Now that the guide holes have been drilled on the other side, you may find that there are small indentations on the 'finished' side of the plate caused by movement and pressure during the drilling process (even though our drilling support post is padded with a leather pad).
..This just applies to working on softer Top Plate Spruce wood.
The method to remove these (or similar wood compression defects) is to spray a light mist of water on to the surface (here using a hand spray bottle).
..Notice the small dimples in the surface of the top plate wood...
Then wipe off excess (liquid) water from the surface, with a clean cotton rag and let the plates air dry.
In a few hours, the compressed wood should swell back to its original shape, needing only minor fine sanding to restore contour. You may need to repeat this process several times.
..Then a very fine sanding, blow the surface clean and you are ready to continue with varnish ground, coloring and or varnishing when the time comes.
Modified 9/2017
Page O16C_37
