113 – Filling Knots with Epoxy

Video - March 14, 2010

Ever find yourself short on material and that one board you really need has a nice open knot in it? You could always go out and buy more material, but sometimes it’s just easier and faster to stabilize and repair the knot. And instead of trying to hide the knot, sometimes it’s just better to embrace it, and make it look look resinous and natural. And that’s the goal here. Thankfully repairing knots is pretty easy with epoxy.

I like to use Transtint Dark Brown Dye and either West System Epoxy or Total Boat Epoxy.

Products Used

Discussion

Marty March 14, 2010 3:24 pm

I am getting old but I swear to God I’ve seen this before. I think it has been posted on TWW previously, not that it’s any big deal or anything.

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- thewoodwhisperer March 14, 2010 3:48 pm
  
  I had the same reaction Marty. I couldn’t figure out why I thought this was posted already, yet I couldn’t find a trace of it on the site. Now here’s what I’m thinking: in the Guild I discussed this topic in a live session. I believe at around the same time, I recorded the footage for this video, and just never released it to the public. But the Guild video went out as normal. So as a Guild member, I think you are having the same reaction I did.
  
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  - brian schmitt March 23, 2010 3:12 pm
    
    when you showed how to make those pencil holders you used the same process to fix a crack is that what you are thinking of.
    
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    - thewoodwhisperer March 23, 2010 3:37 pm
      
      No it was the Guild think I mentioned above.
    - brian schmitt March 23, 2010 5:20 pm
      
      could you show how to make a dutchman patch. i would like to see some different ways to do it.
Mark Rhodes March 14, 2010 5:06 pm

I really like the west system for this application, in fact I’ve use it quite a bit on waney edged board to build it up to look uniform and solid, like this http://i960.photobucket.com/al.....Medium.jpg
This was a piece of burr oak with all sorts of holes.

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- John March 14, 2010 10:18 pm
  
  Love the piece Mark.
  
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- Paul-Marcel ST-ONGE March 14, 2010 11:06 pm
  
  Wow, that’s nice. I love the creative accent of the netting instead of another shelf. Well done.
  
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Jeff Madre March 14, 2010 5:19 pm

Thanks Marc, I’ve been looking for this and couldn’t find it. Even so, I was playing it back in my head as I attempted an epoxy repair last week.

If I remember correctly, you played this video during a live guild session. I remember the questions afterward about you using the Stanley plane instead of your Lie-Nielsen.

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Tim G March 14, 2010 6:58 pm

Marc, we all appreciate the videos. To answer your question, this was in the Arts & Crafts table pt 2. Either way, thanks for keeping up the great work!

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- thewoodwhisperer March 14, 2010 7:55 pm
  
  I may have filled a knot in that episode, but this footage definitely wasn’t from that one. The project I was working on at that time was the steamer trunk. Jeff actually refreshed my memory on this one. I used this footage to kick of a discussion in the Guild last year. But for some reason I decided not to release it on the main site…..or I simply forgot.
  
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Alan Lilly March 14, 2010 7:29 pm

You made a cardinal mistake.

You should always show your audience the end result.
I was disappointed that you didn’t show me what the board looked like after running through your planer or drum sander… and then what it looked like after applying a finish.

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- thewoodwhisperer March 14, 2010 7:47 pm
  
  Well, maybe that’s why I never released it initially, lol.
  
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- Alan Lilly March 14, 2010 7:49 pm
  
  It’s still a great mini though!
  
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Chip March 14, 2010 8:29 pm

I remember this video, but the way I remember it, you didn’t tape the bottom of the board and some epoxy leaked out the bottom. One thing I love about your site is that you show us that everyone makes mistakes, and you show us how to fix them. That’s real important to us beginners who might get discouraged when things don’t come out as we planned.

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Frank Kovach March 14, 2010 8:52 pm

“Fixing” a knot? And here all this time I’ve been thinking that the more knots a board has the better it is! At least that’s what the guy at my lumber dealer keeps telling me! $55 a board foot for knotty pine is a good deal right? :) And just for everybody’s peace of mind, I can say absolutely, unequivocally, with 100% honesty and integrity that this video has never been posted as a podcast. Case closed.

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Paul-Marcel ST-ONGE March 14, 2010 11:09 pm

Wow, dude! Look at the size of your new shop! Sa-weet! Bet you’re loving that after the stint in the 3-car… hey, how high are those ceilings anyway? Did the house really come with that 5-car?

