Redgum fillers - colour match along board joints

[Lockwoodsman]

First timer so please bare with me.
I'm making a recycled redgum dining table (100 year old boards) and need some advice on how best to fill the minor gaps I have after glue up. I have used a cement oxide (black) mixed with plasti-bond for the gum veins, and have also tried using a polyester resin for some of the deeper 'holes' to use them as a feature. I'm not sure which way to go with the gaps in the joins as I wish to hide these as much as possible. I have heard that inadvertently mixing the polyester resin (it contains styrene) with the PVA glue that I used (along the joins) may weaken the glue bond....that's the last thing I need. Has anyone heard of this happening before? If this is the case has anyone used a filler specifically designed for redgum and does the colour match well? I'm looking at using a two pack 30% gloss as the final finish. The gaps I'm talking about are approx 1 to 1.5mm along my joins. Thanks in advance
Lockwoodsman

[lockwood116]

Hi Lockwoodsman, there is a local business called Brennans Redgum Kitchens. The owner Paul may be able to offer some advice.
Best of luck.

[jefferson]

Locky,

Those are some serious gaps you are talking about - or did I misread it? 1 or 1.5mm gaps will be hard to fill along the joint lines, no question. Whatever you do, the acid test will come in a few years not overnight.

I have had good success mixing redgum sawdust with PVA - the old cabinet maker's favourite. If you let it dry, you can fill pot holes with it, no worries. And it looks more natural than anything which is what you are wanting.

Good luck with it.

Jeff

[Lockwoodsman]

G'day Jefferson
The gaps are a tad on the large side as you say, however they are not 1-1.5 along the entire joint or on each joint - there are just the odd spot along the joint where the timber has a either a long chip, or the squaring up (by panel saw) may have been a tad out. I'm confident with the number of biscuits in the table that she'll hold together very well. Thanks for the advice. I'll try the PVA/sawdust mix on the underside to see what it turns out like first. Have you had any success with a Jarrah coloured filler on redgum?

G'day Lockwood116

I'll also be looking up the Brennan's furniture place - again thanks for the tip.
Cheers
Lockwoodsman

PS - any additional threads welcome

[echnidna]

jarrah filler looks ok on redgum.

[jefferson]

Agree with Echidna on the jarrah filler on old boards. Some pinks redgum boards will stand out though, so do a quick test.

If in doubt, use black filler. Only the discerning eye will notice.

Jeff

[Lockwoodsman]

Thanks to you Bob and again to you Jeff. The boards I have are a very deep red (being 100 y.o.+) and I have heard Jarrah is a pretty close match - so you folks have confirmed that for me. Any jarrah fillers that you've had particular success with?

I have for the most part used black oxide/plastibond which is doing a great job - the only thing is the very short working time (with plastibond) and the need to do cleanups and batches where you have plenty of filling to do. I'm trying to avoid using black on the joins, but I doubt the volume I'd need would draw the eye to it too much.
Thanks again
Lockwoodsman

[Zoinker]

1200 grit sandings and a thick shellac mix for any tight grain timber, cant beat

[mcarthur]

I think the current wood review has a feature on filling redgum holes - "Taming Redgum".

Robert

[Lockwoodsman]

Thanks Robert - Good tip - I'll see if the local newsagent has one already as this AWR issue was only released yesterday........may take time to head 'all the way' to the other side of the divide. Can it be tamed?

Cheers Zoinker. 1200 grit may be pretty extreme for the finish I'm after considering the type of timber I've got (100 year old+) and I'm going for a fairly distressed/imperfect kind of look without spending too much time on the imperfections/minor spaces in the grain on the legs or the top - definitely worth a thought all the same. Thanks again