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Thread: Fixing a glue up gap?

  1. #1
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    Fixing a glue up gap?

    I'm making couple of end tables out of white oak. I didn't have any 8/4 in stock for legs so I tried gluing up some 4/4 to make 8/4. I have done this successfully in the past using red oak,...

    Two of my eight legs have a slight gap between the boards as per the picture below which shows the worst case. Maybe not enough pressure (I trued gluing up all of the leg blanks at once rather than one at a time), maybe I didn't plane the original boards flat enough.

    I'm not worried about the cause, but rather if there is any fix for the remaining gap, a fix that is still going to accept Transtint dye well.

    IMG_3214.jpg

    My suspicion is I need to make new legs, or go to the lumber yard and buy some 8/4. The nearest hardwood store is about a 1.5 hour drive, which is why I tried to fabricate these legs blanks.
    Mark McFarlane

  2. #2
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    If you think it is structurally fine, one option is to cut a shallow dado at whatever thickness you want ( say even the 1/8" kerf of a saw blade) over it and then glue a 1/8" matching piece to hide the gap at the joint
    behind it.

  3. #3
    Wood Putty/Filler is the classical fix for gaps, either bought or you can make it yourself with in your case Oak dust and glue but there are problably a lot of guides on how to make filler.
    In terms of accepting Dye it should work but always do a sample and test piece.

  4. #4
    If you have some extra lumber and your capable of ripping thin pieces, you could just saw a 1/8" or thinner piece the same width as your leg, then glue it right over the side with the flaw.

  5. #5
    That's pretty common. My inclination would be to just put it in the corner that will show the least. The only way I know of to asure it won't happen is to use dados to "relieve" the center third of one glue surface slightly. Or even both surfaces. I've done that with things like large bar rails that had to be made of glued up 6/4 or 8/4 . Some years from now all the legs are apt to show some opening.

  6. #6
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    I use tiny slivers of the same wood to fill gaps like that. I never us putty or a glue/dust combination...it will never look the same through finishing, especially when dye or stain is involved. It's meticulous work to fill this way, but the fix completely disappears. The same technique works for hand-cut dovetails, too, with the slivers going in on an angle.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    shoot it full of PVA with a tip that forces glue down into the gap (simple plastic squeeze bottle for me) and then turn off the DC on your RO and sand for a few seconds. The sawdust will plow the gap full and the heat from the sander will set it, and you can forget it, just like the infomercials. If you hand sand, pile it full of pva, grab a pile of fines/flour off the bench or floor, pack it full, and block sand it out. Youll never see it.

  8. #8
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    I have tried all methods of wood filler, mix of saw dust with glue as filler, etc but all will show like a sore thumb when stained (maybe less with oak).

  9. #9
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    Thanks everyone for the tips. I'm pretty sure anything that involves glue won't dye well. If I get any glue outside of the 'patch', I'm afraid it will look worse than just ignoring the problem.

    Jim's slivers sound like a good idea, but these gaps are something like .001 wide, they are exaggerated in the photo. I don't think I could push any slivers down the 'gaps'.

    I can cut an 1/8" veneer on the new MM16 bandsaw, possibly even 1/16". I haven't used the bandsaw much yet but in some test cuts I was amazed at how well it resawed.

    Another thought I had is to put a very shallow saw kerf at the joint line, and call it a design element . The tables are small mission sized end tables , ~18" * 11" *20"T. I could put a very shallow kerf on the inside middle of each leg.

    I think I'll try my hand at cutting some veneer tomorrow and see how that works.

    FWIW, this is my first 'serious' project in my recently built retirement shop. There's a thread on the build in the shop forum. I've been building mostly cabinetry for the shop.

    Thanks again.
    Mark McFarlane

  10. #10
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    I'm curious if anyone has actually used the glue/sawdust method, or a filler, and dyed/stained mid-dark, and it still looked good.

    I guess If one were to use a filler on my gap, then sand so only the filler is left in the thin little slot, it may work just fine. There would just be a little filler to stain, < a thickness of paper, and even if it didn't stain well it might look better than a slot hole.
    Mark McFarlane

  11. #11
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    Mark, I make the slivers with...a sharp knife or chisel...

    The challenge you'll have using the glue method is that oak has a lot of pores and it's inevitable that you'll get glue into them unless you really sand things back a lot. And it WILL affect your finishing.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
    Chances are glue and dust will end up a darker color..

    Everytime I resort to glue and dust I regret it.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark mcfarlane View Post
    I can cut an 1/8" veneer on the new MM16 bandsaw, possibly even 1/16". I haven't used the bandsaw much yet but in some test cuts I was amazed at how well it resawed.
    I think I'll try my hand at cutting some veneer tomorrow and see how that works.
    Thanks again.
    That should work. You could also joint the offending edge, joint a matching piece of relatively thick stock, face glue the two together, then run the piece through the planer until the glued-on piece is acceptably thin, or bandsaw it down and then sand.

  14. #14
    If they are wide enough you could fire up that new bandsaw and rip down the glue line. Re flatten, and glue them up again. Hopefully with better results. If you screw up as often as I do you'll get pretty crafty at fixing things.

  15. #15
    I'm not sure of your design tastes but I have run a burn line down that kind of seam and made it part of the design element.

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