# DIY Wood Filler



## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

I plan on making wood filler to fill countersunk screws in Red Oak. I plan on using Red Oak sanding dust. I had read an article that liquid hide glue was the best glue to use. I will be finishing with an oil base polyurethane.
Thank You for your opinions.
Also, any commercial fillers that would do the job?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

I usually use clear drying wood glue and sometimes urethane... 
the finer the swarf the better and the pastier the mix the better...
even have used shellac and lacquer...
experiment...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

I used to get mine from the Hardwood Floor wholesaler. One gallon cans though.
I'm pretty sure the liquid ingredient was lacquer.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Famowood makes filler that is toned for various color woods and red oak is one of them. The mantle factory I worked at used it and it worked well. One thing I figured out to make the patches invisible was to take a pencil and pencil the grain lines through the patched area.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Famowood makes filler that is toned for various color woods and red oak is one of them. The mantle factory I worked at used it and it worked well. One thing I figured out to make the patches invisible was to take a pencil and pencil the grain lines through the patched area.


as does Mohawk and TimberMate...
and colored pencils are a plus...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I use Shellac as that is what I coat over it with. I tried lacquer but it dried too fast. Used to use glue, but it showed thru the finish coat. Good idea to trace the grain pattern across the plug.

Herb


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

It really doesn't cost a lot to get into making hide glue. I bought a double broiler at Wal-Mart for $20 and some small glass jars. You can make up a batch and what you don't use you can freeze.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

hawkeye10 said:


> It really doesn't cost a lot to get into making hide glue. I bought a double broiler at Wal-Mart for $20 and some small glass jars. You can make up a batch and what you don't use you can freeze.


I hadn't considered making my own. I had seen some liquid hide glue in the hardware store....in the same type of squeeze bottle as the other yellow and white glues.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

hawkeye10 said:


> It really doesn't cost a lot to get into making hide glue. I bought a double broiler at Wal-Mart for $20 and some small glass jars. You can make up a batch and what you don't use you can freeze.


some body's critter is going to be running around naked...
might as well give them the recipe...

Making Hide Glue

Scrape, sand or cut your animal hide into small pieces or shavings. (The closer to powder you can make it, the easier it will be to work with)
Boil a pot of water
Gently cook until the mixture thickens. You will have to replace the water as it evaporates. (this process will take forever, some people cook it for days at a low heat)
Strain the mixture with an old T-shirt or cheese cloth.
The mixture can be used as is, or Dried for storage.

How to Store Hide glue

Pour the mixture into a metal cake pan or metal sheet. (1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)
When the mixture dries to a gelatin consistency, cut it into 1 inch square chucks.
Let the mixture set for another week.
Pop the squares out of the pan.
With a thick needle, run some string through the squares and hang dry for at least another week.
Store in a waterproof container. ( If kept dry the dried squares can be stored forever.)

Using Dry Hide Glue

To use the glue, take your dried chucks and dissolve them in a small amount of hot water. Let it heat up into a syrup, and then apply the mixture warm. Clamp your wood together and let it set. You’re now good to go.


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> some body's critter is going to be running around naked...
> might as well give them the recipe...
> 
> Making Hide Glue
> ...


What type of animal? Will I get into trouble with PETA?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> What type of animal? Will I get into trouble with PETA?


use their hides...
and you will...

any hide you have available AFAIK...
we use elk mostly...
The smell is is a bit strong so doing this outside is good plan... 
we cheat and use a cheese grater to get a lot of fines...
if you boil the fines too far ant have a paste instead ogf a liqid it's way harder to strain out the solids...
if you heat up the strained liquid you will cook off the water and the glue will become stronger...

ANIMAL HIDE GLUE


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I understand a lot of the woodturners use Crazy Glue and fine sawdust. Make your own? No prob. FRETS.COM 
Or, google something like 'hide glue from gelatin'.
Want PETA's OK? Should be no problem there, in fact they'll probably make you a good price.
https://www.google.com/#q=peta+killing+pets


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> use their hides...
> and you will...
> 
> any hide you have available AFAIK...
> ...


I don't have and hides....no Elk here...mostly squirrels and chipmunks. There's a dog in the neighborhood that barks late at night....would that work?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> I don't have and hides....no Elk here...mostly squirrels and chipmunks. There's a dog in the neighborhood that barks late at night....would that work?


let us know how they work out......


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> let us know how they work out......


Will do. Stay tuned. A huntin' I will go.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> Will do. Stay tuned. A huntin' I will go.


oh-tay...
use the cheese grater like a scraper...


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> oh-tay...
> use the cheese grater like a scraper...


Is it safe to tell my wife that we can just wash it afterwards and use it to grate cheese again?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> Is it safe to tell my wife that we can just wash it afterwards and use it to grate cheese again?


when are you going to lean that there are times when silence is golden...

used the wife's electric tooth brush for years to clean my firearms...
see.. silence is golden...
some one at one time said that it's easier to get to forgiveness than it it is to permission...
except when it comes to the wife...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

"Dear; the mac and cheese tastes funny...kinda sticky too."


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> when are you going to lean that there are times when silence is golden...
> 
> used the wife's electric tooth brush for years to clean my firearms...
> see.. silence is golden...
> ...


I didn't believe them when they said 'If you want to know what your wife will be like when she gets older just look at her mother'. I didn't learn my lesson then.
Is not being able to get a word in and golden silence the same thing?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> I didn't believe them when they said 'If you want to know what your wife will be like when she gets older just look at her mother'. I didn't learn my lesson then.
> Is not being able to get a word in and golden silence the same thing?


you got a point...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DaninVan said:


> "Dear; the mac and cheese tastes funny...kinda sticky too."


if you used Velveeta ..
it does and will be...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Maybe we should have listened to her mother too to get the whole picture.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*Rewind*



Cherryville Chuck said:


> Maybe we should have listened to her mother too to get the whole picture.


