I need your thoughts

[James Jayko]

So I built the foot stool to go with the Morris chair I recently completed. Went together great, looks great. Except one thing.

I must have gotten just a little too aggressive with the planer and I cut into the mortise for the stretcher. There is now a gap maybe 1/16-1/8" wide 3/4-1" long. I tried to fill it with sawdust and glue; I haven't put any finish on it but I don't love the way it turned out. I'd rather not start from scratch for one little spot. So my questions are 2:

1. I'm going to do Waterlox and then spray lacquer. Am I perseverating over something that will, for all intents and purposes, disappear in the finishing process?
2. Do I just take a different approach to fixing this? Lean into it, put a small bowtie or dutchman from the same stock in there?

498593498594

What say you?

[Kevin Jenness]

That's not going to disappear. I would suggest skinning over it. Remove a slice off the face as deep as the roundover on the corner and glue on a new piece that matches the grain pattern as closely as possible.

[James Jayko]

I'm ok with it not disappearing as long as it looks as good as possible. But I think skinning it as you say is a good idea.

I am also ok with leaning into it a little bit with a bowtie. It ain't ever gonna be perfect so I was trying to figure out if that would make it interesting or just weird.

[Dave Fitzgerald]

You can do a test piece to see how the sawdust + glue repair will look with finish. If it ends up lighter, you would have the option of brushing some dye on the area to minimize the visual effect.

Even so, I lean toward your option 2. Some kind of insert or wedge will give you the tightest and cleanest cut lines as well as allowing you to match the surface geometry (rift/quarter sawn) between the repair and the surrounding area. Use a piece that will look about the same when finished (test with mineral spirits). If you can match the grain, swell, but if not, you could add faux grain lines with a fine-point touch-up marker to help it blend in.

Nice piece!

[Paul F Franklin]

I wonder if inserting a rectangular piece (probably on both sides) that was left slightly proud and chamfered so it looks like the end of a through tenon would be in keeping with the piece? You could do it in the same wood or go with something dark to give it an arts and crafts look. Otherwise, skinning the whole face would probably be the way I'd go.

[Jim Becker]

That's not going to disappear. I would suggest skinning over it. Remove a slice off the face as deep as the roundover on the corner and glue on a new piece that matches the grain pattern as closely as possible.
I agree with this method...it's likely the best solution this side of remaking things.

[Aaron Inami]

I actually would do wood filler on this particular slot. The slot is not an even thickness, so trying to create a "slice off the face" may be challenging.

[Jim Morgan]

I actually would do wood filler on this particular slot. The slot is not an even thickness, so trying to create a "slice off the face" may be challenging.

Doesn't matter what it looks like underneath the glued-on face. Just plane down the leg a little, glue on a new face like Kevin suggested, plane down the glue-up to final thickness, re-cut the roundover, and you are good to go.

[Mel Fulks]

I’ve seen things like that ‘fixed’ with a bed bolt cover. But you need two of them , since you only have one small mistake! People will
love it….lot easier to see the big covers ,than the small mistake !

[Lee Schierer]

I would use my router inlay bit set with a rectangular template to inlay a rectangular piece of end grain wood to make it look intentional on both sides of the stool. The new piece only needs to be 1/16" or less in thickness.

[Bill Dufour]

Greene and Greene would use an ebony plug. Maybe fumed walnut. Wonder how poured lead would look. Would it char the wood too much? maybe pound lead wool into a dovetailed recess.
Bill D.


https://aspenwooddesigns.com/ols/products/greene-greene-end-table

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L46WsOiZ9yc

[Bill Dufour]

start video at about 3:15
Bill D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-GsEdJx9l8

https://www.bernzomatic.com/Projects/Make/Metal-Inlay-in-Wood

[Rich Engelhardt]

Bill's suggestion(s) appeal to me.

[Carl Beckett]

I have seen 'fake' through features. Close to what Bill suggests, but simply in oak and 45 bevels to make it look like a 'through M&T' joint.

Consistent with the style.

Simply route a groove, square the ends, and glue in a short piece that has the ends beveled.

Then match the opposite side.

[James Jayko]

I ended up doing a bowtie. Turned out ok, I'd give myself a B-. I assume it will look better as the freshly planed cherry starts to oxidize...

Love the lead thing, but I'm definitely not equipped for that...

[Kevin Jenness]

Faux through tenons via inlays might look ok if done cleanly but you would really want to do it on all corners to make visual sense - a lot of work compared to recovering the face of one leg. I guess you could skip inlaying and just glue a chamfered block onto the leg faces.

Why were the mortises so deep in the first place? A stool like that would be plenty strong with shorter tenons.

[James Jayko]

Why were the mortises so deep in the first place? A stool like that would be plenty strong with shorter tenons.

Honestly I'm not sure. I was following a plan, and I think I followed it exactly (though the idea that I went too deep seems definitely very possible / likely given the general accuracy of the rest of the plans), but there clearly was very little margin for error regarding cutting the taper on the leg. Lesson learned for the future.