How do I fill in the gouge on my wooden table so it looks natural?

Question

I have a side table that I'm trying to refinish. I'm not sure how it happened but the previous owner ended up taking a chunk out of the center of the table top. It's not just an abrasion, there is an actual chunk missing. I was hoping to stain the table dark so I was wondering what the most natural looking way would be to fill the chunk missing so that its not incredibly noticeable? Any tips?

Debbie Harris · Answer

Saw dust. It's an old trick of furniture builders. mix the saw dust from the piece with stainable wood glue and fill the hole.

Dee · Answer

If you are re-doing the table with paint use bondo. You  can see examples by googling Bondo and furniture

Kim Friend · Answer

rub over the hole with a walnut kernel it wont fill it but it will be much less noticeable, if you're not happy with the look give the other ways a try.

Opal · Answer

If it is not too deep, I would try sanding down just a little and refinish from there. If it is really to deep after this I would consider have a piece of glass to fit over it. I'm really lazy when it comes to this so I would do what Kim above stated and a glass top. My glass top is 2x4 feet and was cut to fit with curves for $40 at a glass shop 6 years ago. You do want to put the little clear feet on it (The GLASS, NOT the wood) and NOT put it directly on the wood, condensation will ruin your table if you don't and the feet are really cheap at the dollar store and anywhere else in the hardware section. Here's a link to the feet on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Waxman-4215395N-Round-Bumpers-pieces/dp/B001WAK6DS/ref=pd_sim_hg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=104QG8CECJFR5F8EZA7N

Sbsb1005 · Answer

Love the saw dust idea - must store that idea away. Dont use woodfiller putty as they dont capture the stain well. If you do end up filling it I would use a fine line marker to use make a wood grain lock to match the grain of the wood

861650 · Answer

A lot of great ideas here! However, if you fill the hole and stain it and then do not like the look, paint it. You could paint the entire piece or just the top. Take your time and do not hurry. Either way, you will have a nice piece of furniture. Isn't this fun! Love this site!

Polly Zieper · Answer

To get the spot to a color to match the rest of the piece, we have a set of 3'furniture touch-up markers' that come in different shades of brown. once you fill the spot so its even(and my dad would have told me to use wood putty/filler and sand it, if he were still alive:(These markers are made by Brite Concepts in St Paul,MN,I think we got them at home depot.

Harley · Answer

It appears from the picture that this is a water or bleach stain in the finish- if a chuck was missing and the top was veneer the gain pattern would be traveling in a different direction. the biggest problem with using the same 'sawdust' and glue technic is that you will lose the gain pattern in the wood. If you are dead set on real wood finish blend the area out as little as possible to match the rest of the table and refinish.

Myrna Engle · Answer

Sometimes the stain is much more a problem than the hole. There are several ways to address the hole. I'm concerned that the staining on it, will not re-stain. Please repost so we can see the finished table.

Duv310660 · Answer

If you are set on stain, I suggest using a gel stain like General Finishes. It is more opaque than traditional stain, has a long 'open' time during which you can work it to increase depth of colour, and is easily 'wipe on, wipe off'.

How do I fill in the gouge on my wooden table so it looks natural?

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How do I fill in the gouge on my wooden table so it looks natural?

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