# Recommendations for filling gaps in table top



## jgallow26 (Jan 4, 2018)

Hello all. I am building a bar height table for a customer that they requested be built out of pallets (I know I know). After choosing my boards and planing them all to the same thickness and glueing to a sheet of plywood, I need your opinions on what to use to fill small gaps and nail holes to give a smooth surface. I have to stain the top so I don't know if I should put something in before staining and varnishing or wait till after. I want to give a smooth surface that doesn't catch pens since it is going in a office. Hoping you guys can help me out.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

I wouldn't bother, that table top won't survive very long no matter what you do. You can glue solid wood to plywood like that without seasonal wood movement tearing it to pieces, either the wood will shrink and create massive gaps, or swell and warp the top


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

It's true, the boards at the very least will develop major gaps between them. It's very possible the individual boards will crack and also it's likely to cup warp. It's best to stop now and start over before you invest any more work in that top. 

Other than developing gaps between the boards if you had just nailed the wood to the plywood you might have gotten away with it. You just can't glue anything to wood that is going to restrict it from shrinking in width. 

What really needed to be done is joint and size the wood to a uniform width and the pieces glued and clamped into a solid sheet. Then it could be braced from the underside but done in a manor that would allow the wood to expand and contract. Then there would be no gaps between to boards to fill, only the nail holes. If it were solidly glued into a sheet you would have a better chance of it staying together. It's just difficult to say. Pallet wood is a lower grade of wood that isn't kiln dried. If any of the wood is still green it could really come back and bite you. If you are going to use pallet wood I would suggest buying a moisture content meter so you would have a better chance of selecting around wood that was still green. 

To answer your question there are a number of different products you can fill cracks and nail holes with. You could use a wood putty such as Famowood. It comes in a variety of different color to make it easier to stain to the desired color. If you know the finished color you can also mix a universal tinting color to bondo and use that to fill with. You just have to mix the color before adding hardener and make the color a little less red to allow for the red in the hardener.


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## jgallow26 (Jan 4, 2018)

Now I'm confused. I was told by two people on another thread that they had no problems with using the same method I did. Also I don't want to hide the cracks and holes. I want them visible, I'm looking for a clear epoxy or something just to fill the holes. Or maybe I leave it alone so it has room to grow. This picture was what the customer sent me so there has to be a way to pull this off. I'm not looking for a perfect smooth top.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

jgallow26 said:


> Now I'm confused. I was told by two people on another thread that they had no problems with using the same method I did. Also I don't want to hide the cracks and holes. I want them visible, I'm looking for a clear epoxy or something just to fill the holes. Or maybe I leave it alone so it has room to grow. This picture was what the customer sent me so there has to be a way to pull this off. I'm not looking for a perfect smooth top.


The problem is you can build most anything and have it look great. Then over time it goes to H. One of the worst things you can do when you make something to sell is to have something go bad and have them bring it back to you. Not only does it cost you, it gives you a bad reputation even if you replace the table with another new one. Gluing solid wood to plywood is just breaking a basic woodworking rule and to do so you invite the project to go south on you. Maybe you might get lucky and nothing will happen but I feel like I should warn you. 

It's just a basic rule of woodworking that wood shrinks the more it dries. Even kiln dried lumber will shrink the more it dries. It just never completely dries so you have to build a project in a manor to allow it to do that. Some of these guys will build a table with a breadboard end and glue the end on. Then they start asking questions as to why the top is splitting. You just can't do anything that restricts the wood movement. 

The places that sell a pour on epoxy finish have a filler epoxy which you could fill voids with. It has a thicker consistency so it wouldn't just run out like the pour on epoxy would.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Is there any chance that you glued the boards to the plywood using epoxy?


If you did, I *might* feel better about its chances if it were completely encapsulated in epoxy. Underside (if glued with epoxy), top and ends


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