Much _much_ too late. :'(


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## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

I use clear glue & sawdust from the same wood. Haven't had a problem with it showing through.


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

Or buy animal hide glue online - that's what I did.
In a pinch you could use Knox unflavored gelatin....


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## tacomamacxtech (Mar 31, 2009)

Why not make plugs from the same wood you are using? It will be a perfect match. If you are careful, you can closely match the grain.


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

It is interesting to know that a particular first undercoat is applied on the canvas before painting, and it is made by long boiling of rabbit hides. In the fine art materials market it is found with its French name, "chardin" : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-skin_glue

Animal hide glue is also a fundamental material in traditional book binding, but this is often ixed with tendon and cartilage glue, and needs to be warmed up. Another old glue, far superior, comes from fish skins and fins, and its horrible smell has always been impossible to bear. 

Given the existing technology, I have not found a convenient filler that will fill holes in the wood and stay there , without cracking or contracting in the middle, so I experimented myself with ordinary wood glue (transparent when set) and saw dust, of various sizes, the finest being from a 150grit belt sander. The result looks plastic-ky when hardened stained and varnished, and it is far inferior to any dutch-style wedge inserted and leveled with grain matching, and coming from the same wood type. But of course this technique of plugging the void with a splinter cannot be applied everywhere. In the end, personal experience and trial and error, rather than a standard formula, will determine what must be done.

Greetings to all


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

tacomamactech said:


> Why not make plugs from the same wood you are using? It will be a perfect match. If you are careful, you can closely match the grain.


I will be using the screws on a prefinished hardwood floor. I would like to make the plugs from a piece of the flooring but getting the plugs flush could be a problem....sanding them or using a chisel to get them flush could damage the surrounding floor. I would have to make them the exact thickness needed or slightly thinner than needed.


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## jeff.fredrick (May 20, 2010)

Use a Japanese flush cutting saw on your plugs. It wont mar the surrounding surface and are great to use.

Regards Jeff


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

c3jrf said:


> Use a Japanese flush cutting saw on your plugs. It wont mar the surrounding surface and are great to use.
> 
> Regards Jeff


use a DVD as a shield...
use paring chisel to finish...
or one of these babies...


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## JIMMIEM (Apr 4, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> use a DVD as a shield...
> use paring chisel to finish...
> or one of these babies...


OK..Just need to get a plug cutter and one of those planes.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JIMMIEM said:


> OK..Just need to get a plug cutter and one of those planes.


that will work and a decent pull saw too....

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=70929&cat=1,230,41182,48945&ap=1


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

got the Wood River version of that lil fellow  Works very well...just gotta be careful not to try and bite off more than it can handle...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TwoSkies57 said:


> got the Wood River version of that lil fellow  Works very well...just gotta be careful not to try and bite off more than it can handle...


trim down w/ a pull saw 1st...
drop an old DVD/CD over the plug to act as shield for the finished surface when you trim it down w/ the pull saw and then hit w/ a trimming plane or paring chisel..


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

me gots a Bridge City Tool works flush cut that is just tooooooooooooooooooooo sweet  

I use the trim plane mostly on glue joints.....


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TwoSkies57 said:


> me gots a Bridge City Tool works flush cut that is just tooooooooooooooooooooo sweet
> 
> I use the trim plane mostly on glue joints.....


ouch...
use this one instead...
Veritas® Flush Plane - Lee Valley Tools


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> ouch...
> use this one instead...
> Veritas® Flush Plane - Lee Valley Tools


I've mulled that lil fellow more than a couple of times. I'd have no problem finding a spot for it


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TwoSkies57 said:


> I've mulled that lil fellow more than a couple of times. I'd have no problem finding a spot for it


for clean up it works great..
and cheap too...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> for clean up it works great..
> and cheap too...


Somewhere along the line, I ran across plans for a trimmer. The guy used a nice block of walnut, flattened the sole, added an aluminum hook to the back. Then put a couple of heavy duty magnets into the sole and used an old but deadly sharp Stanely blade. The only problem think he had was when he grabbed a corner, thenthe blade wanted to twist..


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## Dimitri M (Oct 4, 2011)

Fitting dowels (or dowel plugs) flush with the surrounding wood, is always easy and 100% accurate with a straight bit and a plunge router. Place a dowel about 5mm higher than the flat surface. Take a very small piece of paper (the usual A4 for printers) and fold it in half. Put the router with a straight bit on, on your otherwise flat wooden surface (if it is not flat get ready for surprises) and plunge the bit onto the paper with the motor OFF. Lock the plunger. This way your cutter tip is just higher than the flat surface, by twice the paper thickness. Routing the protruding dowel to this level leaves the dowel looking flat both to the eye and to the touch. I am grateful to the old English-speaking woodworker (can't remember , maybe it was on Yuotube) who demonstrated this and sved me an eon of agony whether the saw-off would be so precise, like an execution of the dowel head by japanese sword rules ... I was aved, because I use dowel all the way, as many of you know.

Yet, the cross-grain of birch dowels always looks definitive on a wood surface. Glue, if permanent, may show around like egg white spilled, or if water-soluble, may swell the dowel later if it sneaks through. Etc ... there is no end - there is no perfection, GET TO LIKE THE IMPERFECT LOOKS AND CALL THEM "CHARACTER"

Best wishes


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

JIMMIEM said:


> I hadn't considered making my own. I had seen some liquid hide glue in the hardware store....in the same type of squeeze bottle as the other yellow and white glues.


Jim so much of the time hide glue that is bought in the store is either out of date or nearly out. It is also not as good. Do some research on the net and you will find a lot of information.


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