I started sanding my front legs to seat joints on my rocker and one of the legs joint didn't close up all the way. This is near catastrophic. These seat joints are pretty much the "Money Shots" for these chairs. You'll see in the first photo a successful front leg joint, it's the left leg, the following photo is the bad joint. ARRRGGGHHHH! 

I am pondering cutting the bad one off or both. They are supposed to be matched from the same piece, but I am not sure if the typical eye could really tell. As long as the replacement leg is from the same area of the slab, I think the difference would be negligible. It just reeeaaally pisses me off that I have to spend an entire day fixing this simple mistake. If I just would have wiped the glue from the area to check it, I would have discovered immediately that the joint did not close properly. Live and learn!

 

Good joint below, not fully sanded you can see a slight glue line around the joint, this disappears with more sanding,

The big bad gap! This does not disappear!  Sheesh!

 

Back to the shop.

I have those days more than I want to admit.

I'm not sure that I want to suggest this..........but............could you take a thin piece of veneer that matches in color, and form it into that ah crud void????

Boy I wish it was that easy Gary, but after a good coat of oil goes on, that will be noticeable. These joints must be perfect in every way. Great suggestion in a lot of scenarios, but it just won't work for this one. Thanks Gary

Take a bunch of that sanding dust, a toothpick and some glue.

 

Shave the toothpick down till it's a little "Spatula" and shove SOME glue in.

 

take same Spatula and shove dust down in till it's filled.

 

take drop of glue on finger and SMEAR over it.

 

pour alot of dust over glue.

 

Here comes the artistry, power sand over the spot with 120 grit while the glue is still wet, keeping it moving.

 

The glue on top will be picked up by the sandpaper and will blend the dust in. now when it's blended leave it alone to set.

 

Don't believe me?  try this:

 

Cut a strip of pine and glue it onto a piece of plywood like you would the front of a shelf. 

 Leave the front trim piece slightly gappy (same size as your "mistake") and higher than the surface of the plywood.

 

When dry, sand top with ros and use a fingerfull to wipe glue into "gap" then sand 120 grit.. 

 

You should find it disappears very nicely.

 

 

John, have you thought about using some grain filler?  Might be worth a shot.

Wow that is a bummer. I thought I was the only one that had those type problems.

 

Anyway to apply a some heat and break the join apart since it is fairly new. Maybe with heat and a little pressure you could separate them and then re-glue and re-clamp.

 

 

Hey John

I agree with Gary , a well matched color and wood grain will never be seen.after being glued in place. I know Charles uses this approach too. The best patch for wood is wood.

So John, did you get it fixed and if so what did you do?

Alright guys, first I want to say thank you all so much for helping me out with this. The best medicine for my frustration was just coming on here and venting.

I also contacted Hal Taylor and he told me of a fix that he uses frequently. Yes, even the master builder himself makes mistakes.

I would like to copy his answer to my email here:

 

"It is not such a great problem,

Cut yourself a thin piece of wood with grain that kind of matches the end grain of the front leg, make it the length of the void plus a little, make it slightly wedge shaped, sand it to taper it to fit clean as much of the glue away as you can then spread titebond and drive the wedge in as tight as you can get it. Most likely it will never be seen because the end grain walnut goes black anyway!

There you have it!

Hal"

I followed Hals advice to the "T" and it worked beautifully. The error is virtually gone, and as Hal stated, once I add the oil, the end grain turns practically black, hiding any error from site.

Now I need to eat some crow. Gary you were right, as your idea was exactly as Hal stated. And it worked great. I am sorry I poofooed your idea of a veneer size strip glued in place. And A-1 Jim was on the same track as you. I cut a really thin strip of end grain, sanded the ends to taper so it would fit perfectly, and I glued it in place with TB III Dark. After I sanded it, you could barely notice it happened at all. I am a real happy camper right now. And to think I was going to cut the dang legs off!!! I mean I was within an hour of whacking those off and starting over, setting me back a day or so. Nope, just a lil strip of wood, and I am off to the races once again. Thanks guys!

And, this is typical Hal Taylor, after you purchase his plans for the chair, his help line is open for as long as your building chairs. Hal is the best.

Well we are just glad it worked out and you were able to move on. Hey, that is what this forum is all about and some ideas work and some might not, but there are folks willing to help.

 

It even shows that any of us can have a slip up and need some help and not be afraid to ask.

 

Great going John, glad to know that the rocker is back on track!