got a small hole in the side of a bowl

[jeff oldham]

well I was turning a large bowl and went to thin on it and got a little tear out,,,,i honestly hate to scrap the bowl,,,can anyone tell me of a good wood filler that you can sand and make it look good,,,i tried durhams rock hard but it was way off on the color,,,i even tried mixing a little epoxy with the saw dust but it just didn't look good,,can anyone of you pros tell me what I need to do,,lol,,other than scrap the bowl,,,thank you

[Paul Williams]

I don't know about the pro request, but rank amateurs like me use sawdust and glue, or coffee grounds and glue. Why don't you post a photo so others will see what the problem is. A small hole or a little tear out is probably a filler fix. A larger hole might be better with an insert of a contrasting wood. I have a habit of cutting too deep once in a while leaving a very thin bottom or perhaps making a donut. I fill with a round disk of contrasting or very figured wood. People think I did in on purpose and seem to really like the effect.

[Paul Williams]

Jeff, here is a photo to show my fix to a too think bottom. I turned the bowl with a recess, and got the bottom so thin that you could almost see through it, but no hole until I punched through sanding. You do not see the plug from the inside of the bowl. The plug was just a scrap left over from turning bells for Christmas decorations.

361909

[John K Jordan]

well I was turning a large bowl and went to thin on it and got a little tear out,,,,i honestly hate to scrap the bowl,,,can anyone tell me of a good wood filler that you can sand and make it look good,,,i tried durhams rock hard but it was way off on the color,,,i even tried mixing a little epoxy with the saw dust but it just didn't look good,,can anyone of you pros tell me what I need to do,,lol,,other than scrap the bowl,,,thank you

Jeff,

If the bowl is deep enough and the hole in the right place perhaps it would make a good yarn bowl!

As for filling tearout, turner John Lucas uses a method that worked very well when I tried it recently on some punky wood - he wet sands with CA glue. Put thin CA directly on the sand paper and sand (by hand). The glue mixes with the sawdust then set ups in the void. Just keep the glue off the fingers!

JKJ

[Tim Boger]

Jeff,

If the bowl is deep enough and the hole in the right place perhaps it would make a good yarn bowl!

As for filling tearout, turner John Lucas uses a method that worked very well when I tried it recently on some punky wood - he wet sands with CA glue. Put thin CA directly on the sand paper and sand (by hand). The glue mixes with the sawdust then set ups in the void. Just keep the glue off the fingers!

JKJ

Great idea John ...

[robert baccus]

Do you need an extra funnel by chance.

[John Grace]

I've had good luck experimenting with expoxy and mixing in Tester's brand model paints and/or sawdust, etc.