Thread: What do you do about bruised corners ?

I find screaming and swearing really helps - poor bugger.

... and FWIW even Lignum Vitae would have dented

How about some pics of the beauty ?

I have thought about systematically bruising all the others to match

I have never had much luck with the damp cloth and hot iron. I have heard about a method involving forming a wax dam around the offending area and then leaving water covering it overnight. The nuisance with this method is then it needs to be let dry s.. l.. o.. w.. l.. y - ie no hot air gun, then re-sanding and then finishing - and can take a couple of weeks.

Make another draw?

It's a simple fix!

3 step process

1. Get hold of a large syringe, with the screw in needles, I got mine fro the local vet. Fill it with warm water & inject it into the bruised area. You won't be able to get much in but it does help.
2. Get an steam iron from SWMBO & put water into it. Warm it up to ¾ temp.
3. Use a pretty wet face washer or small towel, don't make it dripping wet. Place the wet towel over the affected area & apply the hot iron to the bruised area & a little beyond. Lift the iron & towel off after most of the steam has dissipated. Use a new wet section of the towel & repeat the process a few times.

The process uses the moisture to re-inflate the crushed fibres. The bruised area will be almost as good as new

Originally Posted by MajorPanic

The process uses the moisture to re-inflate the crushed fibres. The bruised area will be almost as good as new

Firstly - Bugger
Second - Please do a WIP of De-bruising

I remember reading an article in FWW mag where you cut the corner off, replace it with a matching piece and trim it square with a block plane.

Had a similar thing happen to a top-end commission in Aussie cedar that was needed in a hurry. Was giving it a final polish wearing white cotton gloves when it took of and bounced of the sander stand with a huge ding right across the back. I used a wet towel and an iron on high to steam it out. I then had to fit 4 days oiling into 4 hours.

I've also used Wongo's method of cutting off the corner and sticking another bit on. It can give an invisible repair if done well.

This is topical!

Just finished a cedar COD and while sanding it in preparation for polishing, I managed to make a dent in one side. I still don't know how - I was being so careful, and laying each finished side on a clean, folded sheet, but somehow a chip or something got under it. I was rushing to finish it, so tried a desperation move - instead of the usual hot iron & wet rag trich, I filled the dent with spit & put a hair dryer on it. It worked.

I guess you can only expect the water & heat method to work on shallow dents where the fibres haven't been torn or crushed beyond their elastic limit. A bad ding is permanent, and can only be repaired by more heroic approach like cutting it out & replacing the crushed material, or filling with some suitable material which blends in with wood & finish material. And good luck theer - that's a real challenge, though I have had some success with fine sanding dust & hide glue, on occasion. The good thing about hide glue is it is compatible with most finishing materials - DON'T use PVA for this job, whatever you do.

My preferred method of dealing with dings is to NOT USE BL**DY CEDAR! Unfortunately, this was a 'match' job, so I couldn't avoid it.......

Cheers,

Quite correct, Ian, it only works if the fibres haven't been torn.