What do you do with worm holes?

[Jason Hanko]

Hi all,
Im working on my first "real" project - a new kitchen table. Its the trestle table from issue 181 of Woodsmith magazine.
Anyways, the legs have lots of worm holes in the wood.
My question is what do people usually do about them - should I fill them up with some putty, or just leave them?
I dont so much mind the look of them, I think they give the wood a little more character, but I also dont want them to be distracting since theyre on a pretty prominent part of the piece.
Thanks!
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?albumid=275&pictureid=2775

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?albumid=275&pictureid=2774
More pics here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=275) if 'yer curious.

[Mike Henderson]

As long as you're sure the bugs are no longer active, I'd leave them. My reason is that no matter what you try to do, the patches will show. So rather than have patches showing, show off the wood for what it was when you made the table.

Put another way, if you patch it it will look like a patch (a mistake). If you leave it, it looks like you planned a rustic look. Tell people you searched for years to find just the right rustic wood:)

Mike

[dan petroski]

leave the worm holes. i figure if i want a perfect plastic looking item i can go to walmart and get one. nice loking project

[Kevin Godshall]

I would leave em. I like the "natural" look of things. Not everyone's taste, but to me, it is what it is.

2 notes: 1) next project you will want to analyze your materials prior to cutting and assembly. If the "rustic" look is not what you are after, you will want to choose different lumber.

2) Prior to finishing, you will want to make sure you remove all the dust from these holes Otherwise stain/finish won't adhere and you will have a mess. Compressed air seems to work best for me. Maybe some better ideas from others.

Nice looking project BTW.

[Dave Gaul]

I made a mantle clock out of wormy chestnut last year for LOML for Vday. Turned out great... didn't do a thing to the worm holes, was a little worried how it would look finished, but we both love the way it looks!

[Quinn McCarthy]

If you need to get rid of them I use famowood putty. Best putty I have come across for blending in.

And there is the leave it alone thingy too. Some like the natural look. I have some wormy butternut in the lumber rack that just looking for a project to be used in.

Hope that helps.

Quinn

[Lee Schierer]

I encountered a few worm holes in the cherry dresser (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=129856) I just completed. By in large I tried to avoid wood with worm holes. The one or two worm holes that I missed I filled with a red oak wood putty to match the color of the sawdust that was in the holes before sanding jarred it loose. The patched holes were nearly invisible in the finished dresser. I filled them because the finish would not have completely filled the hole and they would have been very obvious.

[Jim Tobias]

Jason,
JUst one man's opinion, but the whole attraction (IMHO) of "wormy chestnut" is the look that the worm holes give the wood. The patina of the chestnut is , of course, not bad either. I built a kitchen table for our breakfast area out of wormy chestnut , including the top/surface. I did not cover or fill any of the worm holes and have not had any problems with it.
Just some danish oil and a wipe on finish on top for protection.
Again, jusy one man's opinion, but I think it look great when left natural.

Jim

[ken gibbs]

I always charge more for a piece that I do out of wormy wood. Suggest you fill holes with a matching plastic wood filler and then apply a light stain to the sanded tops. Then finish. Box tops made from wormy ash, chestnut, and hard maple are much more interesting and folks want a product to display that is intersting.

[ken gibbs]

Jason,

If you have some of that wormy wood left over and really need to get rid of it, I will take it if you pay me about $1.00/board foot :-).

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I fill them with a dark wood dust & glue to highlight them. As one of my mentors said, if you can't fix it, highlight it. The other option is to leave them as others have said. I like the worm hole look, either way.

Just my $.02.

[Brent Ring]

I absolutely love the character of the original wood. I vote you leave them!

[Van Huskey]

For me the question of leaving it, and either muting or highlighting by filling depend a lot on the setting the piece will end up in. I am just guessing that it is going in your kitchen, point being consider the finishing of the holes the same way you would other finishng options like stain and the gloss of the final finish. This is where you have to think like a decorator. I often forget that furniture sits in the context of the room it is in.

From just a woodwork point of view, leave 'em they are cool.

[Chris Nolin]

Darn it! Thought this post was going to be about time travel.:D

I like the look of the holes and think you should leave them.

[Wade Lippman]

I leave wormholes in butternut because that is one of it's charms.
I wouldn't use any other wormy wood. (perhaps wormy chestnut is great; I haven't seen any.)
But since you already have, I would fill them.
Since it is impossible to match oak well, it looks better to make the fill too dark than too light.

I have a big pile of wormy oak, if anyone in WNY wants to make me an offer. I don't consider it worth using in woodworking and am not sure what I will do with it. I sold the property it is stored on and have to do something with it pretty soon.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I'd throttle back to 3/4 impulse.......

[Karl Card]

worm holes are awesome. they are natural and for the people that love wood in its natural form just finish the wood as if they werent there. I have gotten top dollar out of wood pens that have worms holes. However once i did a bowl that had worm holes in the bottom. forgot the fact they they do and can go all the way thru the wood and well the lacquer did go all the way thru the bottom..lol.. newbie what can i say.