When I took Woodworking 101 in the eighth grade of high school I was allowed to use very sharp chisels and high speed machinery after we passed a safety test. In this class we were expected to build a project each semester. Of course we all made mistakes and had to deal with these as well as we could. The instructor, Mr. Landus, would tell us to help each other and try to figure out for ourselves how to repair our projects.

My bench-mate was constructing a bookshelf out of white pine and was gluing the bookshelf up when one of the knots fell out of a side board, which he didn't notice until the next day of class. Because of the way the piece was joined together the knot couldn't be reinserted so this void had to be filled...what to do?

Since the void was on the small side, he decided to reshape the void using chisels so he could inlay another piece of wood and glue it in place for the next day. The next day he worked on the repair, shaving it down with a chisel, getting it just right so he could begin his finishing process. It was a solution that worked for him.

Fast forward to college, where in last month's finishing tip , I mentioned that I worked for a fellow named Otis in order to feed myself. One day I came to work and Otis was in the shop, belt sanding on an old white pine primitive piece with a worn 220 belt on the sander. As I was standing there he was rough cutting a plug to fill in the void on the top which was irregular in shape and about a 1/2" deep. I thought...that'll never work. He applied a little Titebond Glue to the void and then I watched him smash the plug in place with a rubber hammer...but it was still not going in all of the way.

I thought it was time for the chisels, but no, Otis picked up his old belt sander and sanded the plug flat and it looked just great. The time it took to repair, from start to finish, was maybe 45 seconds.

Alan can be reached directly via email c/o Alan Noel Furniture Refinishing at anoelfurniturere@bellsouth.net . You can also visit Alan's website by CLICKING HERE .

Visiting Atlanta? Attend one of Alan's upcoming highly informative Highland Woodworking wood finishing seminars:

September 9, 2017  Finishing 101
September 20, 2017  French Polish Workshop
September 23-24, 2017  Antique Restoration
October 7, 2017  Spray Finishing
October 11, 2017  Finishing the Finish