# What kind of Wood Filler should I use?



## volunteers (Mar 4, 2011)

I made all the mortises and tenons by hand. There are some gaps/holes there. I would like to fill them before sand and paint.
I bought ELMER's Carpenter's Wood Filler from Homedepot. Unfortunately it didn't work as I expected. It works like plaster or chalk, too soft to fill in the mortise. I used to use sawdust and glue, which worked fine. I wonder if there are any professional things to do this job. Thanks.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Will Not Shrink 

Amazon.com: Durham Donald Co 4Lb Wtr Putty 169 Wood Putty: Home Improvement

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volunteers said:


> I made all the mortises and tenons by hand. There are some gaps/holes there. I would like to fill them before sand and paint.
> I bought ELMER's Carpenter's Wood Filler from Homedepot. Unfortunately it didn't work as I expected. It works like plaster or chalk, too soft to fill in the mortise. I used to use sawdust and glue, which worked fine. I wonder if there are any professional things to do this job. Thanks.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

The approach depends, in part, on where the "gaps and holes" are. Gaps "inside" the mortice and tenon are probably best fixed by gluing veneer onto the tenon, and then fettling the fit. Gaps between the shoulder of the tenon and the face of the morticed piece can be filled with wood (or, non-wood) putty of various sorts, but the fill is likely to show. In some cases, epoxy might also be worth considering. One could also re-square the shoulder and glue in thin strips of the same (or even contrasting) wood to fill the (now uniform) gap.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

You can get stain sticks from the craft store and they will almost make the wood filler almost disappear .

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## RJM (Apr 11, 2010)

I use Durhams Water putty all the time. It won't take stain well. You may be ablr to mix stain with it so you get the desired final color when it dries but you'll need to experiment.

Home Depot sells it (paint section).


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

There is nothing harder than Epoxy resin wood filler.


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