I have an inside window sill which is made of pine and 16 feet long. It’s on the South side of the house. Looking at it I have a large loose knot. Due to the sun, the resin is coming thru the paint. I can remove the loose knot, t’s about 1 1/2″ dia or should I fill it with glue to hold it? . Thought about using a hole saw to cutout, then cut a new plug out of plywood and glue it in. Is there a filler for that large a hole which would work. Something like Durhams?
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What I usually do is get a chunk of scrap of the same species, split it with a hatchet until it's a bit larger than the hole and tapered, whittle it down to fit. Since it's tapered, you may have to hack off a bit of the pointy end to get the piece to fit deep enough, but keep working at it until you have a good fit. Don't worry about the sticking-out part on the front.
Glue the piece in, then, after the glue dries, cut it off flush.
I've used the hole saw quite successfully. Drill it out with one size then use the next size to make the plug. I smear Durhams around the edges, tap it in, let it dry and sand it smooth. No one will ever know it's there.
I will try what you suggested. Thanks for your expertiese
John
You've got a loose knot-won't be able to hold a hole saw in place to drill it out to true round.
Remove the knot, take hole saws and hold them up to the hole-what size would give you the best plug, with just a little filler or just a bit of whittling?
Calvin has a good point. Drill out whatever size hole you need in a piece of 3/4" stock first then clamp that over the knothole to keep the holesaw in place.
Glue the knot in.
If the knot comes out easy, clean the knot and the hole with acetone to remove as much resin as possible, then glue it in. I'd chose epoxy glue, but any suitable glue should work. This repair will look more natural than a perfectly round hole. I suppose a chunk of matching wood whittled to fit the hole would be my second choice, followed by what's called a dutchman repair.
Resin in the knot will continue to bleed thru the paint, and the knot could keep shrinking.
Since the sill is to be painted, a tight-fitting hole-saw plug will be invisible after it is placed and sanded smooth.