On Fri, 9 Jul 2010 05:33:36 -0700 (PDT), manyirons
wrote:

If there's no other choice I can cut the offending chunk away and glue
in a replacement, but it'll lose a lot of character and just plain
won't look as good as I know it can.

You could remove the offending area and replace it with some scrap
material that the grain matches the affected area's grain. Repairs
like that are often invisible.

If you're concerned about losing some character why not create a
"Dutchman" patch for that area. One that would repair the area but
not attempt to conceal it's existence. That way you could have your
cake and eat it too.

Gordon Shumway

When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.