clardy]

You can also use lacquer and sawdust. The lacquer dries clear, unlike glue, which if you get too much glue in a sawdust and glue mixture, the glue will show.
Just make a real gummy mixture, apply and let dry.

[Charlie Plesums]

Even the best job with filler will eventually show, since the wood will slowly change colors, and the filler will gradually change colors are a different rate.

When I moved into my house, I had to look extremely closely to see that they had used a nailer when they built the cabinets (no problem at the time, since I had to search for the holes). Ten years later and the filled nail holes stand out like a sore thumb.

Despite that bad news, I do occasionally use Steve's technique of sawdust (actually sanding dust) with lacquer, or even with lacquer sanding sealer (easier to sand). You will probably have to fill more than once, since the lacquer shrinks as the solvent evaporates.

[Mike Holbrook]

I have mixed saw dust with wood filler and had a good solid fill. The filler takes stain a little better than straight glue but it will still be visible.

You might be able to paint the errant surface to match the rest of the work once you are done. A Restoration guy might be your best source of suggestions as they are use to doing that sort of thing.

[Steve Jenkins]

NOt sure how far along you are but can you just plane down the sides thinner to make the divots go away?

[joseph j shields]

Steve,

I can't plane it down.... i'm already at 3/4" thick... the holes are about 1/8"


-jj