How to Make Sanding Dust Filler Paste for an Oak Floor

Although collecting sawdust to use for wood filler creates a near indistinguishable patch for any drilled hole, incorrectly making this sawdust filler regardless of what type of wood you work with will result in an off-shade putty visible after finishing. Because sawdust putty consists of a substance harder than the surrounding wood, once this putty dries, you will find it impossible to get it out. This means you must get it right. Because oak consists of distinct red and white wood patches, you cannot afford to get the color mix wrong. Although correctly creating this putty requires trial-and-error testing, the result for your wood project will create a near unidentifiable patchwork for any drilled hole.

Wood glue
Scrap paper
Oak sawdust (4 ounces)
Scrap wood
Power drill
1/8-inch drill bit
Damp cloth
120-grit sandpaper

Instructions

- 1
  Pour a pea-sized drop of wood glue onto scrap paper.
- 2
  Select some sawdust, choosing red, white or a mix, depending on the hole you want to patch. Your goal should not be matching grain -- just the shade of the wood.
- 3
  Mix the sawdust into the glue until you have a ratio that seems to be much more sawdust than glue and the consistency involves bits of visible sawdust sticking together. You should not have any visible glue because it should all mix together with the dust.
- 4
  Drill a hole into the scrap wood using the power drill fitted with the drill bit. Drill only to a depth of about one-sixteenth of an inch.
- 5
  Squish the sawdust into the hole.
- 6
  Smoothen the filler with the tip of your finger, immediately cleaning your finger with the damp cloth. Allow the sawdust to dry for 12 to 24 hours.
- 7
  Sand the scrap wood using sandpaper.
- 8
  Inspect the scrap wood, determining if you like the color match and the ratio of dust to glue. For oak, the color will seem "off" if you selected too much red or too much white sawdust, but it will also seem "off" if you have too much glue. Glue will appear pasty white, that might seem to match the white wood but it won't match the red portions of your wood.
- 9
  Practice filling holes in scrap wood until you feel comfortable mixing the sawdust at the right ratio for your project.

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