WILL Pin Nail Holes Disappear WITHOUT filling? // WnW 226

Experimenting in the shop today
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YES! I'm talking about a Jimmy DiResta video when I refer to seeing "someone" built a table like this online. That table seemed to me to be in the rustic/reclaimed style, so tiny nail holes were likely of no concern. But I was aiming for a different look, hence this experiment.

So I'm planning to build a desk.
But I'm not sure I have enough Walnut for the top.

So I thought I might just make a plywood top, and then glue down thin strips of walnut onto the top. I've seen a couple videos where someone made a table like that, and they just pin-nailed all the strips into place. That is certainly a quick way to make a table.

(and yes, one was Jimmy DiResta and the other was someone copying Jimmy. And in neither video did they show a close-up afterwards so we could see if the pin holes were still visible)

The conventional wisdom is that pin nail holes just "disappear". But before I commit to something like that, I wanted to test it. I do NOT want the rustic look with beat up wood and nail holes. I want a clean wooden top.

So, DO the nail holes just disappear?

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[Wordsnwood]

YES! I'm talking about a Jimmy DiResta video when I refer to seeing "someone" built a table like this online. That table seemed to me to be in the rustic/reclaimed style, so tiny nailholes were likely of no concern. But I was aiming for a different look, hence this experiment.


So I'm planning to build a desk.
But I'm not sure I have enough Walnut for the top.

So I thought I might just make a plywood top, and then glue down thin strips of walnut onto the top. I've seen a couple videos where someone made a table like that, and they just pin-nailed all the strips into place. That is certainly a quick way to make a table.

(and yes, one was Jimmy DiResta and the other was someone copying Jimmy. And in neither video did they show a close-up afterwards so we could see if the pin holes were still visible)

The conventional wisdom is that pin nail holes just "disappear". But before I commit to something like that, I wanted to test it. I do NOT want the rustic look with beat up wood and nail holes. I want a clean wooden top.

So, DO the nail holes just disappear?

YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED:
👕 Buy Merch: wordsnwood.com/merch.html​

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🙏🙏Thank-you! 🙏🙏

[JohnHeisz]

The best ways to fill these (or any nail holes) is with a matched colour filler (not sawdust) before sanding, or with colour matched wax fillers after the last coat of finish.
I think the idea of them "disappearing" is that they don't stand out unless you use too many or you are looking for them. So in that way, while they are still there, normal people generally don't see them.

[luigiseli]

When possible, I "hide" the pin nails in the darker veins of the grain pattern. Then, if I have to do any filling with a dark filler, the holes tend to be less noticeable. Thanks for your time

[AlAmantea]

The ram in the pinner is setting them too deep, causing a larger hole than needed. That pinner does have a depth adjustment. You need to move the front face towards the nailing surface for a shallower setting. You can also adjust the air pressure to account for smaller pins.

[idontthinkso]

I applaud your effort to experiment and approach this methodically. But let’s be honest: a hole must be filled if it has a chance of disappearing, and how well it disappears is dependent upon how well the filler matches the surrounding wood. We’re making a big deal about the hole size (23g vs 16g, etc.) but that really doesn’t change anything as we are talking about fine furniture that will be touched a lot (desk) and viewed closely. I tend to work in oak, so I have 2 fillers of slightly different colors that I use. For a hole in a ray fleck, I’ll use the lighter one, and in a dark spot, the darker filler. Sometimes I’ll mix them if needed. After sanding and finishing, I struggle to find my filled nail holes. If you use wide range of wood species, you’ll have to assemble a larger collection of fillers, but the process is the same.

Unfilled nail holes in anything (fine furniture especially) are unsightly and a sign of poor craftsmanship and should be avoided. They will always catch the light differently than the surrounding wood and signal their presence. YouTube is full of amateurs who only care about marketing their brand (DiResta) so I congratulate you for focusing on quality results and elevating your skills.

[KSFWG]

Try a one pound cut of shellac, sanding while the shellac is still wet. Allow the shellac to thoroughly dry. Sand the shellac after it's dried, like a sanding sealer. This is just something I once heard, but I've never tried it.

[Original_Old_Farmer]

Two things to consider with your test. You are focusing on the holes and you are shooting nails so that you can see them. When building your desk, find ways to hide where you nail. For example, nail on the bottom or back side if possible. Find ways to hide where you nail. If you are also gluing and only nailing to hold things together until dry, use only one or two nails to hold things together. Think of pocket holes and how the screws are at an angle. Can you shoot nails in a similar manner so that the nails are hidden? Think of this, if you had one solid sheet of wood and you shot one nail in the center, only one, by the time you finished building and applying a couple of coats, you would have trouble finding the single hole.

[johannes.f.r.]

With a slightly thicker strip you might be able to toenail only the outer edges of the blocks and then use a vacuum bag as a press afterwards, but that is not quick either and it might get messy with all the epoxy. Definitely a labor of love.

[danielattencio]

unfilled pin nail holes are like a small flaw in a project, if you don't tell anyone about them, nobody but you will ever see them. After a while you won't even see them. So quit looking for them. The only thing you can do is to fill them, then you can sleep at night. Dan

[alans]

I have gotten nail holes to close up by dampening the wood, covering it with a damp cloth, and ironing with a hot clothes iron. The holes close up, but they remain slightly visible.

[YTcustomchris]

Would use heat from a iron and water make the holes shrink up?. Kind of like fixing a dent in wood where the wood swells around the hole. Idk worth a try.

[myxology]

Thanks for showing this experiment, Art. It's very helpful!

[iznogudsurfer]

Steam the wood with a damp towel and an iron

[avir]

I had the same questions few months ago while using my Ridgid nailer. So I ending buying a Grex pin nailer from Lee valley which cost 4 times the price of a Ridgid pin nailer. There was some slight difference. The hole was less visible but still visible .... lol 😂, you know what I mean. Honestly, the whole will always be there unless you use matching fillers. However, I saw a huge difference when I painted over the holes. The holes disappear completely after only one coat of paint. Normally, you could still noticed a slight dip on the holes with the Ridgid after 1 coat.

[greatitbroke]

The problem is with a water base product would the sawdust not float out of the pin holes? Just thinking out loud here. My Uncle used to mix the saw dust into the finish then plug the holes.

[rafvdp]

Maybe I simplify it to much, but a hole is still a hole, even a pinnail, so to get rid of it you gonna have to fill it before or after you put finish on it. The ” overlooking ” will not work for you because you know where to look because you build it.🤪 I also guess it will be better to fill it after finishing because before finishing it will react differently on the finish as the wood does .

[Sebastopolmark]

GREAT video Art. The obvious answer is if you don't want to see them - don't use them. That's being fecetious. It would take a bit longer but if you wanted to use strips then the old glue and weight might have done the trick. Yes it would be a longer build but - wait for it - no pin holes. Looking forward to the desk build! !! !!!

[AlAmantea]

I wonder if the nailer has the depth set too deep, causing the ram to enter the wood instead of only the pin. This would create a larger hole that would be harder to hide.

[roberthoyle]

I have tried sawdust and both ca glue, tight bond glues thinned and straight out of the bottle. Nothing disguised the holes. Most times it just darkened and accented the holes.

[stevecollins]

None of those have ever worked for me either, Art.