HoffmanWoodworks Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I have a bit of a dilemma. I'm making the plaques for my Boy Scout pack Arrow of Light awards. My buddy has a CNC router table and offered to router them out for me. He still new to CNC, and so this is his first real engraving project. 4 of the 6 are perfect. 2 of them he had to flip the boards over and redo because one of them his hold down slipped and the other broke a bit. So the fronts are fine, but the backs have a bit of the engraving done. No big deal, they hang on the wall anyway. If i had more time I'd have him redo them. But I'm m rapidly running out of time My question: My first thought on repairing is to use Bondo (auto body filler) to fill the engraving then sand smooth and paint just the backs flat black. I'm not really excited about this idea but... Has anyone used Bondo to fill wood or anyone have an idea that may work a bit better. The boards are 3/4" oak, thats 10" x 32". The "good side" will be stained with dark walnut danish oil. The other thought would be to laminate a thin board/veneer to the back... Anyone have thoughts I'm just afraid if I use wood filler it will crack. I haven't used wood filler on anything other than small nicks or errant pin nails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 How much would it cost to just redo them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncfowler Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 4 minutes ago, Tom King said: How much would it cost to just redo them? What he said, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 But if you can't redo them, then Bondo will work They make an "All Purpose Putty" that is easier to use than the auto body stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher74 Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I would use the two part wood filler. It mixes like epoxy and cures fast. Sands like wood. Used it when building my beep to fill gaps and to seal the joints. Works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 You could also glue some scrap plastic laminate or even thin poster board to the back with contact cement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I've used Bondo before and it will work OK. Especially if you are going to paint the back of the project. The only problem with Bondo is that you must mix it exactly and completely or it will sit-up too soon or not at all and stay soft. A bit of trial and error (the directions are on the can) will do wonders. Don't mix too much or too little and work quickly. When I was peddling screwdrivers, I used to watch the body men mix and use Bondo and would be amazed how quickly they could mix, apply it to a car and start filing or sanding with in 20 minutes or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoffmanWoodworks Posted February 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Thanks for the tips. I just talked to him and he's going to redo the 2. I he already has one of them running right now. I've used bondo before just never on wood. I just wasn't sure how it would react long term on wood. It was my least favorite option. Also I'll have to post pics some day of his cnc table. He built it himself. It's pretty neat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Tell him we want to see pictures of the machine he built. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 One other consideration for the future would be to fill the voids with whatever, the cover the back with brown paper, similar to framing a painting. I use brown craft paper to line boxes when a felt or flock lining is likely to catch lint or whatever. Looks pretty good, actually. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byegge Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Couple light passes through the planer is what I would do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheperd80 Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 If youre painting the back just bondo it. Easy fix. It helps to do the bondo in 2 sessions. Buy an extra tube of the red hardener so u can see your mixture. Use about 3x as much hardener as reccomended, mixture should be pink, almost red. Work it in hard and fast, sand within a couple minutes, repeat process, paint. If you do it right it will be an invisible fix in very little time. ONLY if youre painting the back though. Otherwise i'd plane it off. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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