wood filler suggestion

[Andy Henriksen]

As testament to my newbie-ism (newbiedom?, newbieness?) I am finishing up about the most simple project ever, and I still managed to screw it up quite a bit. It's a square walnut mirror frame, with my first stab at M/T joints. Needless to say, the joints ended up quite sloppy, and theres a little bit of chip out on the face of the boards at the shoulder cuts. Anyway, apparently it's just fine and dandy by LMOL's standards (although I lean towards a complete redo), but I'd still like to fill in the gaps at the joint, and maybe the couple of chips. What woodfiller should I use? I plan to finish just with BLO topped with pastewax.

[larry merlau]

try one of the was type filler pencils match color closly and buff it out. just one thought :D

[Jim Becker]

The absolute best way to fill cracks and voids is with slivers of the same material you built your project from oriented in the same direction as the grain where you are filling. These really do "disappear" if you are careful and meticulous. In many cases, you don't even need to use glue...the finish will hold the slivers in. When glue is needed, only a tiny, tiny amount applied with a toothpick should be used. You don't want any glue to "highlight" the patch.

Commericial woodfillers (and sawdust/glue concoctions) should be avoided if at all possible as they will never look like the wood and will often draw the eye right to the defect. Small holes, etc., can be filled with colored filler sicks after most of the finish is on so that you can do an exact color match...you need to duplicate the project's finished color, not the wood color! They are often very different.

[Ted Shrader]

Andy -

How deep are the chip out areas? Any chance of scraping/planing/sanding the face of the frame to remove them. Another alternative is to make shallow cuts in the area and put in a contrasting wood inlay. Not really too hard and it adds a . . . Highlight. . . . Yeah, that's it. :)

A picture of the dings would help for recommending repairs.

Ted

[Andy Henriksen]

Oh god, I couldn't bring myself to post a pic. You all would certainly advise me to start over. the couple of chips are maybe 1/8"-3/16" long and wide and 1/16th or more deep. Too much to try to plane or sand out, I think. Maybe they're not so bad. The part that really bugs me is one joint that you can literally see through. Don't ask. But that seems like a good candidate for the walnut shavings. I'll try that.

I think ultimately, this mirror will hang in the bedroom for a while, until I can recreate it properly, at which point, I can move this original one to the shop. That way I can make sure my hair is nice and neat while I work.

[Ted Shrader]

snip . . . . That way I can make sure my hair is nice and neat while I work. LOL

When the son was asked by the father, "What's the matter, are you having a bad hair day?" The son's retort was, "At least I'm having a hair day!"

Look at it this way - (1) Momma is happy (2) It will look good in the dark :eek: :) (3) The next one you make will be lots better.

Regards,
Ted