Nails and Bondo

D_Harris

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Has anyone hammered nails into the edge of a cabinet side and then used Bondo to build it up?

How much build up was needed? (1/4" 1/2", etc.).

And was it durable?

I figure one would need to be extra careful with nail placement if a T-Slot has to been added.

I'd appreciate your experiences.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Bondo is great as a filler, especially for small chips, gouges, scratches, but if you're talking about 1/4", 1/2", you probably need to stitch a new piece of wood in then use filler.
 
I have used small screws to repair a corner and it works great.
You can even weave wire,if there is room,to help reinforce the bondo.
I prefer screws since they hold much better in the wood and are easier to put in it. No pounding on brittle wood.
Yes you need to pay attention to their placement so they don't interfere with re-cutting the t-molding slot and to make sure they are not too close to the surface of the side.
 
To illustrate what I'm about to do I enclosed a pic of the damage which is the area near the control panel that people tend to grab while playing.

I took what was left of the T-Molding off, and you can see how worn down the edge is. The metal control panel support is very close to the edge, so since it is the side-to-side stress that is of paramount concern, cutting off the wood there to replace with a new piece would seem to make a less durable fix than just using screws and Bondo to build up the area.

The second pic is the top of the cabinet, but that should be easy to Bondo.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 

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Thanks. I read that thread a while back, but a Ms. Pac-man cabinet is not particle board.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

So what's the difference in how you handle the repair? It's the same concept. Drill 2-3 screws into the side of the cabinet, sinking the heads at least 1/8" below the outer plane, making sure no screws are within the proposed t-molding channel area. Add bondo in layers, using small pieces of plexi as a form, pull the plexi, sand the bondo flat, add more as needed to fill in any voids. Or you add a new chunk of wood, supporting and securing it using glue and dowels like I mentioned in my other corner repair thread.
 
So what's the difference in how you handle the repair? It's the same concept. Drill 2-3 screws into the side of the cabinet, sinking the heads at least 1/8" below the outer plane, making sure no screws are within the proposed t-molding channel area. Add bondo in layers, using small pieces of plexi as a form, pull the plexi, sand the bondo flat, add more as needed to fill in any voids. Or you add a new chunk of wood, supporting and securing it using glue and dowels like I mentioned in my other corner repair thread.

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Thanks.

The only question is which is stronger. Bondo with screws or wood with dowels.

BTW. Excellent pics. What separates your repairs from others is that you aren't always rigid with the whole originality thing. You basically go with what looks good. And what looks good can look better than what was originally used on the cabinets as far as textures, colors, and T-Molding.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Thanks.

The only question is which is stronger. Bondo with screws or wood with dowels.

BTW. Excellent pics. What separates your repairs from others is that you aren't always rigid with the whole originality thing. You basically go with what looks good. And what looks good can look better than what was originally used on the cabinets as far as textures, colors, and T-Molding.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Hey Thanks. Well I'd say the wood with dowels, but really, when you use screws as rebar for the bondo they're pretty equal in my eyes. My Joust cab (plywood) had all four corners cut off at an angle. I used dowels and new wood blocks for the front corners, screws and bondo for the back corners, and all 4 corners look good and are still holding up fine a year later:

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