Ran into a slight problem...

[Ryan Tea]

Hello all,I just finished up several end grain butcher blocks and no matter how many times I do them, something new comes up. I just wish all wood was perfect...ha!

I finished the boards using my standard Walrus Oil and Wax. Somehow, I missed a small imperfection that doesn't go very deep at all. I usually just mix Titebond and sawdust to fill something like this, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas after it has been finished? Or just leave it be and see if anything happens over the years?

See pics below (zoomed in on imperfection). Thanks!

[mike stenson]

I believe that epoxies are generally food safe after curing. I'd be concerned with it opening as the years go on

[Andrew Hughes]

If you have already oiled and waxed hardly anything will bond to the wood. I would have suggested a wedge of the wood you used.
For now I would grind some salt in there and use it.

[Ryan Tea]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am going to try a little Starbond medium mixed with some saw dust and see if I can fill it. I will have to try and sand down a very small area to get that wax and oil off. At least enough to get into the crack. Then I will probably hate how it turns out and throw the entire thing away...haha

I am still up for suggestions if anyone has anything else.

[Charles Grauer]

Use it, once you have some knife marks who will know. Usually when I try and fix it is gets worse. Not a big deal.

[Jerry Thompson]

The best advice I ever got over a small item was "If it ain't broke fix it til it is.":)

[Mark Daily]

You might try squirting some medium or thick CA glue in there to fill it.

[Ryan Tea]

You might try squirting some medium or thick CA glue in there to fill it.

That’s exactly what I’m going to do. I have some medium Starbond black and Bob Smith clear. Gonna give it a shot.

[Justin Rapp]

Use it, once you have some knife marks who will know. Usually when I try and fix it is gets worse. Not a big deal.

Being a cutting board, i'd fill it. Depending on how deep that goes, you don't want food getting down there and building up with bacteria.

Nice looking baord....


So - The bigger question I have is what technique did you use to get the board flat after glue-up?

[David Utterback]

What are the lighter colored lines between the pieces? They appear uniform except where missing for the defect. You may be able to match the color with your mixture.

[Frank Pratt]

Nothing is going to stick after the wax has been applied, but you don't want to leave that crack; it will fill up with food gunk. Using a syringe to irrigate the crack with a solvent to rinse away most of the wax may work. Then fill it with epoxy.

But you have a bigger issue here. Those glue lines are simply way to wide and that gap is just a spot that has been starved of glue. Wide joints are not nearly as strong as tight ones either. What is your process for jointing the surfaces prior to glue up?

[Ryan Tea]

Being a cutting board, i'd fill it. Depending on how deep that goes, you don't want food getting down there and building up with bacteria.

Nice looking baord....


So - The bigger question I have is what technique did you use to get the board flat after glue-up?


Thank you! I used a router sled after the second glue up on the end grain. From there I just sanded from 60-400.

I tried the CA glue and it was still too thin. I ended up mixing a little Titebond 3 and sawdust and it seems to be holding. My bigger question now will be how I am going to sand the small spot through the wax and end up looking the same as the rest of the board.

[Ryan Tea]

Nothing is going to stick after the wax has been applied, but you don't want to leave that crack; it will fill up with food gunk. Using a syringe to irrigate the crack with a solvent to rinse away most of the wax may work. Then fill it with epoxy.

But you have a bigger issue here. Those glue lines are simply way to wide and that gap is just a spot that has been starved of glue. Wide joints are not nearly as strong as tight ones either. What is your process for jointing the surfaces prior to glue up?


I am not sure what I would have done differently. I have always done it the same way...

I mill the wood, rip, joint the glue sides one time, glue up, plane flat, cross cut sled, flip for end grain, joint glue sides one time, router sled, sand.

I am wondering if it is just the wood color. Only thing I can think of is using a smaller kerf blade for the cross cut, but I have done them the same way. I will attach a photo of a checkerboard pattern patter I did along with (3) of the walnut ones. You can't see the seams, but are done the same way. IDK

[Frank Pratt]

I am not sure what I would have done differently. I have always done it the same way...

I mill the wood, rip, joint the glue sides one time, glue up, plane flat, cross cut sled, flip for end grain, joint glue sides one time, router sled, sand.

I am wondering if it is just the wood color. Only thing I can think of is using a smaller kerf blade for the cross cut, but I have done them the same way. I will attach a photo of a checkerboard pattern patter I did along with (3) of the walnut ones. You can't see the seams, but are done the same way. IDK

I'm specifically referring to the close up shot of the the gap in your original post. The glue lines are clearly wide & the gap is just where there wasn't enough glue. The only cause for that would be that the mating surfaces are not completely smooth or flat.

Using a thinner kerf blade won't help, and may leave a rougher surface than a full kerf blade. In any case, the jointer should take care of any roughness that the blade leaves. The overall flatness looks okay, because the thick glue lines seem to be fairly consistent end to end. So that leaves surface roughness or maybe insufficient clamping pressure? When you press the pieces together without glue there should be no gap at all.

I can't tell anything from the checkerboard pic because it's not high enough resolution. But wide glue lines will show up worse on a board that's all made of the same wood.

[Ryan Tea]

I'm specifically referring to the close up shot of the the gap in your original post. The glue lines are clearly wide & the gap is just where there wasn't enough glue. The only cause for that would be that the mating surfaces are not completely smooth or flat.

Using a thinner kerf blade won't help, and may leave a rougher surface than a full kerf blade. In any case, the jointer should take care of any roughness that the blade leaves. The overall flatness looks okay, because the thick glue lines seem to be fairly consistent end to end. So that leaves surface roughness or maybe insufficient clamping pressure? When you press the pieces together without glue there should be no gap at all.

I can't tell anything from the checkerboard pic because it's not high enough resolution. But wide glue lines will show up worse on a board that's all made of the same wood.

Got ya. The checkerboard shows no lines at all that I can see.

I try to make sure that I can’t see any lines or very minimal lines when I put them together way before the glue. That’s why I started jointing the glue sides one time. I always rotate the Bessey clamps to try and get the even pressure.

Not really sure what happened but I will have to keep a much better eye on it next time.

The CA glue plus the Titebond/Sawdust mix seems to be holding good enough so far. Now just going to have to hit it with some 400 sand paper and then oil/wax again.

[Frank Pratt]

Sounds like you are on the right track. The main thing is to check for joint tightness before gluing.

[Alan Schwabacher]

I hope your fix works. If it turns out that the oil and wax do cause the repair to come out, here's an option.

Cut a kerf straight down into the gap in the board using an oscillating multi tool, and glue in a veneer shim sized to fit the kerf.

[Frank Pratt]

I hope your fix works. If it turns out that the oil and wax do cause the repair to come out, here's an option.

Cut a kerf straight down into the gap in the board using an oscillating multi tool, and glue in a veneer shim sized to fit the kerf.

Getting a uniform, perfectly straight sided groove with an oscillating tool will be all but impossible. But the idea is a good one. An ultru-thin kerf circular saw blade in the table saw would do the trick. I've got one that is less than 1/16"

[Jim Becker]

I tried the CA glue and it was still too thin. I ended up mixing a little Titebond 3 and sawdust and it seems to be holding. My bigger question now will be how I am going to sand the small spot through the wax and end up looking the same as the rest of the board.
Don't sand. Scrape.