# What glue to use?



## wlofton (Oct 11, 2010)

If I was going to use sawdust with glue to fill an imperfect dovetail joint, what is the best glue for this application?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

How big is the gap?

I would not use a water based glue, since they will shrink as the water dries out.

I think epoxy may work. Test whether the sawdust affects the curing. If you add too much sawdust it may impact the curing.

Another option may be hide glue although it may be darker than you want.

Another option is to cut a thin shaving of the wood, glue this to one side of the joint and then re-cut the dovetail. I read this in a recent woodworking magazine article. Not sure which one. You have the best hope of matching the wood with this method.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

wlofton said:


> If I was going to use sawdust with glue to fill an imperfect dovetail joint, what is the best glue for this application?


If, and it's a big if, you are to use glue and sawdust, white glue seems to be the least of the problems that glue will present. It may not stain or finish as the solid wood. Test the mix on a sample. 









 







.


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

Like anyone here would make an imperfect fitting dovetail, as if!


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## Bonka (Mar 24, 2011)

*Glue*

I use hide glue. It will stain/dye very well also.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

I use TiteBond II when I need to fill small imperfections in my router made half blind dovetails. But they are usually very minor and I just put the glue on the joint and stand with 100-120 grit paper and that is enough to fill them up.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I haven't used sawdust and glue for woodfiller since 1972 but we used just common carpenters glue. I now normally use packaged wood fillers but for that application of the dovetail joint I would probably mix some tinting color to bondo and fill with that. The fiberglass filler just adheres better than packaged wood putty.


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

I have done it but I mix stain with the patch up front. Only use for very minor repairs.


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## wlofton (Oct 11, 2010)

*Many Thanks!*

Thanks a bunch for the tips!

I was trying to avoid using this technique specifically because of the dried glue showing up in the finish. I tried mixing up some various wood fillers to match the color over the weekend..... I need to do some more experimenting but I think I'm getting closer. 

I wanted to see if this was a viable solution to my not-so-great dovetail joint, I had read where some have done this before. I definitely need some additional practice in cutting dovetails before trying this on a real project. 

Thanks guys! :thumbsup:


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## gomez11811 (Jul 29, 2012)

You never said how big the gaps are but, If you screwed up as bad as I did, you might want to try gluing the same-type veneer all around (I don`t know if the pic is clear enough) and re-fitting. I did this 30 years ago (the vise on my bench), and it`s still ok. I didn`t know about epoxies back then (like the West system), they would probly` work.. There`s and old saying, " A good craft`s-person is someone who knows how to fix his mistakes..."


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## tlbrooks (Apr 18, 2009)

I use a method I saw when touring a mill that makes stile and rail doors. They would use a small piece of wood of the same species and sand a knife edge onto it. Add a dot of titebound II and tap it into the gap and sand smooth while the glue is still wet. The sanding dust will stick to the glue and further fill in any tiny gaps that might be left. It works great.


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## Homewright (Nov 30, 2012)

Another option might be to use a product by Mohawk. They have a line of expoxy color fillers you can blend to make repairs to color match your project. I've used them on numerous fine furniture repairs. After you've become more familiar with how they work, you can make virtually invisible repairs. http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=3


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## Midlandbob (Sep 5, 2011)

Use a brownish glue like Lee Valley sells. Put some into the cracks and sand the area with a ROS or by hand as mentioned above.The glue will fill with the wood dust. If the cracks are thick enough you can put some veneer or very thin cuttings of the wood.
Coloured shellac sticks can be melted into the cracks or the many coloured wax sticks available in woodworking stores. 
Practice you cutting to avoid significant cracks.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Don't try to make a filler with sawdust and glue.

Cut a sliver from the same type of wood and in the same grain direction. Then use a piece of wire to get glue into the gap, glue both sides of the sliver and just gently hammer the sliver into the gap. After the glue dries, sand the joint smooth.

I've used this method many times and the big trick is to select the sliver grain to match.


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## jacko9 (Dec 29, 2012)

gomez11811 said:


> You never said how big the gaps are but, If you screwed up as bad as I did, you might want to try gluing the same-type veneer all around (I don`t know if the pic is clear enough) and re-fitting. I did this 30 years ago (the vise on my bench), and it`s still ok. I didn`t know about epoxies back then (like the West system), they would probly` work.. There`s and old saying, " A good craft`s-person is someone who knows how to fix his mistakes..."


30 or so years ago, I made my youngest son a chest of drawers out of quater sawn oak. I used the same approach to fix my dovetails. I read in one of my books it was either Frid or Krenov that showed how to cut the shim in the same direction and it essentially made the mistake disappear.


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