Sorry, couldn’t resist the déjà-vu :)¡

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- thewoodwhisperer March 15, 2010 8:20 am
  
  haha funny guy!
  
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Dan March 15, 2010 1:21 am

Great deal Frank, where do you get your lumber? I, too, would liked to have seen the epoxy knot after milling. When running the board through the jointer/planer do you worry about tearout around the knot or on the knot itself?

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- thewoodwhisperer March 15, 2010 8:22 am
  
  Generally, you still want to treat the area gingerly, so light passes through the planer are the key. But for the most part, the knot is now completely stabilized by the epoxy fill. That’s why its important to use a looser epoxy mixture for this, since a good amount of it will not only fill the hole, but also absorb into the surrounding wood, thereby strengthening it.
  
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- Frank Kovach March 15, 2010 7:18 pm
  
  Actually, I use my local Wood Hobby Shop at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. It’s actually one of the last of its kind in the military, from what I understand. I have never bought lumber anywhere but there so far, I have only been doing this woodworking thing a little over a year now. They get good deals on a good variety of rough cut lumber, and the shop is fully equipped so it’s easy to buy cheap but good quality stuff and mill it there to get it ready to use. Sometimes you have to sacrifice because you’re not getting “top quality” because of knots but overall it’s worth it because the lumber is so cheap. I could have used this info, however, a few months back because I had a piece of 8/4 walnut that had a pretty significant knot actually caused by a nail stub that was in the tree when it was harvested that we found just before the board went in the planer (thank God for that!) but I had a big chunk of unusable walnut. I was experimenting with some different types of wood glue and discovered that THAT DOESN’T WORK. Using this epoxy method probably would have enabled me to make another entire cutting board for my family for Christmas, rather than keeping it as a souvenire. I guess it wasn’t actually a knot but a place where the wood had rotted around that nail and kind of crumbled, causing a large hole in that area. I just couldn’t figure out how to fill it to make it useable, and ended up cutting that chunk out. Oh well. Live and learn.
  
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  - Dan March 17, 2010 7:02 am
    
    Semper Fi!!! I used the MWR hobby shops many times. What a great opportunity to work on your vehicles or do woodworking on base. I was stationed there from 1989-1995, 1999 with many deployments. Is the wood shop still near the car hobby shop? Does the MWR still have signup sheets for funding at the woodshop? If so then the word needs to be spread so that the opportunity to escape the stresses of the Marine Corps is not lost and Marines have the opportunity to create items for their homes or barracks. I used the hobby shop to make plaques for my Marines when they where discharged or reassigned to other units. Made me feel better than buying the entire plaque, still had to purchase the name plates though. Thank you for your service, good luck, Semper Fi.
    
    Dan
    
    Reply
    - Frank Kovach March 17, 2010 10:35 am
      
      Semper Fi back at ya! If you left the Lejeune area in 99, then you almost wouldn’t recognize it now. A lot has changed, including the way we pronounce the name. (Ask me about that another time.) The woodshop shares a building with the auto body shop, and both are adjacent to the auto hobby shop. I don’t use that quite as much now, but then again I actually live a little closer to New River so I have been using theirs more. The wood shop requires you to watch a one hour video mainly focusing on safety, then you can either pay a $45 a year membership or pay $3 a day for the use of the shop. They have a pretty nice selection of wood that pretty much stays constant, all rough cut, with the lowest prices per board foot that I’ve seen. Sometimes they get some real beauties, like about a month ago they had a 12 or so foot long piece of 8/4 mahogany that was 21 inches wide! The planer is 22 inches. You couldn’t have put that thing on the jointer though, except to do the edges. When you walk in, you sign the ledger and go to work. They have some basic supplies which you can buy, but the real attraction is just a nice, big, ventilated space with a dust control system and plenty of workbenches, assembly tables, clamping racks, and tools. Two Sawstops, a cabinet and a contractor saw. A big chop saw, two compound miter saws, another chop saw that is in a permanent dado setup with height adjustment, a router table, a shaper, a molding shaper, planer, jointer, three band saws, two drill presses, horizontal drum sander, oscillating spindle sander, horizontal belt sander and vertical belt sander, two lathes, three big downdraft sanding stations. They sell plywood too, and have a panel saw to break it down. Sounds like I’m trying to sell it to somebody. I just wish they would stay open 24/7. It’s great.
    - Dan March 18, 2010 12:22 pm
      
      sounds just like I remember it. As for the ‘selling it to someone’ part I hope you did. Well, time to get another corned beef in the oven and then back to my humble garage shop to continue working on the sofa table from the honey-do list. Keep your head down…Good luck.
Jason Kreger March 15, 2010 9:03 am

Marc,
Would it also be wise to hit the entire area with a little CA glue prior to filling with epoxy? This way the CA could soak in and stabilize all of the fibers around the knot too.

