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Thread: Fixing a glue up gap?

  1. #16
    I vote for the home veneer option. I did that with some vertical grain Doug fir bedposts and the wood grain looks uniform from any angle.

  2. #17
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    Rout a v-groove down the the center of the gap and then glue in a matching v-shaped piece. Leave it proud when you glue it in and then joint the face flush after the glue has dried. I would take a little off the tip of the v-shaped piece that would be glued in, just to make sure it seats into the v-groove tightly. I'd want to cut the groove using a router table so it would be nice and straight but it could be done with an edge guide as long as one was careful.

    Clint

  3. #18
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    i vote for thin veneer. i am seeing some pretty noticeable chip out. it is going to show more after dye and finish are applied.

  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by mark mcfarlane View Post
    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.
    Don't listen to anyone who tells you glue mixed with sawdust is a good solution; it never is unless you accept a second-rate or even a third-rate solution. In that case, you might as well just leave the gap there! If people asked, say "Look, it is part of a design!" -- just kidding.

    Some "social media" woodworkers have shared this solution in their videos but they never show how the fix would like after stain is applied. Consider this a snake-oil salesman pitch.

    The best solution is offered by john bateman, followed by Jim Becker's. If done skillfully, the gaps may be invisible to the untrained eye.

    Another solution is to change the design of the legs by adding an inlay strip to cover the gap, but you would have to do the same on every leg.

    Next time, consider using hide glue or liquid hide glue to glue up your legs...it is irreversible.

    Oh, fillers work only for doors, kitchen cabinets, etc., not for fine furniture pieces. The contrasts will pop up in time.

    Simon
    Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 01-19-2018 at 5:03 AM.

  5. #20
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    I suggest finishing it as is (dye / stain ), to get the proper color, and after that you could backfill the gaps that bother you with clear epoxy. I've never tried this but it should work nicely. Just carefully tape alongside the gap on both sides, mix up and spread the epoxy with a squeegee, and peel off the tape before the epoxy sets up too much.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    The best solution is offered by john bateman, followed by Jim Becker's. If done skillfully, the gaps may be invisible to the untrained eye.
    I beg to differ and I think, although adding a veneer over is a good solution, the solution I proposed (and similar solution proposed by Clint further down) are the best in hiding it. The solution of filling in the same species inlay of 1/8" will be visible only from one side of the leg (instead of one glue line you have two very close glue lines).

  7. #22
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    Glue of fillers don't accept dye very well. A matching piece of wood in the gap is the best solution. When I am dying something I dye the glue so I won't see a glue line. I don't have to use filler because the glue squeeze out fills a less than perfect joint. It works great for picture frames. You could try mixing some dye into the glue and force it into the gap. You could try it on a scrap piece first. Gkue and sawdust never worked for me either. It always turned out too dark.

  8. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by mreza Salav View Post
    I beg to differ and I think, although adding a veneer over is a good solution, the solution I proposed (and similar solution proposed by Clint further down) are the best in hiding it. The solution of filling in the same species inlay of 1/8" will be visible only from one side of the leg (instead of one glue line you have two very close glue lines).
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BuyKRqe1qs is one of the videos I just found on Google showing the result of a veneer fix that I recommend. The veneer he used was way too thick for my taste.

    If one starts with a thinner veneer and/or puts a very subtle chamfer on all edges on all legs (assuming such design change is acceptable), your proposed fix won't be better than this veneer approach.

    If perfection is required for a seamless and invisible leg joint, use the method that Tage Frid (or is it Allen Peters? Can't exactly remember the fellow who demoed in the VHS). After Googling, I found this video that is close: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wfSBLyMSEQ

    I do not recommend Frid's (?) method unless you absolutely require such result, because it is pretty time consuming. I no longer use it anymore when making table legs or blanks, and go with the THIN veneer method. As my old mentor once said, it is easier to hide your blunder on the edge than anywhere else.

    Simon
    Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 01-19-2018 at 12:26 PM.

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick Walsh View Post
    Chances are glue and dust will end up a darker color..

    Everytime I resort to glue and dust I regret it.
    I agree - it always comes out darker. Even tried sanding the dust in a small crack during the staining - no glue involved - and it still came out pretty dark. But worked better than dust and glue.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  10. #25
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    Mark,
    "Make lemonade out of lemons" !
    That is not a flaw......it's an opportunity to decorate the legs(and top if you like). Route out a 1/16" wide channel down the center of the gap and put in a contrasting piece of stringing. A dark brown (Walnut or other brown wood of choice).

    Jim

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    Don't listen to anyone who tells you glue mixed with sawdust is a good solution; it never is unless you accept a second-rate or even a third-rate solution.
    Simon
    I mostly agree. The one exception is when one or both of the elements framing the gap is end grain. I have patched end grain gaps more than once with sawdust plus PVA and you can't tell even after multiple humidity cycles over several years without a knowing what to look for and having a magnifier to look with. Otherwise you need wood, not dust, to fill the gap. Slivers are best for gaps like the OP's, although if it's really less than .01" it'll be a challenge to fit one.

  12. #27
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    If one is only going to clear coat, it may be possible to do the glue and dust thing...but as soon as any color needs to be applied, or any oil based preparation that needs to be absorbed, the glue very likely will "give it away".
    --

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

  13. #28
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    Band saw to cut exactly over the crack

    Quote Originally Posted by mark mcfarlane View Post
    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.

    Attachment 376850

    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.
    Can you take off the parts? If yes, I would go to use a band saw to cut exactly over the crack and re-glue them. It works for wood cracks (personally as I do not have a band saw, so I have used a jig saw a couple of times to fix unexpected wood cracks).

  14. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    Consider this a snake-oil salesman pitch
    While I wouldnt ever use the method on a bespoke, boutique, or heirloom, piece (which this may well be), we have used that method literally tens of thousands of times on hairline cracks/gaps like the one in the photo. We would never rely on the method for filling nail holes or large gaps (commercial wood dough doesnt even stain well in those applications) but if the piece is one that doesnt speak to wood filler your construction and joiner methods would eliminate them in the first place. With a crack less than the thickness of a sheet of paper, running with the grain, chances are good you, nor anyone else, would ever know it was there if you werent the one that repaired it.

    If it IS in fact a bespoke, boutique, or heirloom, piece... I would think the proper fix would be to re-make the part and have no gap to fill second time around.

    To the OP, simply nail or screw together a couple scrap boards leaving a similar gap to the one you have in your actual part, glue it, fill it, sand it, and do a quick finish test and see if its acceptable to you. While I cant speak to dye, I can reiterate what I said above, thousands of fixes like that and you would never even know it was there (of course best not to have it in the first place).

    Good luck. Post back your results for sure.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Tobias View Post
    Mark,
    "Make lemonade out of lemons" !
    That is not a flaw......it's an opportunity to decorate the legs(and top if you like). Route out a 1/16" wide channel down the center of the gap and put in a contrasting piece of stringing. A dark brown (Walnut or other brown wood of choice).

    Jim
    +1

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