A method of mending a defective wood plate uses, instead of putty, a solid patching material which is smaller in thicknesswise shear strength and compressive strength than the wood plate and is sized greater than a defect of the plate which is to be mended. The solid patching material is applied to the plate in such a manner as to cover the defect and then compressed in the thicknesswise direction to undergo shear fracture. As a result, that part of the material which overlies the defect is thrust into the defect. The compression is effected in two consecutive stages, one using a rigid member and the other an elastic member. |