# Filling Grooves in Table Top



## Deslattes (Apr 20, 2015)

BACKGROUND
We make farm house dining tables using pine. We typically route the edges of the boards and join them with pocket holes. We use Elmer's wood filler in the screw holes on the side of the frame, then use wood conditioner, oil based stain and a couple of coats of water based polyurethane. 

SITUATION
We have an order for a 10'x5' kitchen island countertop built exactly like our table tops. Except that they are wanting the grooves filled in and have a smooth satin finish. At first we thought no problem... we would use the Elmer's wood filler to fill in the grooves. However, we happened to feel of the frame of our own dining table and found that where the hole had been filled, stained, and sealed, it was sticking out. Almost as if it expanded and had been partially pushed out. On this particular table, we used construction grade pine. For the kitchen island we will be using furniture grade pine.

Did we do something wrong when using the wood filler?
Is there a better way to fill the grooves?

Thanks!


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

If your feeling your fills raised AND from what I've read maybe between the info and some advance knowledge is your using building/construction grade of lumber which is a higher moisture content than cabinet /furniture grade is. The wood is shrinking as the moisture content is dropping. Are you having cupping issues??? or bowing with the tops???? For interior furniture the MC should be in the 9% area when building. 

Why fill the grooves??....start square edge and glue up the countertop than sand out flat.....NO FILLING!!!


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

What grooves? Where do the grooves come from? Is this caused by the routing?

Pine is going to make an island top that will wear very quickly.

George


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Can you post a picture? It's hard for us to suggest a solution if we don't know what the grooves are. 

The only thing that sounds wrong and it probably doesn't have anything to do with the grooves is putting a table top together with pocket screws. It's much better to glue and clamp it with well fitted joints. Even better would be to include a spline in the joint.


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## Deslattes (Apr 20, 2015)

Here is a pic... i hope it shows well enough because I had to make it really small and low res to be able to load. We have built tables for a few other people. Most of them in this area want there to be grooves...some even want slight gaps.

We don't have the equipment to cut boards that long to be straight enough to join them tightly enough.

We had wondered if the issue with the wood filler was due to the moisture content in the construction grade. You can tell that the boards have shrunk some because the bread boards on the end stick out just a bit.

I had read someone say that you can use the sawdust from the same wood mixed with wood glue as a filler. It would expand and contract about the same as the boards. But they were talking about filling smaller areas so I wasn't sure if it would work for this.

We did give the person the option of pine, poplar, oak and walnut. We actually gave them the same price for pine and poplar but they chose pine due to the look of it. We did explain it was a softer wood and showed them our table that has endured many fork stabs from our little ones.


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