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I was filling in some nail holes this weekend and got to thinking. What was the traditional wood putty of choice? I read about hide glue and sawdust or shellac and sawdust, but these weren't from documented sources.
I am also familiar with the method of raising a slice of wood, driving the nail, and then gluing the slice back down. Maybe this was more common before putty?
Thanks for any info!
I usually use sawdust from the wood being used ( finer the better) and just plain glue....or, add a plug to cover the screw/nail holes...matching the grain.
Painters putty. You can buy in different tints ready made or use universal mixing colors to tint yourself. Mixing yourself gets a very good match. You’ll need several colors for a project. Apply after your sealer coats so it doesn’t smear into the grain. Apply finish over it.
Jim
From rebuilding old case work I'd have to say wood, either in the form of "dutchmen" or cross-grain plugs. Anything from before ~1950 is patched with solid wood rather than any sort of goop. Some of them are quite imaginative.
In my current project (a Belgian cafe dance organ, probably from the 1930's) I've probably put in at least 100 cross-grain plugs to fix stripped screws or abandoned screw holes, and probably have another hundred to do. Fortunately they are dead easy with modern tapered plug cutters-- a little glue, bang it in (matching the wood species and grain direction), and plane it flush almost immediately. Way easier than futzing with putty.
I was taught that an elongated diamond patch looks the best. Several of my patches could not be found by some when they were
challenged to find them. To me circular patch is for painted work , or inconspicuous spot that is conspicuous when it has a hole in it.
This is entirely anecdotal, but I have a pair of twin beds from around 1850. In addition to being glued, the top rail and headboard are also pinned to the posts with small finish nail on each driven deep. Definitely looks like sawdust in there so I’m going to go with sawdust and hide glue. These have always been in the family so very likely they are from the Massachusetts or New York area.
In boatbuilding, we use epoxy, and either wood flour or cabosil, or a mixture of both, to match the color to an extent. Both of these fillers make a structural repair, just like a Dutchman. It can be drilled, planed and even tapped. The wood flour must come from a cabinet shop that does a lot of fine sanding. It is much finer than sawdust. A quart only costs a few dollars, and lasts a long time, unless mistakes are large or frequent.
73,
Rick
In Industrial Arts in 1966, we used Durham Rock Hard Putty. Pretty sure that was not before Plastic Wood.
I think the lighter and more natural the finish, the more of a "problem" getting things matched nicely matters.
Sanding dust + glue is pretty common. Experiment with different glue types to see what takes finish about right and doesn't turn super dark.
An old "trick" when french polishing was that the pumice slurry used during leveling makes an automatic grain filler.
Then, there's the trick of using a small chisel (usually 1/8"-1/4") to turn up an attached shaving. Nail under it and then glue it back down.
Of course, dark wood stains and dark finishes hide dark imprint of an itty bitty wire nail pretty well.
Plaster of Paris got used as well, with whatever handy method that was available to disguise it.
Came here to say this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Seemann
I work with a lot of 19th century furniture and I see a lot of plaster filler in smaller voids.
It's generally mixed with red/brown brick dust to colour it.
It doesn't seem to age very gracefully and can stand out, so I remove it (if I'm restoring and not conserving).
I use coloured hard wax to fill any smaller holes now.
Looks fine under shellac polish.
On 17th and 18th century harpsichords there is often a painting on the soundboard. They frequently hid knots by filling them with plaster and using them for the eye of a bird or center of a flower.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu Gillard
It depends on the type of work you're doing. I often use sawdust from the project itself mixed with whatever finish I'm using. Obviously this presents no compatibility problems. I also have an old set (I don't know where I got it) of variously colored shellac burn-in sticks. The colored shellac is melted with a hot spatula and pushed into the divot. A little darker works better than a little lighter...
-Howard
My father had a kit with these in it. (my recollection is one of my older brothers has it now) It was made by Mohawk.Quote:
I also have an old set (I don't know where I got it) of variously colored shellac burn-in sticks. The colored shellac is melted with a hot spatula and pushed into the divot.
They are still in business > https://www.mohawk-finishing.com/pro...hard-fill-kit/
Another source for Mohawk and other supplies > https://www.shellac.net < they also carry wax filler and spray lacquers for guitar makers.
jtk
The old books mention “ brick dust” . I tried it , and even carefully sifted it was too coarse. I’ve got a project going
that I’m going to do with sifted red clay , I think that was the “ brick dust”.
And ,of course some very fine mahogany has some white specs in it. I’ve seen it
fall out while being hand -planed . I remember working with a fine cabinet maker
from Lithuania in 1960s who used to complain about how fast his plane had to be
re-sharpened when using fine mahogany. Don’t see much of that type mahogany
now, the little pieces were like tiny grains of fine sand. Tony didn’t try to
glue them back in! We used the Durhams Rock Hard filler, approved by the boss.
I forgot to mention that the brick dust was mixed with bees wax, gums , not
mortar ! , as early as first half of 18th century.