# Filling Small Gaps



## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

I am currently making my first cabinets for a friend, I've noticed that when I glue boards together every once in a while there will be a very small gap. 
I usually put some glue on it, wipe off the excess then sand it and that works pretty darned good, I am just wondering what you guys do/use to fill the small gaps.

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## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

Glue and sawdust works well. Sometimes I will grab some from the bandsaw or sander if It is a little bit larger gap.


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## Calzone (May 15, 2012)

In school, we call those "black holes" because of the gaping eyesore they look like when you don't do something about them, and the inevitable fractures down the road.

But when I do have a hole or anything else like that, I'll usually do what Irish says, only I use filings as opposed to fine sawdust. Makes it look more like actual grain, and I can half file lightwood, and half file darkwood to make a mix that blends well with the general tone. Real key to doing the sawdust thing right is two things
_1: if it looks like tuna fish with mayo, there's too much glue
2: put your remaining sawdust over the top of the patch, pad it in slightly and let it sit for a full 24 hours before you even think about sanding or scraping it._


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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

I do use the sawdust and glue technique, I even keep a small coffee can full of it on my bench for when the need arises.

If they are small, like VERY small, I just put some glue down, wipe the excess and sand over it and it fills the void with dust making it un-noticable (almost)


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Then there is always: "Can't see it from my house."


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The question is how small are the gaps? I'm wondering if your boards are jointed straight because they should glue together without any gaps. If this is the case then the area you are filling is places where the boards are not glued together and subject to failure later. If it is just a chip on the corner then I normally fill with wood putty.


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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

They are very small, most of them I have to look for to see, but some are not as small. 
I will try to get a picture of one today and post it

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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If you are having to look for the gaps you should be fine filling them. A lot of these guys here glue boards together and have gaps in the joints 6" long or more and think its fine. Without knowing what you had I felt I needed to make that point.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Better to spot a gap early*

If you can, always do a dry clamp up to see how the pieces fit. That's the time to fix any gaps. The problem is any glue lines or gaps filled with any combination of sawdust will not stain or finish "invisibly". Sometimes the wood checks after assembly and that calls for a filler. I had an issue like that with a Honduran Rosewood jewelry box where the book match panel on the back side started to check in several places. I was not about to take it apart, so I mixed up a dark epoxy like JB Weld, and filled the cracks. Dark works better than light in my experience since it resembles a natural condition in the grain. 

The back was exposed to direct sunlight and the color is now lighter in places. :furious: I don't want to strip it and stain it so....I donno what to do now except expose the entire area to sunlight. It was blocked by a partition which prevented the exposure to the sun, created the light and darker areas. Just explaining the coloration in the photo, not looking for answers here. :no:


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## Dave66 (Apr 6, 2012)

I've tried the glue and sawdust but didn't like it. If you're staining, the glue may not take the stain very well and the "patch" really shows up.

I've had good results using fillers such as Famo-Wood. I ignore the name on the can and use a color that most nearly matches my stain color. I've also left the "divots" alone until after staining, then filling with a matching wax crayon before applying the finish.


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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

I don't stain wood, as a personal choice I think that natural is best, so I clear polyurethane everything. 
I don't even own any stain

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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

goXtreme said:


> I don't stain wood, as a personal choice I think that natural is best, so I clear polyurethane everything.
> I don't even own any stain
> 
> Typed on my iPhone 4S using Wood Forum


 Yea but were afraid your one of these guys that stains wood in your closet.


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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> Yea but were afraid your one of these guys that stains wood in your closet.


Lol, I'm pretty sure that if I ever build a closet, I won't stain it...

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## Dave66 (Apr 6, 2012)

> I don't stain wood, as a personal choice I think that natural is best


Since my customers write the checks, I stain if that's what they want. I even paint if the price is right. - lol


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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

Dave66 said:


> Since my customers write the checks, I stain if that's what they want. I even paint if the price is right. - lol


Absolutely, if they want something stained I do it then the stain goes with the product, there is no stain on anything that I have built in my house

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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

This is the size that I am talking about. 











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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Thats a good phone to take a picture that close. 

As small as that is I wouldn't worry about it. Just putty it.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*they look tiny*

But probably nothing I would bother trying to fill. If you can drop a small amount of finish into the gap before spraying or brushing on the top coats and let the void just fill up. 
Clear epoxy or a wax filling stick would also work. Looks like two different variation of Oak, which will have natural pores within any way. No big deal in my book. :no:


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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> Thats a good phone to take a picture that close.
> 
> As small as that is I wouldn't worry about it. Just putty it.


It's the iPhone 4S. 
This is with just putting some glue down and sanding over it. 











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## Midlandbob (Sep 5, 2011)

I'm with Steve when he said preventing cracks with good joinery is best. But cracks do happen
We've all done the glue and dust thing. Small cracks get a bit of glue then the ROS run over them to add the dust.
For moe important repairs there are the wax strips like the one in the. Link below. The important technique is to apply the finish before uses the wax to get it just in the crack.
The best furniture gets shellac sticks but they are more work but give the best repair with practice because they set hard. Do a search for "shellac sticks" if you want to go that far. Bad scratches later in a piece of furniture's life can be repaired with the sticks.


-http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20069&cat=1,190,42997


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## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

woodnthings said:


> But probably nothing I would bother trying to fill. If you can drop a small amount of finish into the gap before spraying or brushing on the top coats and let the void just fill up.
> Clear epoxy or a wax filling stick would also work. Looks like two different variation of Oak, which will have natural pores within any way. No big deal in my book. :no:


I agree. Maybe hit it with a card scraper first it might just be a damaged edge/corner. It does not look deep in the photo.


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## Dave66 (Apr 6, 2012)

The gap between those boards is nothing. The contrast between them will be far more noticeable than any filler you use.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Just curious, how come you have the grain running in 2 different directions?


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## goXtreme (Jan 9, 2012)

BZawat said:


> Just curious, how come you have the grain running in 2 different directions?


I don't...

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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Ah. The thumbnail is misleading. Looks like the grain is perpendicular from the pic... haha


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