jimmykx250 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Im putting the perimeter skirt boards which are 8/4" x 4" wide walnut around the table top. During dry fit in one corner i managed to drop one of the skirt boards and really dinged the outside 45 degree mitre corner. Can I steam this out? The dent is around 3/8" deep right in the outside edge and im at a loss at what else to do with it. Any input before i put a steaming iron to this thing would be greatly appreciated. This kitchen table build is going to be the death of me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I have but not for a dent that deep and if the fibers are cut, steaming won't work. If it's a dent and not a scrape, I would try putting a couple of drops of water in the dent first and let them soak in before using the iron, this way there is more moisture already in the dent that will turn to steam and force the fibers to expand. You could try using a soldering iron and a damp piece of paper towel to get right into the deepest part of the dent and work it up from there. I think a clothing iron might not get steam to the deepest part of the dent and you'd have a hard time getting it back to level. It'll probably take a while to get done with a soldering iron but it gives you a more focused heat source. Like I said, I've never done it on a dent that deep before though. Deepest I've ever tried was maybe 1/8" or so. Just a thought... -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Also, after you've steamed it a while, give it a few hours (overnight is better) for the fibers to dry back into their positions before you try sanding. Then use a really fine grit to smooth out the imperfection by hand. -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I've tried it twice. I have to confess that I wasn't very successful either time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Im putting the perimeter skirt boards which are 8/4" x 4" wide walnut around the table top. During dry fit in one corner i managed to drop one of the skirt boards and really dinged the outside 45 degree mitre corner. Can I steam this out? The dent is around 3/8" deep right in the outside edge and im at a loss at what else to do with it. Any input before i put a steaming iron to this thing would be greatly appreciated. This kitchen table build is going to be the death of me!!! I've used the technique in the middle of the board, but haven't been sucessful using it on the end of the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Like the others, I've steamed out small dents (mostly in pine), but nothing as deep as you're talking about. Could you rip the 3/8" off the width of all the skirt boards and just have them a little narrower? If not, then it seems like you're going to have to either remake the part or else clean up the damaged place and glue on a patch. There are a few good articles in Fine Woodworking about how to make repairs so they don't show. I don't know if you need the online subscription for these or not, but here are the links anyway. I think the last one may have the best information for your problem. -- Russ http://www.finewoodworking.com/subscription/Materials/MaterialsArticle.aspx?id=32162 http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2693 http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2257 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNehlsEnd Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I've never had to steam a dent that deep before, but you may want to try Charles' trick which may take a while but should do it for you. http://charlesneilwoodworking.com/category_player.php?type=1&cat=1&video=dents.flv I have yet to try this yet, but this is one trick I will remember to try next time. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I've never had to steam a dent that deep before, but you may want to try Charles' trick which may take a while but should do it for you. http://charlesneilwoodworking.com/category_player.php?type=1&cat=1&video=dents.flv I have yet to try this yet, but this is one trick I will remember to try next time. Hope this helps. Okay that was cool. Thanks for that post, Gregn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimB1 Posted February 11, 2011 Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I've never had to steam a dent that deep before, but you may want to try Charles' trick which may take a while but should do it for you. http://charlesneilwoodworking.com/category_player.php?type=1&cat=1&video=dents.flv I have yet to try this yet, but this is one trick I will remember to try next time. Hope this helps. That is probably the most awesome trick I've seen yet I have to try that... -Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 I will let you guys know how it works! Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmykx250 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 I cant believe how well this worked. Even in walnut. It didnt take the whole dent out but it did take at least half of it out! This would definately work on softer woods and alot easier than using an iron. Thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerry Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I've never had to steam a dent that deep before, but you may want to try Charles' trick which may take a while but should do it for you. http://charlesneilwo...video=dents.flv I have yet to try this yet, but this is one trick I will remember to try next time. Hope this helps. Now I sure wish I'd known about that alcohol trick years ago when I was working on guns. Looks like it would have been much faster and easier to do then using water. I have raised dents in end grain before (butt stock area of rifle and shotgun stocks) but I have found that you have to really soak the wood pretty far ahead of the dent to get much lift. Then you end up waiting forever for the moisture to come back out of the wood so you can sand and refinish. If you don't wait for the moisture to leave and just sand and finish right away you will end up with a nice big low spot where the dent was when the moisture finally does get out. (I speak from frustrated experience on that). If the fibers have been cut though on an end grain area and you get the wood around it really wet I have found that you can still sometimes get the dent to raise (I'm guessing that the non-severed fibers swell enough to force the severed area to rise as they swell around and possibly under it) but the severed area can (and often does) break free and that of course leaves you with a bigger problem to fix. A soldering iron and a clothes iron both work for steaming the dents but you do have to be much more careful with the soldering iron sue to its much higher heat. I wouldn't use the wife's clothes iron (unless you have a death wish ) either as you can end up getting some nasty gunk on the bottom of the iron that will not come off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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