Filling tear out in Walnut

[Dan Mitchell]

Below is a pic of a table leg I shaped on the router table. I got a couple minor areas of tear out, this one being about the worst. A bit hard to tell from the image, but I'd say at its maximum depth, the defect is maybe 1/16" below the desired level, and about 1/2" wide. I have mixed sawdust with yellow glue in the past to fill some defects, it can work fairly well, depending on the wood. This is my 1st experience with Walnut. Also, at this point, I'm not sure how I'm going to finish the coffee table, which may be a factor. Any suggestions as to the best approach to filling these small defects?

TIA

Dan

[Brian Penning]

Epoxy with fine walnut sawdust (like from your ROS)
OR
Can't make the leg a bit thinner?

[glenn bradley]

If your luck is like mine that is probably an outside corner, in plain site ;-) Seeing the scale of the leg would help. If it is of table size, I would be tempted to hand-shape that defect into the line of the leg so that it became visually eliminated.

I know, I know, you'd know that the one leg was different but, depending on the scale of your piece, it could go unnoticed. Any "patch" will probably be more visible than the gently tapering or re-sizing of the leg. My .02.

[Shawn Patel]

Are you handy with handplanes? A smoother or block plane might be able to blend/minimize the gouge.

[David DeCristoforo]

Ouch! That's more like "chunk out". Have you considered putting a larger bevel on the legs? That way you could remove the damaged areas completely. (Watch your grain direction!)

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'd prefer to fill the area, if this is at all possible. My concern is that if I try to simply increase the taper, I'll just end up tearing out further in. Plus, I've already attached the legs to the stretchers, which might complicate reworking them somewhat.

The leg at the point of the damage is ~ 1 3/8" x 1".

[David DeCristoforo]

The only reason that wood is getting ripped up like that is that you are routing into the grain. It's pretty obvious from looking at the wood, what direction the grain is running. Rout with the grain instead of against it and it will cut cleanly. If you want to fill it, that's your call. But there is little chance that it will not be pretty conspicuous .

[Dan Mitchell]

Originally Posted by David DeCristoforo

The only reason that wood is getting ripped up like that is that you are routing into the grain. It's pretty obvious from looking at the wood, what direction the grain is running. Rout with the grain instead of against it and it will cut cleanly. If you want to fill it, that's your call. But there is little chance that it will not be pretty conspicuous .

I understand that, but the only other option, being that the piece is routed on 4 sides, would be a climb cut on 2 of the sides. Not sure that would be much of an improvement and more dangerous. Even against the grain, I only got any real tear out in one spot.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Originally Posted by Dan Mitchell

I understand that, but the only other option, being that the piece is routed on 4 sides, would be a climb cut on 2 of the sides. Not sure that would be much of an improvement and more dangerous. Even against the grain, I only got any real tear out in one spot.

You might try lighter cuts next time if you can't cut with the grain. That's why I prefer a shaper to a router... you can flip the cutter over and run the spindle in reverse to prevent having to climb cut. Or, if you are just cutting a simple bevel, do it on the jointer or with a hand plane.

If you fill the chip out with walnut dust and glue and use a stain on the piece you should be able to blend it pretty well.

[denis tuomey]

Dan, a while back I made some kitchen cabinet doors from red oak to match the existing cabinets, I could not find a cutter to match the profile on the door edges so I matched it with 2 router cutters, when I ran the ends of the stiles across the cutter I got extreme tear out, even tried to do it in 3 light passes=same thing (1.5hp. Jet Shaper has top speed of 9,000rpm.) causing me to re-make the door frames . Creekers gave me the idea that speed could be the problem so I put my PC router in a Bosch router table (Router=24,000 rpm.) and 3 passes came out great !

Although this wont solve your existing problem, thought I'd pass it on for future projects. Speed seemed to be the answer.

[Matthew Hills]

Originally Posted by denis tuomey

Jet Shaper has top speed of 9,000rpm.) causing me to re-make the door frames . Creekers gave me the idea that speed could be the problem so I put my PC router in a Bosch router table (Router=24,000 rpm.) and 3 passes came out great !

Any idea what the principle is here?
Is it the edge velocity compared to some time-constant of the wood?

Or is it related to how fast the router is moving relative to the wood? (ie, # cuts per linear foot)

Matt

[Josiah Bartlett]

Originally Posted by Matthew Hills

Any idea what the principle is here?
Is it the edge velocity compared to some time-constant of the wood?

Or is it related to how fast the router is moving relative to the wood? (ie, # cuts per linear foot)

Matt

It's the edge velocity of the cutter combined with how much each cutting edge takes off the surface. Shaper cutters typically have much larger diameters and more wings than router bits, so are intended to run at lower shaft RPM but the edge velocity is the same or higher than a router bit run at higher RPM.

[Conrad Fiore]

Dan,
I'd take a nice sharp chisel and make a wedge shaped cut to remove the damaged area. Cut a piece of material with the closest grain you can match and cut it oversized on the top. Glue it in place (hide glue) or your choice, allow to dry and then hand shape the profile to match the leg. You will never see it and when you stain and finish, there will be no problems with the color.

[Chip Lindley]

When it's "chunk-out" instead of just chip-out, spend some time looking for the torn out piece! It can be glued back where it came from and reworked.

I've spend considerable time on my hands and knees...looking...and praying!

[Simon Dupay]

I'd just sand it out- A climb cut is not dangerous with a router and a bit less then 2" dim.