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- thewoodwhisperer March 15, 2010 9:08 am
  
  You could, but unless you have an issue with the grain being soft, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. This less viscous epoxy does a great job of soaking into the fibers. And if I had to choose between CA and epoxy being embedded in the wood, I would choose epoxy. It feel stronger and more durable. CA is rather brittle.
  
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Trevor March 15, 2010 9:51 am

Where did you get your epoxy cans with pumps?

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- thewoodwhisperer March 15, 2010 10:00 am
  
  From here Trevor: http://www.jamestowndistributo.....+Epoxy+Kit
  
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Todd March 15, 2010 1:11 pm

Marc,

Can’t believe I saw you using an old Stanley block plane. Great Mini!

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Andrew March 15, 2010 7:12 pm

When you tint the epoxy, does the void end up darker than the surrounding knot?

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- thewoodwhisperer March 15, 2010 8:20 pm
  
  Depends on the knot and the dye. The goal is to try to match it up as much as possible. But I find that a mission brown dye usually gets close enough.
  
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JP Knapp March 15, 2010 8:08 pm

Why did you need to block plane it smooth before sending through the planer? Could you have just sent it through directly?

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- thewoodwhisperer March 15, 2010 8:23 pm
  
  Well you could, but I don’t like to. That big blob of epoxy on top of the wood can be a little rough on the blades. Plus, since the rest of the board is below the blob, its a little tricky to estimate the first pass or two in the planer. And if you catch too much of the epoxy, you could potentially pull the whole thing out. So I may be babying my planer a little but I prefer to play it safe and block plane it down first.
  
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Vic March 15, 2010 8:41 pm

About a month ago, Dan (Dan’s Basement Workshop in the Chatroom) was filling a void in a knot with some epoxy. I suggested he try to use an random orbital sander without the sanding disk on the board to vibrate any bubbles to the top. I think I saw that somewhere as a trick of the trade, but don’t remember for sure, might of been Woodworks. Anyway, worked like a charm. It’s the same principle used when working concrete.

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ediazf March 15, 2010 8:48 pm

Maybe a little rubber mallet hits arround the knot with the epoxy on it would help for better penetrationm especially with thicker epoxy mixtures..

love the site, cheers from Chile!!

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William Burlingame March 16, 2010 4:47 am

It works!!! I recently used the trick on some oak. I also thought I had seen you do it on a previous video. I do like the idea of buying the epoxy in bulk. I haven’t noticed it being sold in the big box stores. I use the small tubes, but they are more viscous. BTW, I don’t begrudge you having a large and well equipped shop. You’re the one who had the talent and initiative to get there. My shop is small, but I don’t have to rely on it to make a living. It’s just a hobby. Keep up the good work!!!

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John Poulos March 16, 2010 7:05 pm

Marc, the mini was great! Thanks for the good info. Two questions:

1. You mentioned that too much epoxy could be tough on the blades. In general should you use an older “utility” plane for planing down the epoxy? How tough on the blades is this stuff?

2. How long are those cans of epoxy good for (shelf life)? At $155 for the set, they kinda put it out of reach for the hobbiest unless they last forever, lol :) Thanks for the awesome site and the entertainment!

– John

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- thewoodwhisperer March 16, 2010 7:16 pm
  
  Hey John. I don’t really know how bad it is. But I use my old Stanley for that work. Part of the reason is the the epoxy seems to also build up on the bottom of the plane and is tricky to remove. So I do consider the Stanley my “utility” plane and I reserve it for these “dirty tasks”.
  
  As for the shelf life, I am not sure there is one. As long as the parts are kept separate, it seems it should last for quite some time. I have had my cans for about two years now. The only change is that the activator has gotten darker. But the stuff still hardens up as much as it did on day 1. So, I still think its a good investment, even for a hobbyist.
  
