With plenty of low-cost commercial wood fillers and wood putties available, you might wonder why you would want to make your own DIY wood filler. Off-the-shelf wood fillers are easy to work with, and some are tinted to mimic the colors of various wood types. Still, many skilled woodworkers make their own wood fillers, for a few reasons.

Why Make Your Own Wood Filler

Do-it-yourself wood filler is often called cabinetmaker's putty since woodworkers and fine carpenters often create their own filler to closely match a particular woodworking project. This close match is achieved by using the wood itself, by mixing sawdust from the same wood with a binder, typically wood glue.

Convenience is another reason you might want to make your own wood filler. If you run out of commercial wood filler while working on a project, you can whip up a small batch of your own in less than 10 minutes.

DIY wood filler will closely match your project's wood, but it will not be exactly the same since the glue will be a different color from the wood. DIY filler works well for filling small holes and cracks but is not strong enough to bridge large holes, cracks, and gouges. As with any wood filler, your DIY filler will not be able to match the wood grain. Most wood glues are lightly brown-tinted, but if you can find white wood glue, it will create a better color match.