On Thursday, February 28, 2013 10:02:49 PM UTC-8, Upscale wrote:
On Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:37:58 -0800 (PST), "Gramp's shop" One of the maple boards on the buffet projects has a small imperfection. It's a thin -- maybe 1/16th of an inch by 2 inch jagged scar that's about 1/16th of an inch deep. I recall reading that some folks fill such imperfections with CA glue.. What's the process? What impact does this have on finishing (assuming use of a wipe on oil-based finish)? Any other suggestions? I'd suggest using one of these to fill your scar. I have a set and frequently use one of them to fill indentations larger than your 1/16" scar. http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...at=1,190,42997

Keep in mind wax\shellac types sticks are used AFTER you finish finishing. So they are used after you stain, and top coat. But before you wax (if you are waxing. The main reason is that no matter what you fill with, it will NOT stain or color that same from the top coat as the surrounding wood. It always looks different. So adding a filler after the fact lets you match the color more precisely. Also, if you have any other color differences or grain patterns in the surrounding wood, you can modify the dent so it looks more like a natural anomily and then a fill with a liitle off color is OK.

Another approach is to do what is called a "dutchman" patch or repair. Google it. It is a sort of inlay method. You use the same wood to make a filler piece, cut a shallow mortise in a shape that follows grain lines and done well it ends up hiding well. Does take some talent. It can easily look much worse than the original problem but done well can be invisible. Again, dutchmen can be done to look like a natural anomily so exact match is not the goal. I have inlayed a knot before into pieces that have a few other knots already to hid a hammer ding.