Filling grooves in seats

[John Woodfield]

We have a number of new (some finished some unfinished) chairs with small separations in the seat where the boards were glued together. Some are so fine a piece of paper would be tough to get in them. Others are wider wher maybe several sheets could fit in. We want to fill the gap and then paint them to hide any seam marks. The expoxy putty that comes in the tube works well on larger cavities. It's very hard to try and push it in such a small space. Using it would add strength. Is there any product that is softer that would go down in those grooves? Years ago at the Minute Man workshops we mixed sawdust with expoxy, but that doesn't seem to be the ticket here. Thank you John at Chestertown Antique.

[John Previti]

Try some hard wax from furniture color sticks. Scrape off with accredit card. Then rub with paper towel. Umayyad have to do this several times to get right.

John. Previti

Golden age cabinet

Paoli,Pa 

Sent from my iPad

On Oct 13, 2011, at 11:25 AM, "John Woodfield" <johnwo...@springnet1.com> wrote:

We have a number of new (some finished some unfinished) chairs with small separations in the seat where the boards were glued together. Some are so fine a piece of paper would be tough to get in them. Others are wider wher maybe several sheets could fit in. We want to fill the gap and then paint them to hide any seam marks. The expoxy putty that comes in the tube works well on larger cavities. It's very hard to try and push it in such a small space. Using it would add strength. Is there any product that is softer that would go down in those grooves? Years ago at the Minute Man workshops we mixed sawdust with expoxy, but that doesn't seem to be the ticket here. Thank you John at Chestertown Antique.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "WoodFinishing & Furniture Restorer's Guide" group.
To post or reply to this group, send email to woodfinis...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
woodfinishinggu...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/woodfinishingguide?hl=en

[Dogbart]

There are a number of solutions, using the tootsie roll type epoxy
will work, you indicated it was not soft enough, to make it more
pliable add heat use a hot air dryer that will make the epoxy more
pliable but you need to work quickly as it will harden very quickly.
The other solution is to use a two part epoxy like West marine 105
resin and 205 hardener mix and allow it to thicken slightly
to the point that it will act as a gap filler, overfill the gap allow
to harden sand smooth and paint. You can also use a two part five
minute epoxy like locktite (Lowes or Home Depot) Since it is already
thick when you mix just press and force epoxy in the groove. When
using two part epoxies (TIP) wear pvc gloves and pickup excess with
baby wipes, baby wipes work very well and no need for solvents the
surface will not feel tacky as with solvents you run the risk of
removing finish which is great when you want to do a repair like a
break without having to refinish, that last solution is to fill gaps
with titebond glue and sand the surface with sandpaper on a block of
wood and you now have a ready supply of sawdust created from sanding,
the sawdust will mix with the titebond glue it will fill the gap
nicely it may however shrink slightly and you may need to use a burnin
knife to complete the fill. (TIP) Also, you can use the block of
sandpaper technique with the tootsie roll material as well this is
especially useful if you want to keep the wood natural it will be
slightly darker than the surrounding area but it will not be offensive
after staining and finishing.

On Oct 13, 11:25 am, "John Woodfield" <johnwoodfi...@springnet1.com>
wrote:

[Dennis Dittman]

Hey John

I use West System 105 resin for these types of repairs. It is available from Rocklers. Buy appropriate hardener too. You can sometimes help open tight cracks by tapping a chisel into crack from bottom. Put tape under larger cracks or wait a bit for resin to thicken. You must clamp tight with pipe clamps. You can wait until resin gets hard and sand off excess, but I prefer to clean with vineger and scotch brite before it gets hard. Leave clamps on overnight. This is not a quickie production technique bust does assure me that the chairs will not be returned due to a cracked seat.

Dennis

www.antiqueresdurango.com

On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 8:25 AM, John Woodfield <johnwo...@springnet1.com> wrote:

We have a number of new (some finished some unfinished) chairs with small separations in the seat where the boards were glued together. Some are so fine a piece of paper would be tough to get in them. Others are wider wher maybe several sheets could fit in. We want to fill the gap and then paint them to hide any seam marks. The expoxy putty that comes in the tube works well on larger cavities. It's very hard to try and push it in such a small space. Using it would add strength. Is there any product that is softer that would go down in those grooves? Years ago at the Minute Man workshops we mixed sawdust with expoxy, but that doesn't seem to be the ticket here. Thank you John at Chestertown Antique.

--