I've found that the good tub of wood dough is usually the particular only thing standing up between a destroyed project and a professional-looking finish. In case you've ever invested hours sanding down a well used oak table only to find a heavy gouge right within the middle of the grain, a person know that sinking feeling inside your tummy. It's frustrating, yet it's not the end of the world. In my workshop, I keep a few various kinds of this stuff upon the shelf because, honestly, I'm not really perfect, and nor is the wood I work with.
What Precisely Is This Things?
I usually get asked what makes wood dough not the same as those runny, lightweight fillers you see within the hardware store. Think about it like this particular: most fillers are usually intended for tiny skin pores or hairline cracks, but this dough is more like "wood inside a jar. " It's thicker, weightier, and usually includes actual wood fibers combined with a binding.
Whenever it dries, it doesn't just sit there just like a plastic material plug. It actually feels and functions a lot such as the surrounding timber. You can sand this, drill in it, and—if you're lucky—stain this to match. It's much more robust than the spackle-style additives people use for drywall. It's created to handle the particular movement of wood, which is crucial because wood breathes and shifts with all the seasons.
Selecting Your Poison: Solvent vs. Water-Based
When you go to buy some, you're basically likely to have to select between two primary "flavors. " Nor is necessarily better, but they definitely behave differently.
Solvent-Based Options
The solvent-based stuff is what most old-school woodworkers claim by. It scents like a biochemistry and biology lab, but man, it dries quick and it's difficult as nails. I reach for this if I'm functioning on something that's going to reside outside or a furniture piece that's going in order to take a lot associated with abuse, like a seat leg or perhaps an eating table. The drawback? You require acetone or a specific cleaner to get it off your tools (and your fingers), and it also can become a bit of a pain in order to work with in case it starts drying while you're still spreading it.
Water-Based Options
On the some other hand, water-based wood dough will be a lot friendlier for casual DIY projects. It doesn't have those harsh fumes, and you can clean up your putty knife with the food prep sink. If it starts getting a little crumbly in the bathtub, you can just add a couple of drops associated with water to revive it. It requires a little longer in order to dry, and it might shrink a bit more than the solvent stuff, however for most indoor repairs, it's my first choice.
The Secret to an Ideal Patch
I've seen a lot of people just smear the dough right into a hole along with their thumb plus hope for the very best. Don't do that will. If you prefer a repair that will actually disappears, you've got to become a bit more trickery.
First, constantly overfill the pit. Wood dough tends to shrink since the moisture or even solvent evaporates. In the event that you level this off perfectly while it's wet, you'll end up with a little divot once it's dried out. I like in order to leave a small mound—maybe a sixteenth of an inch—above the surface. Once it's bone dry, you may sand it clean.
Second, pay out attention to the particular grain. If you're filling a lengthy crack, try to use the dough within the direction associated with the wood materials. It sounds like a small detail, however it helps the wood fibers in the particular dough align much better with all the piece you're fixing. It makes the final outcome look way much less like a "patch" and much more like a natural part of the wood.
Does it Really Take Spot?
This will be the million-dollar query. Most brands may tell you upon the label that will their wood dough is "stainable. " In my experience, that's a bit of a half-truth. While the dough will absorb some color, it seldom absorbs it on the exact same rate since the natural wood surrounding it.
If you're dealing with a dark stain, the patch might end up looking just a little lighter. If you're making use of a light stain, the patch might look darker because it's more porous. My trick would be to always test it on a scrap item of wood very first. If the complement is way away from, I'll sometimes combine a little little bit of the actual wood stain directly into the dough before I apply it. It's unpleasant, but it works wonders for getting the base color closer to exactly where it requires to be.
Coping with the particular "Dried Out Tub" Syndrome
We've all been there. You go in order to the garage to grab your wood dough for a quick five-minute fix, only in order to find that the lid wasn't on restricted and now you might have an useless, rock-hard puck.
If it's a water-based version, you are able to sometimes save this by poking some holes in it and adding hot water, then letting it sit overnight. But if it's solvent-based and it's gone hard? It's probably toast. To prevent this, I've started storing our tubs inverted. This creates a better seal against the lid and keeps the moisture where it belongs. Another tip is to cut a small group of plastic cover and press it directly onto the surface of the dough before placing the cap back on. It's a bit of a hassle, but it'll save you 10 bucks and the trip to your local store.
Making Your own personal in a Crunch
Sometimes, also the pre-mixed stuff isn't quite right, especially if you're working with a weird species associated with wood like purpleheart or zebrawood. In those cases, We make my very own "DIY wood dough . "
It's pretty simple: a person take some good sawdust from the actual project you're working on (the stuff in the bag of your random orbital sander is perfect) and mix this with a little bit of very clear wood glue. You want to target for a regularity like thick peanut butter. Because it's made from the very same wood you're mending, the color match up is usually spot on. Just remember that this particular DIY version dries very hard and may be a little bit more hard to sand than the store-bought stuff. It also doesn't take spot very well because of the glue articles, so this is best for items that are obtaining a clear coating.
Why We Prefer It More than Putty
Individuals often confuse dough with wood putty, but they aren't the same. Putty usually stays soft for a long time and it is meant to be used after you've applied your finish. It's great for filling nail holes within trim, but it's terrible for structural repairs.
I prefer wood dough because this becomes a long lasting part of the wood. Once it's dry and sanded, you can treat it just like the particular rest of the board. You may screw into it, color it, or plane it down. It's just more flexible for the kind of "oops" moments that happen during the particular build phase of a project.
Final Thoughts on the Process
At the end of the day, using wood dough is mainly because much an art as it is usually a science. You'll probably mess up a few times—maybe you'll sand this too early plus gum up your own sandpaper, or you'll realize the color is off after you've already finished the item. Don't sweat this. Every woodworker I actually know has a tale about a "perfect" table that's in fact held together with a little bit of magic and lots of for filler injections.
Just remember in order to take your period, overfill your gaps, and always maintain that lid on tight. It's a simple tool, but when you get the hang from it, you'll question how you ever got via a project without having it. It's the ultimate back-up with regard to anyone who enjoys working with wood but hasn't very mastered the artwork of the perfect cut every individual time.