Hi all - I made a table for my camper, and at the very end of the process, when attaching the mount to the bottom, I accidentally drilled a hole right through it. Super frustrating. Does anyone have any ideas of tbe best way to cover up / hide such a hole?
Drill larger, say 1 1/2"or so shallow hole with a Forstner bit and put a plug inlay in it. that way it looks like you did it on purpose for a decoration….contrasting color would enhance that idea. You could get carried away with that idea and make a ring of plugs inlays around the outer perimeter of the table. You will need a hole saw or something similar to make the plugs.
Also you could use a router with a template guide to cut the shallow hole and also make the inlay. Wood working stores sell a kit for this purpose. Here is a picture of Rockler's ($39) Make a template the size you want then You route out the shallow recess for the inley and then take the small ring guide off and cut an inlay out of the what ever wood you choose for a filler. I usually cut the inlay about 1/8" deep in a thicker piece of wood then slice it free on the table saw.
To plug the hole sharpen a square of the scraps in your pencil sharpener. It going to be end grain and noticeable so you have to use your Artistic skills to fill in the torn up areas. Try to make it look like a knot
Good Luck
Alternatively, if you have a lathe, scrape some sawdust off an offcut or go ape******************** with some 40 grit sandpaper on another offcut and make some sawdust… mix with pva glue or ca and overfill the hole… sand level and Bob's your mother's brother!
+1 Decorative plug
Drill the hole out to 1/2" and cutting the patch with plug cutter on top of a small pin knot in another board, making it look just like the one nearby. The color/pattern of wood helps hide it.
Because of tear out around the hole, and the location being a light spot in middle of unique grain pattern, I would consider manually using a chisel to cut a small 'V' shaped slot in the lighter wood between the dark sections, and insert a 1/8" wide splinter of similar colored wood as patch.
When you make as many mistakes I do, you learn all kind of ways to fix stuff. BTDTGTTS
Easiest fix there is. Choose from hard fill, burn-in, epoxy putty or Timbermate. The important thing is to obscure the repair so that it blends in and doesn't catch the eye. Check out this blog post to see an example on a much larger hole.
With the tear out it might be tough to do a plug, but that would be my first approach… I have had a full set of plug cutters, for doing cross grain plugs, for years and used the living heck out of them.
Although, I did recently purchase one of those inlay bit sets that LesB showed above. It works perfectly. But, being a new tool in my arsenal, I might not always think of it first. The nice thing is, you could shape it so it blends in better than a simple plug. You could try to find a piece that has similar grain, and match it up the best you can.
Going in a camper, not a museum right? The coin is nice, or a circle of all sizes of current coins. Or epoxy or laminate. Many good ideas, your call.
You could spend more time and money on the repair than on the table.
Nah. That's maybe a 20 minute job requiring less than $10 worth of material IF you know what you're doing. That's a big if though. Actually it's more like pennies worth of material, but if you don't have it on hand you'll have to buy it.
It's plywood, correct?
Plywood isn't going to hold up well as a table surface. Any restaurant I've visited that had plywood tables, the veneer was lifted and it looked rather bad.
To be honest, this little incident has saved the day. Cover it in Formica laminate and enjoy a functional table for the next 25 years.
I can't believe some suggested to cover it up. That's just another way of sweeping dirt under the rug.
Any craftsman worth his salt has been in your spot many times. Fixing slips of the hand or mind is something that happens naturally. The only way to gain experience and make a invisible repair is to try.
Hiding it under a napkin holder last resort after your repair doesn't pan out.
If money is spent on router bits and inlay templates it could cost more than a new top. For a camper, the Formica would be a practical choice. I was not saying to sweep it under the rug. Pick up a plug cutter and matching bit. Make a plug from the scrap from the project if you still have it for the best match.
I wouldn't worry about it. The hole is so small that you can use any filler material and sand smooth. It won't show, and will look like a "blemish" in the wood.
I wouldn t worry about it. The hole is so small that you can use any filler material and sand smooth. It won t show, and will look like a "blemish" in the wood.
Agreed, and after a couple weeks of camping will probably be the smallest blemish of all.
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