I have a cherry coffee table top that has a tiny knots in it where the grain
reverses. In 2 spots, my planer took out a divot 3/8 of an inch across and
nearly an 1/8" deep. My guess is that that is way too much to sand out.

The finishing shedule will be two coats of tung oil, sealed with shellac and
then top-coated with some thinned poly with perhapsa little tung added.

Would there be any value to trying to "fill" divots with platinum (close to
clear) shellac with an eye dropper (over a couple of days) to bring the
divots closer to a level surface before moving to the poly stage?

Somebody else must have tried this before. Did it work?

-Steve

I hate when that happens.

In similar situations I've taken several different approaches. I have
access to a wide belt sander, so the number one approach is to go with
a slightly thinner top. Maybe sand it down half way to minimize the
chip out.

You can also use a burn in stick (you can see them at rockler, etc.),
but you basicially need to try a bunch of them that are close in color
until you get the one that's right. Can be expensive if you don't have
any to start with. Another approach is just using filler. It's easiest
to patch these if they are in a field with lots of action and color
variation ion the grain. Once you fill it you can use lots of diffent
techniques to blend the color in. I often use pencils and permenant
markers. I'll just drw in some new grain lines. It can be a challenge
to get a film over ink or burn in if you use lacquer or poly but
shellac usually flows well. Just test to make sure the colors won't run
in the ink.

If you fill with a clear fill, shellac build up or resin, what you will
have is a visible chip, with a clear filling.

Whatever you do, you will never be able to look at the table top and
not instantly see the problem. However, everybody else in the world
will likely never see it.

BW

C & S wrote:
I have a cherry coffee table top that has a tiny knots in it where
the grain
reverses. In 2 spots, my planer took out a divot 3/8 of an inch
across and
nearly an 1/8" deep. My guess is that that is way too much to sand
out.

The finishing shedule will be two coats of tung oil, sealed with
shellac and
then top-coated with some thinned poly with perhapsa little tung
added.

Would there be any value to trying to "fill" divots with platinum
(close to
clear) shellac with an eye dropper (over a couple of days) to bring
the
divots closer to a level surface before moving to the poly stage?

Somebody else must have tried this before. Did it work?

-Steve

On small tearout divots, I've used epoxy. If they are not large they
pretty much vanish once it's finished. I was working with cedar and
mesquite which are both darker than cherry and don't know if that would
make any differance.

Fred

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:07:41 -0500, "C & S"
wrote:

I have a cherry coffee table top that has a tiny knots in it where the grain
reverses. In 2 spots, my planer took out a divot 3/8 of an inch across and
nearly an 1/8" deep. My guess is that that is way too much to sand out.

The finishing shedule will be two coats of tung oil, sealed with shellac and
then top-coated with some thinned poly with perhapsa little tung added.

Would there be any value to trying to "fill" divots with platinum (close to
clear) shellac with an eye dropper (over a couple of days) to bring the
divots closer to a level surface before moving to the poly stage?

Somebody else must have tried this before. Did it work?

-Steve

Steve, I learned of a technique to use instant glue (cyanoacrylate) to
fill the gap. I've tried this on two pieces now and they turned out
marvelously. I had a small knot in an apron and was able to fill the
hole so there is no texture or gap. I also had a wide tear out on a
maple table top that was too deep to sand. When I was done I could not
see the gap even when I knew exactly where it was.

Woodworker's Supply has three different viscosities depending on how
large a gap you have. The medium weight is good for filling tearouts.
They also have an accelerator so the material will harden faster.

The process is:
1) spray the accelerator on the surface and let it soak in.
2) drop a small amount of cyanoacrylate on the gap so that the gap is
slightly over filled.
3) after letting it harden (overnight if not using accelerator or
within about 15 minutes if using the accelerator) use a scraper to
scrape the excess down to the wood surface.
4) sand with 220 or greater grit so your finish adheres to the filler.
5) finish as normal.

I hate when that happens.

In similar situations I've taken several different approaches. I have
access to a wide belt sander, so the number one approach is to go with
a slightly thinner top. Maybe sand it down half way to minimize the
chip out.

