Pwalter5110 Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Alright here is the story, I am building 2 cherry tables, One sofa/hall table and the other is a coffee table. I inlayed a curly maple border into the table top of the hall table and while trying to do the same to the coffee table I wasn't being as careful as I should have been and took a huge chunk of cherry wood out of the table top where I shouldn't have. Is there any way to fix a 1/2 inch circle from my router bit without scrapping the table top and starting over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 This is one of those things which, in my experience, usually gets the same response - try to work it into the overall design. If its near one end, square it off and fill it with contrasting wood, and match it with matching accents on each of the 4 corners. If it's near the middle, see if an addition accent along the middle of each edge (along the inlay) would look nice. Worst case - flip the top over and hide it underneath. Can you post a pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted October 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Here is the picture. the quality might be a little poor, but you should be able to get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Oh my. That's pretty nasty. I think I would scrap my previous suggestion about working it into the design somehow. I tought about this after i posted - especially if it is supposed to match another piece, design changes might be tough. How many boards are glued up to make the top? You could rip (lengthwise) a few inches out of the middle the length of the top, to remove the offending chunk, and then glue it up again with a new board to take the place of the removed piece. I guess this would be a super sized "Dutchman". You would want the piece removed, and the new piece to replace it, to be wide enough to look like just another board in the gluep. Any existing profiles would nee to be matched on the new piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted October 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Here is my question. I can route out more and just make the piece of curly maple a little wider. It was supposed to be an inch wide. Do you think 1 3/4 inches would look too wide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 best part about making something is if you mess up if you work at covering it up no one will ever know the difference like john said add a little more to hide it and no one will ever know. give it a flaired corner or a extra set of inlays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onboard Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Pat, this may be a long shot, but maybe not. I ran across a WTO post on repairing an area of veneer that was sanded through to the substrate. This of course is not exactly what you are looking for, but you might want to spend a little time and read the SteveProfinisher reply to the original poster here (reply #4). Steve included two links to his site, that shows before and after photos and the proces he used to do the repair of a burnt area (literally). For the process link, click on the right arrow to move through the process. I guess you could look at it as if you had a burnt area on your coffee table and you had removed the burnt area with your router, and go from there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 It looks around 1/8" deep. Could you run the top through a planer to take 1/8" off so you are back to a smooth top? Since you are making two tables of different dimension that won't be side by side, maybe you can get away with the thinner top. Or not. Just an option. If none of these ideas in this thread seem workable, perhaps post a picture of each table and each top separately to see if someone has a design change that might work. It's kinda beyond glue-n-sawdust though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Heinbuch Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Another possibility would be to make a custom inlay because the tables are not identical one would receive the "special" treatment. This is of course depending on your comfort and skill level. I would not be ready to take on an inlay task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted October 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Thanks everyone for your input. By the way, Paul I watch all of your videos. Great content. Next video should be fixing mistakes like this . I think I am going to go with John Fitz's idea. The entire screw up is on the very first board of the table top. I could easily rip that piece off and glue a new one in its place, Just gotta match the edge profile, and inlay with extra care with time LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_in_SD Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Here is my opinion and it is just an opinion. If this is being done for yourself, and unless it was an easy and very unnoticeable fix, I would glue up another top. If you are doing this on commission then that is another story -- I would pick the path that involves the least amount of time. Think about all those times you will sit there an look at that top and notice the fix (even though most people would not notice any fix) and wish you had just replaced the thing. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Is the other table finished yet? Maybe you can come up with an inlay for the corner that will cover the mistake, and put the same inlay on the other table so they match. I hear what SD is saying, but the flip side is that sometimes mistakes or flawed materials push us out of our design or skill-set comfort-zones. You may end up having a trademark inlay in the corner of each of your pieces, because you had to do it this time and you liked it. It also makes the piece more personal. Anytime someone comments about the inlay (or just asks about the piece), you can tell the story about how the inlay wasn't in the original plan. It's one thing to say, "I made this", and another to tell a story about how you made it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Id just take a forsner bit and cut it out then make a patch. Doesnt look like the grain is going to be hard to match. If it was for a customer Id make a new top. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted October 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Beechwood, The other table is finished already. And the table I am making is just a project off the honey do list. I don't think I am skilled enough YET to sell anything I make. I do think I am just going to completely rip that board out of my table saw and glue a new piece in. I don't think anyone would ever know the wiser. Or at least that is what I am hoping. I plan on doing this as soon as all the trick or treaters are done LOL. I will post a picture of how it looks hopefully by tomorrow night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 You may be able to use your router to remove the section along the grain lines all the way off the edge, then inlay a patch. It's the crossgrain lines that really catch the eye, so if you can bring the patch to the end you might be able to make it dissappear. Another option may be to flip it over and make that the bottom of the top. You are aware that you are banding cross-grain and the problems that may arise from that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted November 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Darnell, in all honesty I don't know what problems will arise. I am extremely new to the craft so can you elaborate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Wood moves, paticularly cross grain. Humidity changes over the seasons cause the wood to swell and shrink. Typically running a strip of inlay across the grain is risky, as the substrate moves the inlay does not, fracturing it and breaking the glue joint. The wider the piece, the more the movement, the more likely the inlay will fail. You may be fine, your tables may be narrow enough to get away with it. Were I you I would try to have the grain of the inlay match the grain of the top which means working with short grain inlay, a fragile beast to try to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jHop Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 What about keeping the original design for inlay, and adding an additional, "special," piece to both cover the hole and cross over the original inlay? Admittedly, this is beyond the original question / situation. This gives you the opportunity to experiment with new techniques, too. >edit> Woops, Alberta already mentioned this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 so how well did this work out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Again, sorry for the crappy picture, not sure how to add pictures without them being too large without shading them out the way they are!?!?! Either way, Here is a picture I took after routing the banding. The new board and glue line still needed sanded at the time of the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 good work you should be able to tidy it up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 I actually just got done putting on the first coat of lacquer. If it turns out alright I will post pictures here. But I am far from a pro like a lot of guys on this site. Thanks everyone for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Pat - looks like a successful recovery! I am looking forward to seeing pics of the finished table. Can we get pics of both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 The finished coffee table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pwalter5110 Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 The hall table I made first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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