What to use to fill small hole in jarrah.

[Forrest]

I recently made a cutting board that has amogst other timbers, jarrah strips. I've sanded & oiled the board, after which I noticed that on one of the jarrah strips, a small dark spot, almost black. In the centre of this is a very small hole, maybe 0.5 - 1mm wide by 2-3mm long. Its not deep, again maybe 1mm, but I would like to fill it, given that its going be used to prepare food... dont want bits of raw chicken or anything getting stuck in there :(
Just wondering what people here would reccomend using to fill it. I was going to go out and just get some jarrah or even black coloured wood filler, but thought I'd check in here first for some more experienced opinions.

Cheers,

Shane

[Richardwoodhead]

Shane, if you do a search re filling you find lots of commentary regarding filling options. But my initial thought was you'll need to sand back then fill with a 2-pack epoxy resin (like West System) after ensuring the hole is "clean" of oil. Then sand back smooth. Then re-oil.

Good luck with it.

Richard

[seriph1]

I know you may not want to, but it seems to make sense to thickness it out.

[Lignum]

Or enlarge it with a small chisel and glue another small peice in and re sand:)

[DJ’s Timber]

G'day Forrest

I use the aradite that comes in the 2 part plunger when I need to mix up a small amount
It is the same as epoxy resin and drys clear
It saves trying to mix some up out of a 1 litre can

Cheers DJ

[BobL]

As already suggested epoxy resin is one solution. A potential problem is not all epoxies will sand quite as well as others. I had some "old" araldite that produced a nice hard epoxy that would sand really well. Last year when I ran out I bought some new stuff and it does not appear to be the same or sand as well, it seems to be remaining soft for a long time. Maybe I am not being accurate enough with equal quantities. Unfortunately I threw out the old tubes and don't know what the old stuff was. Am currently experimenting with epo-clear that I got based on reading this thread
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=15248

[Bodgy]

I'd go with the epoxy, but I'd colour it. There's usually some black bits in Jarrah or you could go with matching the colour. I use brickies oxide for black and tubes of artist paint (water based) for other colours. Burnt Sienna is almost exactly Jarrah.

[Lignum]

But is it wise to have tough epoxy on a cutting board surface. I know my knives wouldnt think so.

[Forrest]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunately I don't have a thicknesser so thats not really an option... would have been nice when trying to get the blasted thing flat too!
I was thinking of some sort of epoxy, but I'm unsure if it's toxic or not, not sure it would be a really big deal re: blunting knives as it really is a tiny gap to fill but it's definately a consideration... maybe I'll give it to mum, she has crap knives :)
I'll post a pic.. you will all prob all tell me im nuts worrying about such a small hole, but every time I look at it I just feel the overwhelming urge to fill it :(

[Lignum]

maybe I'll give it to mum, she has crap knives :)


Mums get all the rejects:D

[Gumby]

mate, that's part of the character of the wood. Forget about it and start something else. Then again, in a cutting board i suppose you should fill it up. But don't get too serious. Try something and see how it goes. We all make mistakes. That's how we learn.

[Flowboy]

Hi Forrest,

Epoxy seems to be the go, even with the associated problems.
I have used with success, the following;

Collect some of the Jarrah sawdust and mix it with a non toxic aqueous glue such as Aquadhere(You will need to judge the colour as it will dry slightly lighter than the surrounding timber if you don't get it right. But its not too difficult). Avoid the glues such as Triton or any of the qiuckbond types as they contain toxins.
Use a flat blade and fill the hole with the mix and sand.
No toxins, reasonably fast drying and colour matched. You can then seal the board for good measure.

Regards

Rob

[Bodgy]

Toxic Smoxic!

The hole is minute, how much harm can the glue (whatever) do?

I could eat that much arsenic, strycnine, etc etc, and not notice it, particularly if hungover.

We're turning into a bunch of woozers.

[arose62]

Why don't you just turn it over ???;)

Cheers,
Andrew

[Forrest]

Why don't you just turn it over ???;)

Cheers,
Andrew
It has a hole almost identical on the other side :(
I really should have checked the timber first... oh well.. you live and learn. I think I'll go with Flowboys idea and mix a little sawdust in with some glue and fill it.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Shane

[TommyC]

Timbermate is probably no good for a chopping board, because when you wet it to wash it down the filler will soften, but i have used EBONY Timbermate in Karri and Jarrah before, because the colour matches the black stains around the holes. Looked good.

[BobL]

I'll post a pic.. you will all prob all tell me im nuts worrying about such a small hole, but every time I look at it I just feel the overwhelming urge to fill it :(

Yep you are definitely nuts!!! - as someone has already posted that's not a hole, its a feature.

As far a using toxic glues goes I agree with bodgy (except I think you spell it "woosses":) ) if you guys only knew how much toxin your body already has to deal with every day, that little bit of glue just pales into insignificance!