Hey guys…I’ve embarked on my second hollow wood project. A 6’4" fish…
I developed a crack in one of my deck boards. Is it possible to make a wood flour from that same colored wood so that the crack is almost invisable?
I hear the term wood flour and I’m not sure if its something that is bought or made.
If I can make it…what grit sand paper should I use to get the wood dust. Is there a certain ratio of dust/epoxy?
Thanks…
I don’t know about epoxy, but you can do a very effective wood putty by using sanding dust mixed with white Elmer’s glue.
Any sawdust will work. The finer the sawdust the smoother the putty. 80 grit is good. Mix it till its like mayo. So it stays put. If you use the same wood as the cracked pice it will come out a little darker. So sometimes I mix some lighter wood in if it matters. I can olways find some fine dust stuck under my table saw.
Thanks guys…
Dontask…What do you mix your sawdust with (epoxy, elmers, other glue…)?
Epoxy
As much as we all like to be perfectionists, if its on the deck, it will be covered with wax so a perfect color match may not be necessary. You could always do what I do no contemporary furniture, “celebrate” the defect and slap in a dutchman.
A dutchman…sounds naughty…?
Dutchman=those football shaped plugs that you find in plywood. Furniture maker George Nakashima would cover defects with a butterfly shaped plug.
Up one nice looking board, cant wait to see it finished.
As the planks are thin (1/16?) you don’t need to mix up a putty, pack out the crack with dry saw dust, if it goes all the way through tape up the under side. Then apply epoxy other the top. The saw dust will soak up the epoxy, the advantage of doing it this way is that there is minimal mess and sanding.
As the planks are thin (1/16?) you don't need to mix up a putty, pack out the crack with dry saw dust, if it goes all the way through tape up the under side. Then apply epoxy other the top. The saw dust will soak up the epoxy, the advantage of doing it this way is that there is minimal mess and sanding.
I’m so glad you mentioned this. I was just having this discussion with a buddy of mine. On the last board I constructed, I noticed when I did the final sanding (before glassing) that all the little inperfections were filled with sawdust…they were literaly invisable. When I blew off the board with compressed air before glassing, I saw a few imperfections show up. I was wondering if I could just leave the dust in the openeings on this board. Find a way to clean the rest of the board before glassing, and be real carefull about where I put the compressed air. Hmmmm, worth trying!