You can also use a burn in stick (you can see them at rockler, etc.),
but you basicially need to try a bunch of them that are close in color
until you get the one that's right. Can be expensive if you don't have
any to start with. Another approach is just using filler. It's easiest
to patch these if they are in a field with lots of action and color
variation ion the grain. Once you fill it you can use lots of diffent
techniques to blend the color in. I often use pencils and permenant
markers. I'll just drw in some new grain lines. It can be a challenge
to get a film over ink or burn in if you use lacquer or poly but
shellac usually flows well. Just test to make sure the colors won't run
in the ink.

If you fill with a clear fill, shellac build up or resin, what you will
have is a visible chip, with a clear filling.

Whatever you do, you will never be able to look at the table top and
not instantly see the problem. However, everybody else in the world
will likely never see it.

BW

Steve,

I've used the epoxy fix with good success in the past. I've used artist
oils and acrylics to tint the epoxy (burnt umber and black) so the spot
looks like a knot. Depending on the color of the wood, I've used a black
tinted epoxy to fill the divot then took a toothpick with burnt umber and
epoxy on it and swirled it in the black epoxy to make it look like a knot.
Have to admit it came out looking pretty good and the several knots I made
were about 1" across. Believe this tip came from one of Bill Flexner's
articles.

Bob S.


"C & S" wrote in message
...
I have a cherry coffee table top that has a tiny knots in it where the
grain
reverses. In 2 spots, my planer took out a divot 3/8 of an inch across and
nearly an 1/8" deep. My guess is that that is way too much to sand out.

The finishing shedule will be two coats of tung oil, sealed with shellac
and
then top-coated with some thinned poly with perhapsa little tung added.

Would there be any value to trying to "fill" divots with platinum (close
to
clear) shellac with an eye dropper (over a couple of days) to bring the
divots closer to a level surface before moving to the poly stage?

Somebody else must have tried this before. Did it work?

-Steve

I have had success by placing the pointy end of a hot iron on top of a
damp cloth that is over the indentation. Try it, you'll like it!

The Pharmer

C & S wrote:
I have a cherry coffee table top that has a tiny knots in it where the grain
reverses. In 2 spots, my planer took out a divot 3/8 of an inch across and
nearly an 1/8" deep. My guess is that that is way too much to sand out.

The finishing shedule will be two coats of tung oil, sealed with shellac and
then top-coated with some thinned poly with perhapsa little tung added.

Would there be any value to trying to "fill" divots with platinum (close to
clear) shellac with an eye dropper (over a couple of days) to bring the
divots closer to a level surface before moving to the poly stage?

Somebody else must have tried this before. Did it work?

-Steve

Thanks for the hints.

I experimented with epoxy last night. Yeah the chip shows, but I can achieve
a very level surface.

I tried filling both before and after tung oil. pre-tung seemed to highlight
trearout a bit less. Scraping the epoxy flush after an overnight curing (90
minute stuff) worked very well. I applied another wash of tung oil to see of
there would be a shadow of sealed grain from the epoxy and there is none.

I suspect that CA glue would perform about the same.

Unfortunately I do not have access to a wide belt sander.

So. My approach will be to mitigate the problem with sanding tools at hand
and follow up with epoxy.



"C & S" wrote in message
...
I have a cherry coffee table top that has a tiny knots in it where the
grain
reverses. In 2 spots, my planer took out a divot 3/8 of an inch across and
nearly an 1/8" deep. My guess is that that is way too much to sand out.

The finishing shedule will be two coats of tung oil, sealed with shellac
and
then top-coated with some thinned poly with perhapsa little tung added.

Would there be any value to trying to "fill" divots with platinum (close
to
clear) shellac with an eye dropper (over a couple of days) to bring the
divots closer to a level surface before moving to the poly stage?

Somebody else must have tried this before. Did it work?

-Steve

Gee - all the pointers in this thread are way better than my usual
approach: Bondo and spray enamel.
FoggyTown
"Cut to shape . . . pound to fit."