I chipped my table...I want to throw up!!!

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

I think I have clamp envy

Harbor Freight, Vernon. Something from there that's actually pretty good & cheap--$3.99 each!

[reinergirl]

Wood glue... Wood clamp...hmmm sure hope you put a Teflon sheet or something under them .... If you have glue squeeze out it could be a problem.

With that busy of a pattern I doubt you'll notice it, but I feel for you!

[Becky B.]

I squeezed it a bunch of times before I actually left it there. What fun is it if I don't take a small risk, anyhow? More drama is just the story of my life.....

[reinergirl]

LOL See? Day two and you already have a sense of humor about it!

[vswingfield]

One thing that you have going in your favor. That boomerang pattern will act as camouflage and make the crack harder to see.

[Becky B.]

Ok, so here are the results......





It's pretty hard to see, unless you're looking for it. It isn't exactly flush on one side/end. I think the chip must have been pretty jagged underneath. Anyhow, I put metal edging on the end so it shouldn't ever happen again! Thanks everyone & Land Shark for all the suggestions! The blood pressure is good again!

[eljay]

If you can't see it at 4 feet, it doesn't count! Good job! I knew you could do it!

[Becky B.]

Thanks, Eljay!

[SuperTrouper]

Looks good to me! Nice Job!

[Gene]

Since you installed it in the first place, I guess it was best for you to do it instead of hiring it out. Glad you used wood glue—people underestimate how well simple wood glue works and how forgiving it is. I've use contact cement and it requires perfection the first time you attach something—almost impossible unless you do it every day for years.

Last year I made a new dinette table. Knowing furniture making was not something I can do well, I still figured the dinette table is so simple I could do it. I had just about finished and was drilling pilot holes for the screws underneath when I drilled all the way through the wood. I disguised it pretty well, but I can find it and sometimes look for it in the spirit of self abuse. I have to restrain myself from telling people about all the mistakes I made when they tell me how good it looks. No one will see it but you and eventually you will forget about it. Maybe you can find some grey paint to color the faint white line between the chip and the rest of the table. When I joined the miter between two pieces of Formica countertop, there was a faint line showing and I filled it with something to make it invisible and it worked; I wish I could remember what I used. Ask at a countertop shop and see how they fill those spaces.

I think the metal edge is period appropriate and looks good.

A couple of days ago I was attaching new railing on my front steps and drilled a pilot hole through the railing—a recurring problem for me. I do have things that you attach to the drill bit to prevent that, but I didn't want to go look for them. Someday I'll learn.

Enjoy the table and try to sit on the other side so you don't stare at it.

Gene

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by Gene

Enjoy the table and try to sit on the other side so you don't stare at it.

Gene

Ha!Ha! That's great advise, Gene. I sent the drill through some plywood in the floor in my 1st AS & punctured a hole in the water tank. I learned to use a piece of tape on the drill bit so I didn't go too far!

[Gene]

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

Ha!Ha! That's great advise, Gene. I sent the drill through some plywood in the floor in my 1st AS & punctured a hole in the water tank. I learned to use a piece of tape on the drill bit so I didn't go too far!

Sometimes I remember to use an erasable marking pen on the bit.

Gene

[Foiled Again]

I had a drawer fly out and put a hole in the wall surrounding my shower - about three months after buying my current Airstream. I went to the hardware store and found a "pencil filler" - that matched the golden oak of the Safari interior. Crammed it in the hole, overfilled a bit, then evened it off with the edge of a credit card. I have to go looking for the hole now. It's truly invisible. The filler pencil is really sort of waxy - like a crayon.

May I suggest that a duty gray Crayola might fill the tiny spaces fine.

Good luck, Paula

[Becky B.]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

I had a drawer fly out and put a hole in the wall surrounding my shower - about three months after buying my current Airstream. I went to the hardware store and found a "pencil filler" - that matched the golden oak of the Safari interior. Crammed it in the hole, overfilled a bit, then evened it off with the edge of a credit card. I have to go looking for the hole now. It's truly invisible. The filler pencil is really sort of waxy - like a crayon.

May I suggest that a duty gray Crayola might fill the tiny spaces fine.

Good luck, Paula

I think my grandson has that color in my coloring drawer! I may do a bit a scribbling later. Thanks!

[Gene]

Wax fillers are good for wood furniture, but in high use places which are getting wiped down a lot, they don't last long. I wish it would. Something has to be worked into the very small space, has to adhere and get hard, match the color and how shiny it is, last for many years under frequent abuse, and be easy to clean off the surrounding area. Wax would be great if it were durable and did not dissolve when cleaned—add a hardener and then it might work. Too bad I almost flunked chemistry or I'd invent it.

That's a lot of jobs for it and why it is best to sit on the other side of the table.

Gene

[Foiled Again]

Gene, you are correct, but her chip is on the back edge of her table, not right where you'd set a plate or silverware. A good place for a napkin holder or silverware holder. There wouldn't be a whole lot of wear and tear - and a coat of Pledge will protect against day to day wipe offs.

Paula

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by Gene

...

Wax would be great if it were durable and did not dissolve when cleaned—add a hardener and then it might work. Too bad I almost flunked chemistry or I'd invent it.

...

Fortunately, I didn't flunk chemistry but that really has nothing to do with it.

Back in the 70s, some of us made candles. You add stearic acid to make the wax harder.

My guess it that the wax fillers, and crayons too for that matter, probably already have hardener in them. I find that Conté crayons are hard enough to threaten to tear even heavy drawing paper if you bear down on it.

[Becky B.]

Well, the dirt that will attract to the little white edge will probably match just fine. I think I'll leave it & sit on the other side of the table. I need to remember......IT'S A CAMPER!!!!!!! Problem solved

[webspinner]

Today's trivia: The word "sincere" comes from two Latin words "sin," meaning "without" and "cera," meaning "wax."

The ancient Roman marble sculptors would occasionally slip with their chisels and put a divot in their work. A bit of wax dripped in and polished flush looked enough like marble to pass casual observation. But the best sculptures were those that were sincere, true all the way through, literally, "without wax."

So the gray crayon idea has a long historical precedent.

[Gene]

When I use wax sticks on wood, it sometimes wears off if in an area that gets touched from time to time. Then I have to reapply it. I don't know what Pledge would do—my understanding is that Pledge is a thinned liquid wax. The wax sticks are a harder wax and Pledge may absorb into the hard wax and weaken the bond. But Becky's point that dirt may fill it is a good one—sometimes a little dirt and wax is the solution.

Gene