Thread: Tips for Repairing Router Gouges, Unevenness in Oak Headboard

[Daniel Lakes]

Hey all,

The project
So, I'm in the process of building an oak bed frame. Did quite a bit of it along with some help from my dad, who's a carpenter by trade, but also got some advice from some woodworking friends of his. This is my first major project (a few minor bookshelves aside) and, needless to say, the project has taught me quite a bit over the time I've been working on it (another story in itself...).

In the center of the headboard is a 1.5" deep inset arched area, roughly 2'x2'. Inside this inset will be placed a piece I had laser carved and then I cleaned out with a rotary tool, seen below.
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The problem(s)
Problem is, this inset area got attacked by a plunge router. The depth gauge slipped a few times and took some chunks out of the frame. At it's deepest, probably 1/16". I'm a little at a loss for how best to repair this. Below are some samples of the damage
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Along with the gouges is just some general unevenness of the area, either due to uneven sanding or gradual slippage of the router. It's not visually obvious, but running your hand over it becomes pretty clear. I suspect stain and seal would make it much more visually apparent.

Attempted solutions
We originally cut out some 1/4" oak plywood to fit the inset, but it splintered all over the place on the edges. I tried repairing that with some wood putty from Rockler, but I'm afraid that with time and age it will just be blatantly obvious, even if it looks halfway decent at the moment.

I've got about 1/2" of depth to work with if we're talking laying something over the whole area. The silhouette piece is 1/2" thick, and I'd like to have at least a 1/4" inset from that to the front of the bed (don't want that to be flush w/ the rest of the frame).

Alternative ideas, request for help!
At this point, I'm thinking my best option may be to get some 1/2" oak boards to join together, then re-cut the inset shape, glue in to the frame, and proceed as planned (basically just swapping joined 1/2" oak boards for the plywood to help cut down on chances of splintering). But I also wonder if a hand planer might be the answer.

Anything aside from buying more wood will probably require my purchasing some tools, but I'd also hate to half ass this part of it after all the time that's been put in. Any suggestions? I'm open!

[Mark Wooden]

Difficult to see what your options might be from the small size of the pics. It sounds like you want to fill in the area inside the moulding to cover the router digs?

Can you re-cut the area with a router? If the depth gauge is slipping, can you put a hose clamp around the posts as a temporary stop? I’d also suggest a wide sub-base on the router, it looks more like it tipped and dug in.

I’d suggest you get a good shave hook- Footprint is a good one if you can find them- or a handled scraper that you can sharpen and a good cabinet scraper. You’ll need a good file and a burnisher to keep the scrapers sharp. Then you can fair the area around the router marks wide enough(8”-10” if you have room) so you won’t notice. It’s a lot of hand work but it will save the piece.

[Matt Meiser]

I'd scrape and sand too and feather it out a good way. Or you could come up with a creative inlay in a contrasting wood so it looks like it should be there. Anything you do with oak is probably going to look like a patch.

[Daniel Lakes]

Difficult to see what your options might be from the small size of the pics.
I tried to upload the largest file size I could. I think you can click on the picture to get a slightly larger view. But it is still kind of hard to see.


It sounds like you want to fill in the area inside the moulding to cover the router digs?
Yes, basically.


Can you re-cut the area with a router?
I could. Unfortunately, my dad is now a 1400 mile round trip away, so I'd have to go pick one up. While I'm not averse to that, if I can find an equally viable solution for <$100, and a little bit more sweat and elbow grease, I'd lean toward that.


I’d suggest you get a good shave hook...
That is exactly the sort of idea I'm looking for. Not that I relish another several days of hand work, but for <$40, and something that's going to give me a bit more control, I'll take it. I think I'm a little gun shy about a router at this point in the piece, so having something hand powered that's going to be significantly harder to make major damage with is more the route I'm going for.

Thanks for all the suggestions!