DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:
A friend has a wooden post in her front yard with a light attached.
There are 2 spots the size of golf balls that, I guess, rotted out and
were filled with what looks like wood putty. She would like them
repaired. At first I thought of using Bondo, but then I figured the
"plug" would just fall out like the wood putty did. At this point, I'm
thinking that the way to go is to turn the hole into a mortise and fill
it with another piece of wood, dutchman style.

Was the rotten part removed before the original patch was made? If not,
that could be the problem - the rot continued to expand and left nothing
solid for the putty to cling to.. or.. too big a hole to fill.

Whatever the plan, I would trim back into solid wood before applying it
be it Bondo, a dutchman or combination thereof. If you attempt to use
the former, I'd also give it something to grip to besides the wood.
Maybe small nails or brads driven into the wood on an angle so that they
remain below the finished plane of the surface.