Workbench Top -- Wood Filler

[ssmith1627]

I'm pretty close to done with my top but I thought I'd run this by you guys.

There are some gaps in the top -- not horrible and I really don't think it's a big deal other than the look of the top. Do you think it's worth trying to fill those gaps before I continue sanding ?

http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v...d=146_4626_IMG

Is there a way to match the wood filler color to the top ? Or should I even bother ? Just sand and move on ? Don't want to discolor it but it'd be nice to take away some of those little gaps before I coat with polyurethane.

Thanks,
Steve

[dkhoward]

Do you have some scraps you could pass across a drum sander and then mix the dust with some epoxy or plyurethane glue? Would be a close match to the wood color.

[venkatbo]

You may want to try Durham's Rock Hard putty:
http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/hotpr...productid=1474

I've used in my ww class and its quite neat.
/venkat

[ssmith1627]

Thanks to you both for the ideas. Appreciate it.

Steve

[RickCarpenter]

I'm pretty close to done with my top but I thought I'd run this by you guys.

There are some gaps in the top -- not horrible and I really don't think it's a big deal other than the look of the top. Do you think it's worth trying to fill those gaps before I continue sanding ?

Gaps or cracks? Either way, cut a 3/16" wide strip out of 1/4" thick same wood as the top. Use a 3/16" bit and route the crack slightly less than 1/4" deep and drill several 1/8" holes down into the crack to ensure glue gets down in there. Fill the crack and holes with epoxy, and epoxy in the thin strip. Plane down. You may wish to consider using a dark wood as the filler for interest. A variation on an old machinist's trick would be to drill a say 1/2" hole at the start of the crack and epoxy in a dowel to relieve the crack and hopefully keep it from spreading. You could depress the dowel slightly less than 1/4" and fill the hole with a flat-grain wood plug. Again plane down.

[ssmith1627]

Sorry, I just saw that latest post today.

Very interesting idea -- had not even though about doing that.

They're not cracks at all -- just gaps. These are 2x4's. I ran them through the table saw so they're actually 1.5" X 3.25". But the 3" sides are still not perfect so you have places in the bench top that just don't perfectly meet. 85% of the area is just fantastic but there are certainly places with gaps like that. I'll try to take some closeup photos this weekend to show you what I mean.

Thanks for the ideas !

Steve

[Stytooner]

Actually, if its just a workbench, they have some great fillers you could use. Especially if you are just going to clear coat. Another idea is to run a saw kerf of your circular saw. Fill the void with glue and knock in a stip of wood the thickness of the kerf. Finish of later after wipping excess glue. Use a wood chisel or better yet, a flush cutting saw. Thats woodworking on a workbench.
You guys would be astounded to see what I use. Its just a painted plywood top on a very strong pine frame. It does need a cover now.


Sory Rick. I like your solution better. I just skimmed the posts and didn't grasp what you meant. My bad.

[ssmith1627]

Just so you guys can see what I'm talking about, I posted a few pics. This is not an older workbench where gaps have developed over time -- this is something I'm just building.

This is probably the worst area on the bench top:

http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v...d=147_4725_IMG

http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v...d=147_4726_IMG

And this is probably the best area:

http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v...d=147_4727_IMG

http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v...d=147_4728_IMG

Probably not worth messing with because it's not really that bad. But I appreciate the feedback on it since I've never done this before.

Thanks,
Steve