A. Your problem is defining the difference between fill and filler. Most people think of patching a hole when they think of filling but filling mahogany (and walnut and rosewood) means to fill up the open grain of the wood, not repair a hole or defect. These woods have very deep grain patterns and it is difficult to get a smooth, glass like finish on them without filling the grain. For this purpose you use a product known as "paste wood filler" which is very different from fill. Paste wood filler is usually a thick oil based product the consistency of peanut butter, made of a mix of a binder like linseed oil and a body such as very finely crushed rock. This mixture is applied to the entire surface of the wood and then removed with a rough cloth like burlap, leaving a great deal of the mixture down in the grain of the wood. When it dries it is almost as hard as the wood and the finish is applied over it. This gives the smooth finish found on traditional mahogany as opposed to the "open grain" look of oak.

Q. I need to repair my set of dining room chairs but I am unsure of how to do one thing. The chairs were made in the 1950's and they are screwed together I am quite sure. I just need to tighten the screws but I can't get to them because they are all concealed under wooden plugs. I tried to remove one with a screwdriver but damaged it so badly I had to just throw it away. Is there a neat clean way to remove those plugs or are they just disposable?

Q. I have seen some very fancy chairs offered at auction called Belter chairs. Why are they called that? Is that a style or someone's name or a place? They always seem to sell for a lot of money.

A. John Henry Belter was one of America's most famous cabinetmakers. Born in Germany in 1804, he came to New York in 1844 where he opened a cabinet shop and continued in business in various locations in Manhattan until his death in 1863. He was an innovator in the new technique of lamination even though he almost certainly did not invent the process. He probably learned it in home region of the Black Forest in Germany. The layering of strips of wood with alternating grain pattern gave a great deal of strength to the wood, allowing much more elaborate decorations and carvings than had been done previously. Belter worked in the middle of the Victorian era and most of his work was done the Rococo Revival style, reminiscent of 17th and 18th century French court stylings. When Belter died his brothers-in-law, the Springmeyers, continued his business until 1867 when it went into bankruptcy.

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