Wood filler

[Dan S]

What do y'all use for wood filler? I have some countersink holes to fill on a visible part of a project that needs to be stained and I don't want them t o stick out. This is finishing a pre kreg jig project.

[Ken Darga]

One common method is to use a powder-style wood filler mixed with the applicable color stain.

[Jay Boutwell]

Hi Dan, I use sanded dust from the same type of wood and if possible I will use wood from the same piece if I have a cut off or some scraps.  I mix the dust with wood glue and apply it to the hole and then sand it by hand to final finish.  If the couner sunk holes are big enough and deep enough I cut a plug from the same wood and glue it in and then handsand to finish.  I normally use a 3/8 counter sink cutter and then cut a 3/8 " plug

[Rick]

An easy way to collect matching wood dust (also called wood flour) is to use a random orbital sander with built-in dust collector.  Jay, don't you find that the wood glue changes the color of the patch, making it lighter?

[Jay Boutwell]

Hi Rick, yes it will be lighter and what I try to do is to use a darker color of the same species of wood and get some dust from there.  When I mix the glue with the dust I try to fill the void with the mixture and force in some of the lighter wood on top and then sand it off.  Sometimes I will use some dark wood mixture.  There are cases where I do a trick I learned along time ago and that is to tatoo the patch after it dries and then work in some of the finish stain into the patch and let it dry and then steel wool it off.  Of course that is always the option of making the patch into a high light or feature in the wood something like an enlay.  The good thing is there is always a method to get around the problem and sometimes it takes some thinking and trial.
 
Rick said:

An easy way to collect matching wood dust (also called wood flour) is to use a random orbital sander with built-in dust collector.  Jay, don't you find that the wood glue changes the color of the patch, making it lighter?