I’m finishing a carving and found a small defect/void on the front face of the piece. Since it’s on a visible area, I’d like to make the repair as inconspicuous as possible before applying mineral oil.
My first thought was to use very fine sanding dust from the same wood species mixed with Titebond wood glue.
I’m also not sure I personally have the skill to make that type of repair look clean and natural, so I’m hesitant to go down that route if there are better options.
The sawdust and glue would work but the glue may prevent the mineral oil from adsorbing and may make the repair stick out like a sore thumb. If you are going to try that do a test on another piece of wood.
I do a fair amount of turning. Often you have a beautiful piece of wood and when cutting to down you get a crack or a big bug hole. Some people try to patch it or use epoxy to cover it up. Many times it is just better to leave the defect as is and accept it as character. Wood is not always perfect. You have a rather large area that is very thin so a patch may make things worse.
Thank you, my friend. I’ll leave it as it is, then. I’ll only patch a few other holes on the back of the piece and continue. I like your philosophy; let’s say it gives the piece character.