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- Paul-Marcel ST-ONGE March 16, 2010 7:31 pm
  
  You don’t need the $155 kit unless you plan on doing fiberglassing; that’s something boat peeps do… and hockey players like myself that get skate cuts in their composite sticks :-(
  
  All you need is a quart of 105B resin ($30), 205B fast hardener ($18), the pumps are super nice for $13 and you’re set. ~$60.
  
  I also bought the 404 high-density filler for $14; I use the filler to fill large gaps mostly for non-furniture, but still useful. You hardly use any to build a gap-filling epoxy.
  
  BTW, I sharpied the plungers for the pumps to mark the 50% line. If I just need a little bit, plunge until the mark just goes into the pump.
  
  I have a flush plane I use to level the epoxy after a fill (within the first hour of pouring it). To remove the uncured epoxy, I put the iron in acetone for a minute then wipe it off. Granted, this flush plane is all that I use for leveling the epoxy… not my nicer planes.
  
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  - thewoodwhisperer March 16, 2010 7:33 pm
    
    Good point Paul. I always link to the kit, but I didn’t realize it came with the fiberglass crap.
    
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Kfir April 10, 2010 7:32 am

Hi,
Hehe, why double posting is a problem. I’m not a woodworker, but enjoy watching the videos here at the site.
Guys, it is not a patent to put some epoxy on wood.

Second thing, can you post a photo of the wood after milling. I want to see how it will look like as a finished product.

Keep up the good work, hehe, well, this is more then good!

Thanks,
Kfir

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- thewoodwhisperer April 10, 2010 8:43 am
  
  Here’s an example of a large epoxy in a hickory door: http://img580.yfrog.com/i/2×0.jpg/
  
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Andy Brownell October 12, 2010 4:59 pm

I did a demo of this last year at the WIA show using Gorilla Epoxy and sawdust. Did it this year too at the Gorilla Booth. Video is posted on Gorilla Glue’s facebook video page as well. Nothing original for sure, but a hell of a way to fix minor imperfections, especially on the inside of a case. BTW, thanks for stopping by, Marc.

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- thewoodwhisperer October 12, 2010 5:02 pm
  
  I must have missed it at the show. But it was great stopping by and meeting you guys!
  
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William Burlingame October 12, 2010 7:23 pm

Andy – Thanks for the video. I’ve mixed sawdust into wood glue, but hadn’t considered it for epoxy. I have used epoxy to fill know holes, but always bought a nearly black variety. I have some rough sawn lumber that will benefit from this tip.

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Patrick Ferguson January 14, 2011 9:22 am

Andy….I am getting ready to finnish a dresser I built of cherry wood. Every thing has been sanded to 220 grit and will be left with a clear Laqure finnish. The top has some charicter with some dark (reddish brown) knots and cracks from surface to 3/8″ deep. I whould like to fill these with an ultra clear material so they will be seen all the way thru. Bottoms are naturally sealed. What product should I use? Thanks in advance for your help.

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Alex Harris April 10, 2011 2:08 pm

Really good video Mark!

Just an idea but by using a vrbrating sander with a very fine grit you can virbrate the surface of the wood causing the air pockets in the epoxy to rise out of the glue. I wouldn’t say it is vital but they certainly do a similar thing with concrete.

(TeenWoodworker)

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Alice April 5, 2012 5:04 pm

Hi! I so wish I had found your site and watched this video about 2 months ago! However…..I hope I’m not too late for a couple of questions. I am working on a large project with wormy maple. I am using clear epoxy (Systems Three Clear Coat) and it is not filling the holes. My guess is that they are sealed, just not filled, and I would rather they not accumulate dust and whatever over the life of the piece….. I’m planning on using the blue tape to act as a dam around the edges of the piece and then pour the epoxy in the holes. Does the epoxy stick to the tape at all? Is that a good idea? Is there something that would be better to use? The all edges will be visible…. Now that I’ve seen this video, I realize it would have been best to fill the holes before construction, but alas!, it’s too late for that now. Also, can you scrape cured epoxy with a cabinet scraper to remove drips and runs and then hit it with a coat for final finish? Thanks so much! This is a great site, I also used your technique for free hand inlay and it turned out really well for a first attempt! If it works when it’s all said and done, maybe I’ll be brave and post a pic!

