wood filler,,

[jeff oldham]

i need some wood filler that will fill a gap in red oak,,im going to spray it with clear lacquar,,,but i have as of yet actually found something that you could use as a filler and it not be noticeable when you put the finish on it,,and its not a small place,,its kinda long and about 1/8 wide

[Paul F Franklin]

Jeff, I've never had any luck filling anything other than a tiny spot and not have it be fairly visible, and red oak is problematic because of its open pores and significant grain. An option would be to insert a patch made from the same stock; route out a section and insert a patch cut to fit the routed recess. If the patch comes from a scrap of the same stock, and you choose a section with similar color and grain, it can nearly disappear. It's a lot more work than just applying some filler, but if it's a large area in a visible location, it may be the way to go.

[Lee Schierer]

A couple of thoughts.

Sometimes, if the crack is a result of drying you can see if it will close with clamping pressure, If it closes easily, you can work glue into the crack and clamp it closed until the glue dries.

For larger cracks you can make a sliver from similar grain and colored stock, then shape it with chisels or sanding to fit nicely into the crack. Once you get a pretty good fit, apply glue and push it into the crack. Tapping it down into the crack will give a tighter fit. Don't worry if it sticks up proud of the surface as you can sand away the excess.

[Jim Becker]

Fill the gap with small pieces of oak that are grain consistent with the remainder of the surface. It's meticulous work, but can be virtually invisible to most people afterward.

[John TenEyck]

I've had really good luck with TimberMate. To make it as invisible as possible you have to first seal the wood so it won't get into the pores around the defect. You could use your first 1 or 2 coats of lacquer to do that if you aren't using a sealer. Once the pores are sealed you fill the defect with TimberMate (it comes in red oak) and let it dry. Then carefully sand it flat with the surrounding area. Now for some artistry, you need to scratch some grain into the repair to match the surrounding wood. You may also need to add some color streaks to make it look like the surrounding wood. You can do that with Transtint Dye in DNA with a tiny artist's brush. Once you are happy, spray a coat of finish on the repair, let it dry, and then continue with the finishing process. With NC lacquer you can add additional color, if needed, by mixing TT in lacquer thinner.

If you think this might work for you I suggest you try it out on a piece of scrap first.

John

I forgot to mention that if you decide to install a Dutchman you can use the same dye with an artist's brush technique to fake in the grain around the perimeter of the repair, if needed, and it often is at the ends.

John