Fixing a dado oops...

[Dave Aronson]

I made a big oops and while cutting a corner dado in a table leg my router fence slipped and now I have a very cool curved dado..... DOH! Thankfully I am painting the leg, what is the prefered way to fill in the dado, for just painting it? wood filler? Epoxy? widen the dado so it is straight and fill it with a piece of wood to fill the slot?

Thanks for any help.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd do the patch with wood. It behaves the same way under the sander as the surrounding wood.

[Mike Schuch]

Another thread on here talks about the wonders of Bondo. That is what I would use if it is going to be painted.

[mreza Salav]

last option, fill with a piece of wood glued in.

[David Eisenhauer]

You called it - widen the dado, fill with wood and re cut the original dado. Paint it.

[John Lankers]

Don't be afraid of bondo, I see it all the time in high end commercially made furniture, and lot's of it, JK.
Seriously, insert a piece of wood keeping the grain direction the same as in the original, sand it, paint it and done. Nobody will ever know.

[Charles Wiggins]

You called it - widen the dado, fill with wood and re cut the original dado. Paint it.

This is what I'd do for both cosmetic and strength reasons.

[Robert Engel]

Bondo is quicker and easier.
Routing a larger dado, glueing in wood filler and re-route is probably more traditional.

I would probably do the latter is an screws are going in the area.

[roger wiegand]

Cut a straight, wider slot and glue in a matching piece of wood, or make a new leg. (I would do the latter) You can be done with it before the bondo dries.

I think the whole point of making your own furniture is not having to put up with bondo where there should be wood.

[Dave Aronson]

Thanks everyone. I'll widen and fill with a wood piece. I still can't believe I messed up this bad. I was about to curl up in the corner and cry.

[Bill Adamsen]

Fixing mistakes turns out to be an important skill. First step is to not get overly wrought about the error, and think about solutions. I did a similar error on something that was a clear topcoat. I spent just a few minutes searching for a piece of wood with similar grain, milled it to fit the kerf, and glued it in place. I couldn't find the patch later myself. When the mistake happened, I nearly threw the piece away to start over - glad I didn't.

[Dave Aronson]

I fixed it last night. The repair is solid and looks decent.