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- thewoodwhisperer April 6, 2012 12:01 pm
  
  Hi Alice. I don’t really do epoxy finishes so my knowledge of them is fairly limited. But in general, epoxy does stick to epoxy. So you should be able to fill the holes as needed. And yes, the epoxy will bind to the tape. So keep that in mind with your strategy. As for drips, you can certainly scrape them away. Once you have the area leveled, you will be left with an obvious rough spot. So it probably is a good idea to rough up the whole surface equally before re-coating. So many a nice light sanding over the entire surface with 320 grit. That will also give the surface a bit of a mechanical “tooth” for the binding of the final topcoat. From what I know of epoxy, you should be OK doing this process.
  
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  - Alice April 6, 2012 12:57 pm
    
    Thanks Marc! That’s very helpful.
    
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  - Lisa August 26, 2012 2:05 pm
    
    Hi! This is exactly what I need to do with a big ugly hole of a knot I found on my brand new deck. I don’t mind the look of the knot, just the fact that my 3-year old could stub her toe or hurt her foot running barefoot over the sharp edged hole. We haven’t cleaned/sanded/stained the deck yet as we are waiting for the pressure treated wood to dry. Could you please recommend a type of epoxy I could use that I could find at Lowes? You mixed two liquids together in your video before you added the stain…and I’m so clueless as to what those liquids are as I have never worked with epoxy.
    
    Reply
    - thewoodwhisperer August 26, 2012 2:17 pm
      
      Hi Lisa. All epoxy comes in two parts: an activator and a resin. When mixed together in the proper ratio, a reaction causes the material to harden. So no matter what brand you get, you can expect this to be the case. But you can buy different varieties for different tasks. Some cure fast (5-minute) and others take longer. Most often, the stuff you find at Home Depot is simple 5-minute epoxy. These will work, but the problem I have with them is that they tend to be very thick. It makes it hard to pour into a knot without retaining bubbles. So this is why I like to use West Systems epoxy, although I buy very large containers and I don’t believe HD sells it. So I think your best bet is to head to HD, and look for epoxy with the longest cure time they have. Mix a little up in a small cup or dish (that you don’t care about) and then scoop it in the knot. It should self level and with any luck, you won’t have too many bubbles.
Hawkeye1434 May 7, 2012 5:06 pm

Marc, this was an awesome video I saw it last year and packed it in my mental roladex. I started making my wife some cabinets for our new mud room, and for whatever reason she wanted them made out of Knotty Alder Wood. Once I got my stock from my lumber guys I saw it lived up to its name knotty alder they are everywhere but my wife loves the look so I found the stuff from the video and put it to use thanks for all the knowledge you have give me so far I love your site it’s one of my main references when I need to learn something new or refer to something older in the videos keep them coming we love them thanks again!

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- Mart August 13, 2012 12:04 pm
  
  Would you guys use this technique for a Dark Walnut table that I am about to finish using a low luster Polymerised Tung oil ( Sutherlandwelles ) ?
  
  I am very unsure about how the finish will react with the epoxy….
  
  Cheers,
  
  M.
  
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  - thewoodwhisperer August 13, 2012 12:40 pm
    
    Well the finish won’t really react at all with the epoxy. If the knots are small, then just make sure you wipe the finish off thoroughly. If you leave too much on, it will most likely stay tacky for a while. But a a little oil residue shouldn’t be a problem. I would do a sample and make sure you like the appearance of the knot after the surface is sanded and oiled.
    
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    - Mart August 14, 2012 6:39 am
      
      Thanks for the TIP Mark.
      
      I will test as suggested.
      
      BTW this Walnut dining table is my first woodworking project.
      
      Another issue came up yesturday while I completed planing of my 3’x 6′ table top ( 3 individual sections ) :The planer took out small shallow chunks of Walnut in veri limited areas… This is a bummer because I wanted the table top to be as perfect as possible…
      
      The shop manager suggested that I use fish glue and saw dust to fix those areas…As you previously suggested for the knots I will test the “fish glue” fix on a sample with the Polimerised Tung oil.
      
      Do you have a better suggestion ?
      
      Cheers,
      
      M.
    - thewoodwhisperer August 14, 2012 7:00 am
      
      That’s a tricky fix. Wood dust and glue, as well as traditional fillers, tend to look obvious over time. The wood naturally changes color but the filler patch doesn’t. So in the past, I have had some luck using CA glue alone as a filler. Since it is clear, it pretty much just exposes the wood underneath. Now how this will look with an oil finish is the question. Again, doing some tests will at least let you know what you’re in for. But definitely give CA glue a shot.
Mart August 17, 2012 6:37 am

Question related to the hardener… 207or 205 ??? I’m about to go to the store …

In the vid you were using a 3 for 1 ration while mixing the epoxy.

