Filling voids?

[Jim Bennett]

I’m in the process of turning a decorative bowl made from laminated plywood scraps. So far it is coming along as I had hoped. The outside shaping is nearly complete. I notice that, due to the nature of plywood, there are a couple small, 1/8 - 1/4 inch voids on the edges. What do you folks recommend the best way to fill ‘em up? I was thinking maybe mixing some of my turned shavings with a bit of glue and pressing it into the voids before final sanding. But, what would be best - something like Titebond II or CA?

Thanks, Jim

 

[Lamar Wright]

There are many ways that you can choose to fill voids in wood. As for which is best.....that is subject I suppose. The ones you mentioned will work nicely. You could also use epoxy mixed with a medium of your choice.

For myself it depends on the bowl. Some bowls with inclusions I just leave alone especially if it is a burl. On large cracks I sometimes use crushed turquoise or some other semi precious stone.

As you stated saw dust with glue works very well. Small cracks I mainly use CA. With the small voids that you mentioned I believe that I'd just fill with saw dust. Hope this helps and good luck.

.....Lamar.....

 

[stu senator]

I recently did a small vase from plywood. As I was going to use dye to color it I just used a filler, bondo. This was reddish but with the dye it was OK .

Stu

 

[Richard Coers]

If you are talking about veneer voids, I'd rip some strips of similar wood to the veneer thickness and glue those in. The repairs will be virtually invisible and a closer color match than putty or sawdust.