Question about repairing a wood hat block

[Allenworsham]

I have done woodworking for many years as a hobby and have repaired a lot of things. I have a hat maker friend that has a damaged hat block that he wants me to repair. It had been repaired before by someone else who drilled A few holes to put bolts through to strengthen the block and then put wood plugs in the holes and sanded them flush. The bolts were completly rusted so I removed them and will replace them, but instead of plugs I was thinking about using a type of wood putty as I have seen other hat blocks repaired this way. So I am looking for a bit of advice before I move forward on this piece.

 

[g.durand]

When I worked as a cabinetmaker we used an auto-body filler like Bondo as an all-purpose patching material. If the two parts (resin and catalyst) are mixed properly the material dries at least as hard as wood, and it should be water and heat resistant enough to work as filler on a hat block. Another nice thing about it is it hardens fairly quickly. Use a Stanley Surform or similar tool to rough the dried filler down to the surface and then sand it flush.

 

[viclip]

If moisture is a concern, use metallized body filler. I suspect that a marine repair supplier might have some products available too.

 

[T Jones]

When I worked as a cabinetmaker we used an auto-body filler like Bondo as an all-purpose patching material. If the two parts (resin and catalyst) are mixed properly the material dries at least as hard as wood, and it should be water and heat resistant enough to work as filler on a hat block. Another nice thing about it is it hardens fairly quickly. Use a Stanley Surform or similar tool to rough the dried filler down to the surface and then sand it flush.

I worked at a furniture warehouse some time ago. Body filler is what they used to repair broken off corners from dressers, etc. After it was sanded down and then finished you couldn't tell that a repair had been made. I've also seen that very thing done at another furniture outlet as well. It definitely works.

 

[moehawk]

I just finished repairing a block that I was making tat turned out rather bulbous instead of the straight sided dome I was trying for. I used a tube of minwax wood fillervin the color I was planning on staining it. I just squeezed it on where needed, used a putty knife to spread it like frosting, let dry then sand to shape. Very easy, good results.