Advice needed: filling a void near bow tie inlay

[Joe Craven]

Good morning!

I'm working through a live edge table build and got some inlays done. On one of them I goofed with the chisel and there's a void between the inlay and the slab. I'm trying to figure out how to fill this so that it looks as natural as possible (so, I figure Elmer's wood filler paste is out of the question).

Would y'all use epoxy mixed w/ saw dust or die, or would you cut a tiny sliver of the same wood and glue it down into the hole for sanding?

The bow tie below is 3" long (i.e. that's its longest dimension).

Thanks!

[Jim Finn]

I would cut a sliver of wood to fit in there and then go over it with a mixture of sanding powder and white glue squeegeed into any void still there.

[Nate Conley]

I would agree with Jim. Cut a sliver off scrap wood. Find an area on the wood that will match the color and grain you are trying to repair. If you do it right, you'll never know.

[Jamie Buxton]

Or you could make a slightly larger bowtie, and re-cut the recess.

[Mel Fulks]

In that context ,kinda organic live edge etc., I think I would just fill it .But I WOULD remove the red mark...

[Bob Lang]

I have no experience with this kind of thing, but here is what I've heard from knowledgeable source. A sliver is your best choice and if you can cut it from a scrap with similar grain it will look better. The problem you will then have is there will be a line across the grain. That may be tolerable. If it isn't, you can make a single cut with a gouge to soften the edges of the boo-boo and cut the patch with the same gouge. If you decide to fill it, don't use white or yellow glue as they will turn the dust darker than you want. You can mix dust with clear lacquer, shellac, Duco cement or cyanoacrylate (crazy) glue for a matching (slightly darker) filler. Use caution because if you get the filler smeared around onto the walnut it will get into the open pores. You could seal the butterfly with shellac before you apply the filler to be safe.

I think you'll get away with it, even though it looks like a huge hole. Filling the recess and finishing will make a big difference.

hope this helps,

Bob Lang

[Prashun Patel]

This happens to me often.

The problem with a sliver is that it will be end grain. Epoxy will make it appear black.

I would instead wet-sand your first two coats of finish. Even the mildest of slurry will fill that in such that you won't be able to see it. Only your keen eye will know it's there.

[Dennis Nagle]

I'd use a rectangular forged nail to give it a bit more detail.

[Keith Weber]

I'd vote for the slab sawdust/white glue filler. I'd love to see a pic of the whole top.

[lowell holmes]

I would try filling it. If I didn't like the result, I would make a larger bow tie and replace the one I had.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

My vote is with Prashun. Your eyes will pick up the end grain repair, can you can make your sliver from long grain from table top material.
? Glue it in with a clear epoxy with wood grain direction the same as table top in that area. Or it will show in low light conditions. Tom

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'd use a rectangular forged nail to give it a bit more detail.

Lol, ala Garry Knox Bennett?

[Gary Muto]

I have no experience with this kind of thing, ...

I love it. Plausible denial is the sign of a true craftsman. The best can make mistakes disappear.
The advice is spot on too!

Also, a craftsman doesn't point out their mistakes once fixed. I'm not good at that myself but it is amazing how hard it is for me to keep my mouth shut and equally amazing that most people never notice what I'm talking about... until I bring it up.

[Joe Craven]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm going to try the sliver approach if I can get one strong enough to coerce it into the gap.

Keith, here are a couple of shots of the unfinished slabs and the metal base that's being constructed right now (2" square tubing).
289900289901289902

[Keith Weber]

Cool! That's one big table! How did you straight line rip the glue line? Track saw?

[Joe Craven]

Yeah it's 32"-42" wide and almost 8' long...would have been longer but I lost ~6" due to some lateral sawmill "goof" cuts that I didn't want to deal with. I got lucky sourcing those slabs!

In re getting the straight line, I used a sheet of MDF for a fence and routed them (used a router jig to do the planing, as well). I had to do some tweaking after the first pass and I wish the joint on one side was a little tighter, but I'm not going to get it any better given the limited tools that I have available in my garage workshop. I'll post a full write-up when it's done.

[Joe Craven]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of the advice. The gap was too small to wedge a sliver into so I ended up taking the sawdust and white glue approach, which turned out very well.

I forgot to get a picture before the poly got applied, but here's the final result.

290314

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Joe
Great save! Tom

[Prashun Patel]

Nobody will ever know. Looks great. I'd like to see a picture of the whole top finished. Can you post?

[Doug Garson]

Now if you can just get rid of that ugly red arrow no one will ever notice the filler. Well done.:D

[Joe Craven]

As requested, here are some photos of the finished slabs. Please excuse the shop rags that are still wedged in those big cracks!

The lighting isn't great and I think I took both of these when the polyurethane was wet. I got through 7 or 8 coats of semi gloss, and I think I will stop at this point. Also used System Three to fill in a bunch of cracks w/ clear epoxy (basically anything that wasn't a through crack).

I also included a screencap from SketchUp - the base is being welded by a local professional now...2" square tubing that I'll probably paint flat black.

290323290322290324

[Prashun Patel]

Georgia O'Keefe, eat your heart out...
Looking good. Kudos for sweating the details even when such wild and wonderful figure would hide a lot of imperfections.

[Chris Padilla]

Looks beeee-yoooo-tiful!! Be sure to provide the final shot! :)

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Looks very nice.... Will you fill that huge hole in the center.... with a cooler for your beer? :D