Compliments of SALADO SAWMILL
Handcrafted Furniture
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Fixing Scratches and Cracks
No matter how hard you try, it is inevitable that the surface of your
woodworking project will have a scratch or dent in it. Or you might
have a hairline crack where two surfaces are joined. If you fill these
blemishes with wood filler, the filler creates an area that is of
different density than the rest of the wood surface, and will not stain
to the same color.
Master Craftsman, Robert Pascoe has developed a technique that fills the blemish with stainable material.
1. Sand the surface and capture the sanding dust. This is easy with
most of today's power sanders as they have a dust collector built in.
2. Fill the crack, scratch or dent with yellow wood glue. Be generous, it will be worked into the blemish in the following step.
3. Immediately sprinkle the sanding dust captured in step one onto the glue.
4. Mix the dust and glue together with your finger, making a paste.
Work this paste into the blemish with your finger. Again, be generous,
the excess assures that the blemish is filled and it will be removed in
the next step.
5. Now, before the paste dries, sand the area smooth. Sanding while the
paste is still wet forces additional sanding dust into the blemish.
This step will clog your sand paper, and it will not be usable for
general sanding after using it. As a result, I always use an old piece
of sandpaper that's on its last legs for this step.
Since the blemish is now filled with a mix that includes particles of
the same wood as the rest of the project (the sanding dust) it will
take a stain well and blend with the rest of the surface.
This technique will work when you are refinishing as along as you
remove the old finish prior to step one. In any case, it is important
to use the sanding dust from the same surface you are repairing. For
example, using oak dust on a pine surface will not create the same
surface density. Also, using dust from "new" wood on a refinish project
will not generate the same background color for the stain.
It might take some time to generate the right mix of glue and dust, so go ahead, and give it a try!
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