# Should I fill between boards in my pine tabletop?



## Jeramiah

Hello all,

New user and have been lurking in the forums for a while now.

I'm new to advanced woodworking but have a few basic projects under my belt. By no means a pro but have assembled and finished a few tables that didn't require me to clamp, glue/screw the tabletop.

I am building a kitchen table out of pine. I'm actually almost done and am working on the tabletop which consists of mostly 2x6's and 2x2's.

The edges are not ripped flat as, when I started the project, I wanted more of a farmhouse table than a perfectly flat surface.

Today I am considering the benefits of a flat surface and trying to accomplish that without doing some sort of bar finish.

Here is what I'd like to do:

Take wood filler, fill up and sand flat the entire tabletop including the space between the boards. 
Note: The boards are flush but the edges are still rounded so there is a small space. The boards are screwed/glued together so it's not coming apart.

If I fill in between the boards is there something I should be aware of?
Is this a common practice and I'm just over complicating things?

Thank you for reading this and I look forward to your responses.

Jeramiah


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## Steve Neul

The rounded corners on construction lumber should have been jointed off for a table top. If the top has been glued together with the rounded corners on it I would leave it like it is.


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## Jeramiah

I agree that I "should" leave it as it is.

My question though is, is there anything I should be aware of if I attempted to fill that gap with wood filler, sand, stain and seal it?

Thank you for the reply though. I am considering just leaving it, but I really am curious what the community thinks of what I am wondering about.

Jeramiah


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## Rick Mosher

Make a sample the same as the top, finish it and see if you like how it looks.


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## Steve Neul

The problem with filling a gap like that is the wood moves and what ever filler you use would always be cracked. You would have to apply the filler a little at a time in layers letting each layer dry. Once filled it could be sanded off and stained and finished. 

The only way to have a chance of filling it would be to use a router and dado a groove across the joint and glue a strip of wood in it. It still could crack but would certainly look better than any filler.


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## mako1

Sounds like you used construction grade lumber to build a table?It is what it is.
Construction grade lumber has a higher moisture content than cabinet grade and may shrink and twist,cup and bow while acclimating to the MC in your home.Fillinf the gaps will be pointless IMO and would not stain or look anything close to the rest.
Hopefully it will be a good learning experience for you.


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## woodnthings

*I'm confused by this ...*



Jeramiah said:


> Hello all,
> 
> 
> The *edges* *are not ripped flat* as, when I started the project, I wanted more of a farmhouse table than a *perfectly flat surface*.
> 
> Today I am considering the benefits of a *flat surface *and trying to accomplish that without doing some sort of bar finish. Jeramiah



Flat edges vs flat surface....?

AS suggested above if the edges are still rounded over like the construction lumber often comes, then you will have "V" groove gaps that are rounded over. You have no recourse but to leave them, since anything applied will either separate or not adhere well.

If you ripped the edges square and removed the rounded over portions, the the gaps will just be narrow slots. The slots can be filled with a caulk, wood putty, an additional narrow strip, or epoxy etc. None of these will look like an "authentic" farm house table. However, I can see the advantage of using something to fill the gaps for hygenic reasons to keep crumbs and such out of them. Rick Moser's suggestion to make a sample and test out the different ideas is a great idea. A clear caulk or epoxy would be the less obtrusive. A caulk will move better than a harder filler, like putty or epoxy.

Leaving them as is, but using a filler to seal them off at the very bottom and wiped off to leave a remainder would probably be my approach. It would still look authentic, but retard the accumulation of crud in the gap. :yes:


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## Jeramiah

Thank you for the responses, I appreciate them. I have my answers.

To answer the confusion. I am following an online woodworking plan to make a farm table. My experience is limited and following the plan to the letter, I realized, too late, that it didn't take into account the future possibility of crumbs in cracks.

Thus my question. Thank you all for the advice. I'll pop back in when I'm done and let you see how it turns out. :thumbsup:


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## hawkeye10

I would think even if you had squared the edges the wood would dry and open up so I say just stay with what you have.

Don


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## gmcooter

I fill cracks with sawdust created while I am sanding what I am working on. I mix it with the varnish I am going to finish with. I fill the cracks,holes.flaws etc. and let dry then lightly sand it before I finish. It blends in well. gmcooter i


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## kwburcham

J, I have made a few of these tables, and after the first couple ending up just as yours has, I bought an electric hand planer and ran it across the sides a couple times to give it a squared edge. The next few tables have come out beautifully and it still has as rustic a feel as you want without the gaps for crumbs and such! Good luck!


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## Jeramiah

I had forgotten about this thread and all of the amazing help and advice I'd been given.
I thought I'd come back and let you know what decisions I made and how the table turned out.
Ultimately I decided it was too late to try and undo my initial rookie mistake of not planing the edges and decided to just go with it.

The end result was much better than I had expected and my wife loves it like it is.

Thanks again for all your help.

I use this as the base of my project.
http://www.ana-white.com/2012/06/plans/fancy-x-farmhouse-table

Jeramiah


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## Jeramiah

Once I'd made it, and my wife approved, she asked if I could make a 4' square duplicate of it to use as an extension for upcoming thanksgiving we were hosting.
I didn't take as many pictures of the small one, but here's what I have.
I do have a few more pics of the building process of the big table, if anyone would like me to post them up I can. But don't want to spam. 
Here are the results.
The first table was 8' long and the second 4' for a grand total of 12'. They just butt up against each other and are so solid that I didn't have to fabricate any kind of connection between the two.

Jeramiah


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## mikewizhousekey

J,

You never mentioned how you filled the gaps... I ran into the same issue and was curious if there was a fix. I have seen many people suggest mixing sawdust with the stain and then glue... but I am not too sure about this. I am thinking about leaving the gaps.

Mike


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## jldupreeiii

Ive built this very same table. He ripped out the seam with a router to make the gap even then filled it with a wood inlay. Not a bad idea, I think I'm going to follow suit.


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## DSLHtables

My suggestion would've been to put a board underneath the joint edges of the table (if gap goes through) and get Clear level setting epoxy to fill. That way you can keep the clean look but it will provide a surface to the gaps. Just my opinion but everyone has their own creative ways, that's why I LOVE woodworking.
Happy sawin'


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## Cowboy18

I think the table looks pretty darn good, considering the matieral used.


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## Bluenote38

Looks great!! I think you needed the cracks/grooves to make it look more authentic - well done!


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