Mark : You were using the 207 then ?

Thanks,

M.

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- thewoodwhisperer August 17, 2012 6:52 am
  
  For knots, I use 205 (fast) hardener.
  
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  - Mart August 17, 2012 7:16 am
    
    Thanks Mark.
    
    Appreciated.
    
    Cheers,
    
    M.
    
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    - Mart August 23, 2012 6:26 pm
      
      Hey Mark ,
      
      Just to let you know I finished repairing the knots on my Walnut table using the 105/205 epoxy / Transtint Van Dyke brown and sanded to 220 and with 3 coats of Poly Tung oil man does it come out nice !
      
      Thanks again for all the great info.
      
      Cheers,
      
      M.
    - thewoodwhisperer August 24, 2012 6:13 am
      
      Fantastic! Glad it worked out for you!
franklin pug October 25, 2012 6:39 pm

Great mini! This vid was exactly the fix I needed for my project.

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J.T. Speelman December 21, 2012 1:44 pm

Great tip Marc. I use scrap pieces from a local logger and sometimes I get pieces with knot in them. I see others that use knotted wood in their project and they look great. Now I can use this tip in some of mine. Are there any epoxy products that you can recommend that are available at home centers or do you think I should just order it online? Thanks for your help.

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- thewoodwhisperer December 21, 2012 3:44 pm
  
  In my opinion, West System is the best stuff out there and I never see it locally. So my vote is online.
  
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  - Beulah9 August 29, 2020 9:40 pm
    
    Found a vendor nearby today. Spending loads on supplies I will be filling in knots on a set of external stairs soon.
    Your video and lots of the comments have boosted my belief that it will look great before the snow flies.
    
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Brandon December 24, 2012 8:47 pm

Is it possible to mix the epoxy with some fine saw dust of the same color as your work piece, instead of using a dye? I’ve heard this concept before, but never actually put it into practice.

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- thewoodwhisperer December 25, 2012 6:49 am
  
  You can, but I personally don’t like the way this looks. It just looks like wood dust in suspension to my eye.
  
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robert March 25, 2013 7:11 am

Hi Marc,
Any good tips to filling worm holes with the West System epoxy? I’m working a red oak table top with one good size knot and dozens of worm holes in each bookmatch.

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- Marc Spagnuolo March 25, 2013 7:48 am
  
  Are you trying to hide them, or simply fill and stabilize them?
  
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  - robert March 25, 2013 8:24 am
    
    I want to retain their “character” but I’m thinking when I go to apply a finish (either tongue oil or poly) these worm hole voids will not finish properly. I just filled a crack with the 105/207/brown mission transtint (moments ago) and I’m not sure how I can carefully fill each worm hole – other than a syringe, which I don’t have. the holes go right thru the board.
    
    Reply
    - Marc Spagnuolo March 25, 2013 8:28 am
      
      Simply apply some tape to the underside and fill from above. I have a bunch of dental irrigation syringes that I used for stuff like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ.....dwhispe-20
      
      Assuming you go with a film finish, they should finish up just fine. If you’re going for a natural oil finish, you might find those areas retain a little more gloss than the surrounding wood.
  - robert March 25, 2013 8:32 am
    
    Thanks very much Marc, as always you’ve been a big help!!
    
    Reply
Matt April 7, 2013 7:31 pm

I have a coffee table made of reclaimed teak that has some butterfly keys on the underside. There is a small divot and crack over one of these from the surface side. I think there was a small void left that is caving in.

Would injecting epoxy into the crack be a good way to stabilize this? The finish is simply hand rubbed mineral oil.

Thanks for any tips.

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Clay December 5, 2013 11:45 pm

Hey – Thanks for your help here. It’s exactly what I was looking for… much appreciated.

