I am now in the wood filler business.

For years now (I don’t know how long and I can’t pinpoint when it started), I have been making my own wood filler. I never thought anything of it. I thought everyone made their own filler, especially when they ran out of filler from the store. It just made sense take some wood dust, mix it with some sort of binder, and voilà, you have wood filler.

For me, the wood part was easy. I am surrounded by lumber in my shop and from my sawmill, and it seems like I am always buried in dust. But the binder part proved a bit more challenging. I started out with glue (everyone says to use glue), but I didn’t like the results. The glue took forever to dry and it didn’t sand easily. Some folks recommend epoxy, but you can’t mix up a big batch with epoxy. It sets up in just a few minutes and then you have to start over. I was looking for something that I could make in a larger batch and save to have on hand the second I needed it. Sometimes I might be finishing 50 parts at a time, and I can’t imagine mixing up a new batch every time with epoxy.

So, I played more with the binder and finally came up with something that holds everything together, sands easily, accepts stain, dries fast and is just about as perfect as wood filler can be. I have been using it for a long time now, and will still take the time to make a batch, even when my previous favorite wood filler, Famowood, is right there.

The beauty of this filler is that except for the binder, the rest is 100% wood dust from a specific, specified species. (I did that for fun.) That means that the color of the filler matches as close as possible and changes with the lumber over time. This is critical on projects with a clear finish, especially on species that change a lot during their lifetime, like cherry (darkens), walnut (lightens), or maple (yellows).

In the shop we jokingly call it “Wunderfil”, but who would have guessed that there is already a filler called Wunderfil (even with a “U”) sold through Rockler. Because of that unfortunate finding, this one is not called Wunderfil, it is called WunderWoods Custom Wood Filler. Even if the name is a bit longer, at least you will know where to get it.

And, here’s the pitch. I am selling it in 6 species (cherry, walnut, red oak, white oak, hard maple, white pine) to start with, for $9.65 per 6 oz. can. I will also make custom batches from any wood that you request for $15 per 6 oz. can. If you would like to make a purchase click here to go to ebay, or for custom orders, just send me an e-mail at [email protected]t.

Thanks for your support, and don’t feel like you have to buy some just to make me feel better.

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