Help with a beetle tunnel

[flatheadfisher]

I finished the last piece of my kitchen counter. This piece is 60" x 26" and is the part that doubles as a table top when there are bar stools under it. I fastened it in place and sanded it to the final thickness so it would match the adjoining piece perfectly. This has been an outstanding batch of hard maple. However, as I neared the final thickness, I uncovered a beetle tunnel in the wood. Of course, the more I sanded, the deeper the tunnel became in the surface. What is worse, it is very possible that there are more tunnels under the surface near this one. So, I hesitate to bring it down any more. Plus, I don't want to bring the entire counter top down for many reasons. So, I need to fix this problem somehow! The tunnel is about 2 mm deep and 13 cm or so long. Is there something I can put in it that won't look too bad? I don't want to use wood filler because the stuff I have used in the past doesn't finish well and doesn't last. I was hoping the finish would eventually fill it in but it is just too deep. What are your suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Bas]

An ordinary wood filler is probably not going to work very well. A couple of options:
- Use a router to enlarge the tunnel with a small bit, e.g. 1/4" wide, 1/8" deep. Make sure you use a really high quality carbide spiral bit. Then, make a "dutchman" to fill it. Basically, cut a filler strip the same length, 1/4" in width, 1/8" thick. You can use maple and try to match the grain as close as possible, or you actually go with a contrasting wood (walnut, purple heart) to make it look like a design feature. You could even add some decorative dutchmen elsewhere, to really make it look intentional. Make sure the filler strips stand slightly proud of the top, so you can sand it flush.
- Make your own filler using Elmer's stainable glue and very fine maple sawdust. Use a knife, scraper whatever to clean out the tunnel and make sure you got all the loose stuff out. Then use the filler. When it dries, it will shrink a little, which is what you want. Then fill the last bit of the tunnel by applying thin CA glue and start sanding. The sawdust and CA glue will bond and give a tough topcoat. If you plan on staining it or applying a varnish, you will want to do the CA glue thing after the stain or first finish coat, so that the color of the sawdust matches the final result.

If you go the dutchmen route, the sanding/ CA glue trick will help blend the lines as well.

The important thing is to really clear that tunnel of loose stuff. Otherwise, the filler will separate from the sides over time and you'll have an indentation.

Good luck. And remember, you will see EVERY little imperfection in the grain & finish, whereas 99.99% of the population won't. And after 6 months, you'll have dents, scratches, stains etc. to blend everything in

 

[jeff...]

Man Bas has given you like the ultimate in repair - how you know all that Bas? Anyways I agree with him once you hack up a few sides of beef and a deer or two on that new counter top you won't notice any beetle tunnel repair.

 

[flatheadfisher]

Thanks Bas. I will let you all know how it turns out!

 

[AAAndrew]

I'd go with Bas's suggestion. Sometimes bold and deliberate looks better than trying to be subtle, at least for me subtle rarely works.

I'm also interested in trying a recipe for my own wood filler I've heard tell of but haven't tried yet. Using saw dust from the same piece of wood, mix with wood glue to make a paste and use that as filler. Now, since some of my wood glue dries more yellow, I'd try something that dries clear like good old Elmers white school glue. That was a surprise I learned at the Woodworking in America conference. Frank Klauz said that he only uses plain Elmers White Glue for his dovetails. It's strong enough and dries really slowly, and it's cheap. And since it dries clear, it might be a good idea for some wood filler. Just a thought.

AAAndrew