What to do about removing too much wood from a cut?

[JohnT]

I was curious if anybody had any techniques or tips (other than don't screw up) for what to do if a board is cut too short. I was doing some joinery and cut just a hair too wide. Everything fits together, but there is about a 1/16th inch gap in the pieces so it is not as snug as I would like. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[Ben H]

You don't have a board stretcher? I kid, I kid...

What kind of joint are you working on?

[Bombarde16]

I was curious if anybody had any techniques or tips (other than don't screw up) for what to do if a board is cut too short.

An inlay, perhaps? Again, what sort of joint is this?

[PaulMarcel]

If it's really a hair (or 2 ) difference, you can often use veneer or a crazy thin slice of the wood. Would help to know the joint like the others asked.

As an example, if you had dovetails where the tail sockets were cut too deep, you could tuck some thin slices or veneer between the tail and pin board; the end grains would blend to the point where you have no idea it happened. There's a long-standing rumor I had to do that after routing 5 drawers-worth of dovetails not realizing I bumped the micro-adjuster (or other equally boneheaded thing). D'oh!

[JohnT]

I was doing a box joint, but I was kind of curious in general for anytime I might make a mistake, be it dovetails, lap joints or dadoes. Starting over on a new piece of wood seems costly and time consuming. I did a practice run with my setup on the tablesaw, and got a nice tight fit, but I must have knocked something a bit or got a piece of of something against the fence because my fingers came up a little too narrow.

[Beechwood Chip]

As my father used to say, "Putty and paint make a carpenter what he ain't!" These days there's also epoxy. That works for small mistakes.

For big mistakes, make it a design feature. For example, do the same to the other side or the other corners, to make it symmetrical. Cut it out and put in an inlay of a contrasting wood. If the table top is too short, cut it in half and add an insert of a contrasting wood. Or maybe cut an equal amount off the other dimension and put in a border.

[Rapid Roger]

On 'box joint gaps' I have used saw dust mixed with shellac to make a paste/filler and shoved it down in the gaps. Yes, it is noticable even after sanding smooth but, depending on your finish, it looks alot better than gaps/holes. If you shellac the whole thing, DON"T spend too much time around the 'filler', it will sofen-up with more shellac added and/or alcohol. DAMHIKT Just wipe or brush over it and keep moving.

If I had to re-cut parts for every mistake I make, I would be even broker (is that a word?) than I am. Some of my stuff ends up being 1/4" smaller than I had expected.

Rog

[JohnT]

Thanks for the feedback. I am going to leave the gaps as is for now, since they are not really noticeable, but I have some great ideas for the next time I make a mistake, which I am sure will happen.