Use This TikTok Hack To Patch Your Chipped Wood Furniture

Calling all DIYers with a love for — and some experience with — woodworking projects. Do you have a piece of chipped wood furniture in need of repair? If you've been procrastinating about getting it fixed, maybe it's time to put your own skills to the test. As long as you've got a few specific tools on hand, you can do this TikTok hack to create an invisible fix. It involves deepening and expanding the chipped area into a smooth rectangle or square that you can then fill in with a matching piece of wood.

What elevates this hack is that it's from a professional woodworker, Brent Biglow. But, even though the pros use an abundance of sophisticated equipment that many of us don't, this fix might very well be within your capabilities anyway. And remember, you can always prepare all your elements then bring your piece to a professional and have them deliver the finishing touches. Another reason to consider this solid repair method is that it uses wood instead of wood filler to make the fix, rendering it invisible when done correctly. This hack works best if you have leftover wood from an unstained, unpainted project, and you can make it work by duplicating the furniture's color.

You'll need to have sandpaper, an electric saw, a hand saw, and extra wood on hand. You'll also need wood glue, a hammer, and a chisel — most likely one sized at ¼ or ⅜ of an inch. Unless the extra wood you have is an exact match for your furniture, you'll also need to experiment with combinations of wood stains to get the right color match and a finish with a sheen or gloss level that matches the existing finish as closely as possible. Consider bringing a well-lit photo of your furniture to a professional for their opinion on good color and finishing matches. Stain and finish an extra piece of wood until you're happy with the result.

Because you'll turn the chip into a smooth rectangular block, use a ruler and pencil to surround the damage with a clean shape, noting the exact measurement. Using a chisel and hammer, chisel out the rectangle. On your pre-sanded, pre-stained wood, draw the same dimensions in pencil, and saw out that shape. Make sure you extract it from a thick part of the wood so it will protrude out from the furniture. 

Apply wood glue inside the cavity you created, and insert the wood replacement, paying particular attention to the direction of the wood grain. Remove excess wood with a hand saw, and carefully sand it without sanding the surrounding furniture. Apply the wood stain, then finish with a sealer. The previous damage disappears, and you're left with an unblemished piece of wood furniture.