Can any one tell me how to mix glue (what type) and sawdust to make
a good filler?

You can mix sawdust (and/or small chips and/or sanding dust) with
anything that will act as a binder. That includes epoxy, white glue,
yellow glue, hide glue, cyanoacrylate, shellac, lacquer and varnish.

The color of the repair depends on what binder was used...the more it
"wets" the wood the darker it will be. For example, white glue (when
dry) changes the wood color very little. OTOH, epoxy and CA make it
dark.

Regardless of the binder, they won't likely stain well because the
wood particles are sealed. Sometimes, sanding the area exposes enough
to take some stain but I've never seen any that would match the
unfilled wood because the filled areas lack structure, grain and the
normal change in wood color. To really match, you need to apply
what's missing with an artist's brush and colors. However, judicious
selection of the binder can help by selecting one so the repaired area
winds up grossly close to the stain color.

A lot depends upon how large and where the filled area is. If I have
a small area or some place where there is a slight gap in part of a
joint I often apply a bit of white glue and spit, wipe it flat and
then sand the area so that sanding dust mixes with it. That works
pretty well for me but I don't use stain. On dark wood like walnut I
use CA rather than white glue.

--

dadiOH
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