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Fixing a knot hole that got sucked up in the planer with a christmas tree

Fixing a knot hole that got sucked up in the planer with a christmas tree

I am working on another barn door for a client, and this door has created a few challenges for me. The client loves the look of the gray, weathered wood and wanted it on both sides of the door. The only problem is that most barn wood is gray on one side. The other side facing the barn’s inside is brown because it never sees the weather.

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So, I decided to create barn wood veneer to veneer on both sides of the door using the gray color. To accomplish this, I re-sawed the barn wood on the bandsaw and flattened the back by sending it through the planer.
Well, during the re-saw and planning, several of the knots fell out or got sucked up in the planer. And when I veneered them on the plywood core for the door, the plywood showed through the knot holes,
This was not a good look. So I was racking my brain to figure out where I would get a knot that was the exact size of the hole to fix this.
Now this is where my laziness payed off, I still had last year’s Christmas tree laying behind the shed. So I pulled it out of the brush pile and went to work skinning dead…… Cuz is not alive.


I brought it into the shop, used my calipers to measure the knot diameter, and then found the same diameter on the tree trunk. Took a slice on the radial arm saw, which is probably not something I suggest anybody do, this is an unsupported cut and could bind the saw, cause the branch to jump or kickback. Not try that at home, use a hand saw.
I jammed the branch in the knot hole and cut it flush with my Japanese pull saw.
I pried it out and used some general finished stain diluting it with water along with some black Trans tint die and blinded it together until I got the color I wanted.
I then Glued it in, and it looks like it has always been there.


I’m the owner of Benham Design Concepts, a mixed media art studio where I design and build custom furniture and other works of art using wood, glass, stone, and various metals.
In this blog, I talk about the art I create, my journey, and the things I learn along the way.

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