PSA: Wood glue and sawdust made a better patch than the store-bought filler I was using for years

After three tries filling a gouge in my pine desk, the glue-dust mix actually sanded smooth and took stain the same color. Anyone else found this works better on certain woods?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver_torres41mo agoTop Commenter

Honestly, my buddy tried this on an old oak table he was restoring. He had this deep scratch from moving a computer tower and the store filler just looked like plastic no matter what he did. Ngl, he mixed up the glue and sawdust from the same wood and it sanded down super smooth. The stain soaked right in and you can barely see the patch now unless you get real close. Tbh, it beats buying those little tubs of stuff that always shrink on you.

cooper.taylor1mo ago

Hell yeah, that's exactly the move. I've done the glue and sawdust thing more times than I can count on my own projects and it never fails if you get the color right. Biggest thing people mess up is using too much glue, that's what causes the shrink. Just a dab of wood glue mixed with the dust until it's like a thick paste and pack it in a little proud. Let it dry overnight before you sand, that stuff will stay put and sand down like the rest of the wood. The store bought filler always looks like crap on anything with grain.