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I searched on filling, hiding and/or repairing cracks but most questions focussed on structural itegrity or covering the crack with an inlay design etc.

While this project I am doing with Padauk is not a guitar I have to finish it before I can start my first guitar and am using this project a warm up.

Any way I have two flat facing boards of Padauk for a furniture type of piece that have a 3"-4" crack that is in the center of each board. Both are narrow but unfortunately the widest points in the middle of each crack run all the way from front to back.

I worked Titebond into the cracks and placed each board into pipe clamps (like you would piecing a table top together) before planing and jointing and after planing and jointing the glue had not penetrated to level of the finished surface so I repeated the process.

The crack has narrowed a little more but with glue shrinkage there remains a recess.

Is there a DIY wood putty process that would allow me to mix some fine saw dust powder from the same wood for a reasonably good "cover up"?

FWIW I am not planning on any staining and will use an oil finish possibly mixed in with some shelac and wax for a warm soft luster look.

A slightly weathered look would not look out of place on this project but an obvious crack is not going to work either.

I have had no shortage of saw dust and powder from planing and joining several long boards and it seems in theory that I could mix it with something to create a runny wood colored crack sealant such as;

Egg white with a little starch?

CA?

Light colored Karo syrup?

HG?

Epoxy or CA and saw dust might work. One thing to remember is that the or epoxy will turn the fill darker than the surrounding wood. this isn't real noticable on a small fill, but if theres much width to the crack it'll really stand out.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Yup, sawdust is like wetting end-wood. Unless you have a very dark wood like EIR that has naturally occuring black streaks, the fill will show.

Could you fill in the cracks with little splices of Padauk?

I always intend to start some tests using clear epoxy and stains. If I'm not mistaken, the technique is called 'graining'. I've seen it done by experts, and I've seen some antique tables (think the Clerks desk in the House of Commons) that have had sections added on to them and you can't even tell were the joint is... Amazing results.

Hope this helps.

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Plane shavings in the proper orientation if possible.

If you haven't cut the glued-up piece to final width, I'd rip the piece right
down the cracks, joint the edges and glue it back together. Structurally, if
these cracks go all the way through, there's a good chance that down the
road they will continue to open up. MHO.
Craig S.

I think that Craig's suggestion is right on the mark. But if ripping is not possible, I have OFTEN mixed epoxy with sawdust. It is certainly darker that the surrounding wood but once you put a finish on the surrounding wood it does start to blend in a bit but the less figured the wood the more you will see it. Rip if you can as Craig suggests.

Shane

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Canada

I'd also have to agree that Craig's would be the ideal solution, but I have also done as Alain has suggested -- with padauk, no less. The splices were tight enough that, after gluing and sanding, they didn't show unless you knew where to look and what you were looking for.

Best,

Michael

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