How wood you fix this?

[drunkcat]

I am making a misson style encyclopedia stand out of qs white oak. The sides are a glued up panel that tapers gently (~3 deg) down (ie the top is not as deep as the bottom).

I cut the tapers on the first side with a hand plane. In the interests of time, instead of doing the second one with the plane, I used the first as a teplate and used a bearing guided flush trim bit on the router. UNFORTUNATELY, I rocked the router at the end of the peice and took a gouge out of it. The gouge is on the bottom end of the side panel. I am having a hard time deciding how to fix this. The surface of the gouge is rough, so I dont think I could just glue a block in and plane it down.

What would you do???




Thanks!!!
Scott

[Warren]

What are you planning for a finish? Is the damage in the front or back. Murphy's law says the front. My first thought would be to do what you don't want to do. Cut a piece out and, matching the grain as close as possible, glue in a piece. If using a dark finish the splice shouldn't be noticable.

Is it possible to increase the taper without damaging the ascetics of the piece? Mission is so minimal that molding is probably out of the question.

I would also contact a furniture restorer for his input. I bet they've got some tricks that might work.

[drunkcat]

Warren,

Of course its on the front! Actually, it wouldn't take much to flip the front and back, so that will likley be soln #1.

The finish will be a "faux fume" with dye and gel stain. I dont think I want to redo the taper b/c I would have to take off quite a bit.

How would I cut the peice out? Sharp chisel? I am afraid the jig saw would make things worse. I dont have a band saw.

Scott

[crokett]

I've done something similar. What I did was take a very sharp chisel and pare the gouge smooth as you can. Then cut a piece to fit the shape of the gouge and glue it in. Match the grain as best you can. Then use chisel to plane it flush or sand it smooth. Flip it to be back side and with the stain I don't think anyone will notice.

[Warren]

I would probably us a back saw and chisel ( I know, I know . . . handtools. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do). I'd take out a piece slightly bigger than the damaged area. Then cut a piece to the exact size plus a skoosh and start to whittle it down with frequent fitting attempts. About like making your first dovetails. Sneak up on the fit until it is perfect. Glue it up, shave it flush and you're back in business.

Careful with the glue. Mistakes there will probably be more noticable than the patch when you apply finish.

Good luck!

[TheRic]

Not sure flipping would work. I'm taking the back to be straight, and the front to tapper. Flipping would reverse this.

Cheap way would be to sand the piece flat. Not just on the end but smooth it down over an area. Would anyone notice that one leg of the stand is not exactly like the others, little shorter in depth / slightly different angle, etc? Guess it depends on how far apart they are.

If someone notices, just tell them it adds character.

[JR]

I'd patch it as has been suggested by others. Assuming you can find a piece with similar grain, then you only have to be really careful where the patch meets the exposed edge. The thin side of the patch (on the side of the board) will not be too noticeable to the casual observer.

Make the patch so it's proud of the board, then plane and/or sand flush. Have a wet sponge handy during glueup to clean up the glue before it becomes a problem.

There are worse problems. You'll come out of this smelling like a rose.

JR

[Popeye]

I'd go to the closest grain line and just saw off the screwup. Cut an over sized piece of scrap and glue it on. Carefully sand and plane it to match. I don't think with QSO and the fuming you intend to do that anyone will notice. I'd bet in 3 years you may have to really think "now which side was that?" Pat

[gjat]

I've done exactly what JR posted and it worked out very well. I'd cut out the entire rectangle past the Dado, making the patch line 'in-line' with the dado cut. The eye picks up incongruities, so it won't notice the short line where the grain doesn't match. Plus, it's easier to cut and fit a square edge.
As JR suggested, if you make it a little big, you can smooth it down to match the surrounding faces.

I've also learned from my many screw-ups, you HAVE to have these little boo-boos because that is what makes our stuff hand-made, not factory made with million dollar production machines. It's not an flaw, it's a character enhancement.

[LarryG]

Could you simply narrow both side panels by the necessary amount, leaving the taper intact?

I don't know enough about the rest of the pieces and how they fit together to know whether this would work, but I do know that almost everything I've ever built came out a little smaller than originally intended.

[cabinetman]

You may not like this suggestion. You could take off a set amount off each front edge, like 1/2" or 3/4", whatever you need to get to good wood, and add a full length piece of the same wood, or maybe a different wood, just for some contrast. It might be interesting that way. Then it won't look like a repair.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Tom Miller]

How about just making the bottom ~3" vertical, rather than tapered?


Regards,
Tom

[WoodButcher26]

The difference between the amateur and the professional is how well the mistakes are hidden...

[mleichtle]

I would probably run to the wood store and redo that whole part. Patching kinda scares me, my luck the oops would just keep getting bigger and bigger, beentheredonethat. After all this going to be a signed original to be passed down for generations, right. Cabinet mans suggestion is the biggest patch I would attempt, the contrasting wood looks like you planned it that way to the average joe most of the time, giving the piece a little character.

[onedash]

unless im missing something and based on those pictures I would hit it with sandpaper. It appears to be a pretty tiny flaw.