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Ace January 17, 2014 2:04 pm

Hey Marc,
I cut a slab of cedar off of a stump in a customers yard; to build a live edge stool seat. It’s 3″ thick and about 12″ diameter (more oval). Anyways, dried it in a room for 2-3 months that occasionally has a woodstove going in it. Took it out to shop, got it finished, de-barked and level at 2″ thick. It sat in shop for 2-3 weeks. I live on Pacific coast, so wet air in winter. I brought it into my house again and within 1.5 days there was a large crack in it (full thickness) starting on edge, going towards center (1/2 way to center). Is there any suggestion to fill,glue,strengthen this crack? I’m wondering if this epoxy method will work? Will it stop further cracking, or have you ever seen wood crack an epoxy joint/fill ?
Thanks ! (love the site)
Ace
** Is west system available in Canada too ?

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Ron Plasse May 16, 2014 11:35 am

This was absolutely great and helpful for me as I learn about using lumber with more character than typical lumber from commercial yards. Would any type of epoxy work as long as its thin enough to flow into the cracks?
Will filling with epoxy if some polyurethane or varnish has been deposited in the crack first?

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justin August 3, 2014 8:15 pm

Hi there,

this is a good video! I have a question though. my project requires me to fill the knots and then finish the rest of the wood with an oil based finish and then buffed out with wax. I need to do this because i want the wood to be food safe. If i use epoxy to fill the knots, will it cause any issues when i finish with the oil and then wax???

Thank you

Justin

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- Marc Spagnuolo August 4, 2014 6:46 am
  
  Well, the epoxy is shiny and won’t accept oil. So if you leave a lot of oil on those spots, you’ll have some stickiness to deal with. But other than that, it shouldn’t be too problematic.
  
  Reply
justin August 4, 2014 7:24 pm

Thank you! So basically i should epoxy, sand down, then apply oil, then wax and nothing more i need to do to the epoxy?? Do you think this approach will look good, or will it look strange where the epoxy is with the contrast between oiled wood and epoxy? Is there another method you would recommend?

The other challenge im having so far is that the width of the slabs im working with are about 22″. I need to plane them down to ensure they are even all over but cant seem to find a thickness planer that wide. Is it typical to have to hand plain such slabs?

Thanks again,

Justin

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo August 5, 2014 6:14 am
  
  Personally, I think it will look strange. The epoxy will be glossy and the rest of the wood won’t be. But it’s something you’ll only see when the light hits the table just right. As for another method, I might just consider using a varnish and apply a few light coats. The film will sit on top of the epoxy and establish the table sheen itself. But you might just try a piece of scrap with the oil and see what you think. It might not be that bad. As for the wide board, you can either use a hand plane like this: http://www.thewoodwhisperer.co.....de-boards/ Or you can use your router: http://www.thewoodwhisperer.co.....-a-router/
  
  Reply
Andrew Nicholls August 12, 2014 6:26 pm

Hi Marc,

i know I am late to the party on this one. If I plan on staining the wood with a gel stain, is it best to stain the wood first and then use a clear epoxy to fill the knot after? I plan on using a General Finish gel stain with the wood conditioner you recommended on rock maple. The wife likes the knots so I left them in the finished product

thanks in advance for your help, and keep up the good work.
Andrew

Reply
- JonE August 2, 2022 9:37 am
  
  Reviving this question because it’s a good one. Any wood under clear epoxy obviously won’t take the stain and will stand out… particularly with large/irregular knots. Staining first could be the solution, but my understanding is that epoxy won’t bond with some stains (mainly oil based stains).
  
  So what’s the recommended solution? You could use color pigment in the epoxy… but assume that’s not part of the design. Stain first with water based stain?
  
  Reply
Cole February 8, 2015 12:43 pm

Marc, great tip on the knot stabilization.
It really is a good waste-not/want-not (or knot) tip.

Just a note on the color of straight epoxy. I use West Systems as well. It is pretty-much clear when all is fresh and new. As it ages (unmixed), the hardener typically starts to darken and heads towards an amber then reddish tone. Not a big deal for most adhesive use and possibly a benefit for repairs of some varieties of wood as well. If you want it clear, fresh hardener helps get it much closer.

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jewels September 25, 2015 2:28 pm

Great stuff, but. I am looking for fill a knot in my cutting board and looking for something that is safe for food. Thanks!

Reply
Lyndell March 4, 2016 6:40 pm

Not sure how to find an answer to this question, could you point me in the right direction? I have googled for an answer.
We need to fill hairline cracks in white oak. We tried sawdust from sanding mixed with wood glue and it has turned black!!! Any ideas what happened or what to do to prevent the black?

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113 – Filling Knots with Epoxy

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