Thread: Door mortise fill

In short, my answer would be a resounding no, fill the hole with wood. Anything else basically is going to look too obvious, and especially if you are intending on polishing rather than painting the door, it will look IMHO silly. So go for wood as it is the best option I reckon.

There is a great tradition of patching holes with timber. With time it gives an interesting look and great quality and strength. Then, quite a few years ago, someone thought of an easier way - use "bog" and since then various bogs of putty (clay with linseed oil) wax filler, to epoxy putty versions have been espoused and used. With time they shrink, look ghastly or maybe even fall out. In my opinion the best patch for wood - is wood - with a very thin layer of the same glue the door was made from, probably hoof and hide glue the very best. I'm sure most contemporary woodworkers would be happy to recommend one of the pva adhesives though I still use hoof and hide wherever appropriate.

The door will be painted.
The lock slot is a bit rough and would be hard to clean it up to make piece of wood a nice fit.
What I had in mind was something like plastibond.

Originally Posted by phaser

The door will be painted.
The lock slot is a bit rough and would be hard to clean it up to make piece of wood a nice fit.
What I had in mind was something like plastibond.

Cleanup the mortice hole with a chisel and deepen it where the plate sat. Glue a piece of wood in the mortice hole and where the plate sat.

Use any of the Titebond glues as they are more than strong enough.

Where the handle went through, use a forstner bit and then use a piece of dowel to fill it.

Sand it down and the fill any voids with epoxy or bog (it really doesn't matter which). Then sand again and paint.

Don't try and use any sort of putty as the constant closing (really hard) of the door will shake it loose.

Originally Posted by The Bleeder

Cleanup the mortice hole with a chisel and deepen it where the plate sat. Glue a piece of wood in the mortice hole and where the plate sat.

Use any of the Titebond glues as they are more than strong enough.

Where the handle went through, use a forstner bit and then use a piece of dowel to fill it.

Sand it down and the fill any voids with epoxy or bog (it really doesn't matter which). Then sand again and paint.

Don't try and use any sort of putty as the constant closing (really hard) of the door will shake it loose.

Thanks. I'll follow your instructions. Sounds good.

Originally Posted by phaser

Thanks. I'll follow your instructions. Sounds good.

Sounds like you have an Oregan 3 panel door and this process worked for me on about 15 doors on a federation place I renovated.

Don't worry about finding Oregan to put in as it's rather stable but if you have some already it's best to use it. Don't use pine though, try and use any hardwood.

Originally Posted by The Bleeder

Sounds like you have an Oregan 3 panel door and this process worked for me on about 15 doors on a federation place I renovated.

Don't worry about finding Oregan to put in as it's rather stable but if you have some already it's best to use it. Don't use pine though, try and use any hardwood.

Yeah it would be oregon. I bought it from a guy who is renovating a federation house.
I have a small piece of timber from an old bed head about 1930's. If I knock on it, it almost sounds like a bell. Perhaps that would be good for a filler block.
When you say bog, do you mean car bog ? I also have a tub of Timber Mate wood filler if you think that would be better ?
I've actually got quite a few packets of a cheap epoxy like areldite from a $2 shop. It's not as strong as areldite but i think it would be ok to glue the block in.

Phaser

I tested that cheap epoxy and found it to be absolute crap. It'll be going in the bin.

Originally Posted by phaser

I tested that cheap epoxy and found it to be absolute crap. It'll be going in the bin.

Don't bother with it. Use a good wood glue to put the blocks and plugs in. Try Titebond II. Then use a good epoxy or bog to fill in the bits as you won't need much.

Originally Posted by The Bleeder

Don't bother with it. Use a good wood glue to put the blocks and plugs in. Try Titebond II. Then use a good epoxy or bog to fill in the bits as you won't need much.

LOL. Too late. I already glued it in with epoxy.
What's the norm for the frame gap....2mm top and sides ?
But what about the bottom ?. It is for the laundry and so is sitting over concrete.

Don't worry too much as epoxy will do the job.

As for the gap at the bottom it really depends on how flat the concrete is.

The door will have to go over the highest point in the concrete. Unless yoy are realy lucky and the concrete slopes away from the door.

Haven't fitted the door yet. I don't have to worry about filling the part where the lock plate was because I have to take about 8mm off both sides of the door. That also makes it easier for relocating the hinges.

I bought another identical door from the same guy to fit a different frame. It will actually need to have some timber added to one side to make it wider by about 6mm.

Another question is : What gap should I have between the door and the back edge of the frame that the door closes up against ? So now I'm wondering how to locate the hinges to allow for this, and is it better to fit the hinges to the door first or the frame ?