My inlay is already glued and it sits low, sits proud, or shows a gap. Can I fix it?

Read the symptom first

Gap all the way around, plug did not seat. The plug bottomed out before its walls met the pocket walls. Published troubleshooting points to a plug that hit the pocket floor (too little glue gap), debris in the pocket, or uneven clamping. A user forum explanation: on tapered walls every bit of extra downward travel tightens the sides, so the plug must have room to keep moving down.

Gap in some places only. Usually stock that was not flat and parallel to the machine, a different bit angle between the halves, a worn tip that tore the rim, or thin detail that could not reach depth.

Inlay sits low after trimming. Causes listed in one published guide: no start depth on the plug, the plug not fully seated when the glue set, or sanding too far.

Inlay sits proud. Normal before trimming. That is the waste you plane or sand away.

Fixes after the glue is dry

1. Hairline gaps: mix fine sanding dust from the same wood with glue to a paste, press it in, let it harden and sand. The Woodweb knowledge base describes this dust-and-glue method. A common shop variation is to work glue into the seam and sand while it is wet so the dust packs the gap. Test either on scrap, and test the color there too, since filled seams take finish differently.
2. Wider gaps: a dust and epoxy mix is stronger and can be tinted, per the same Woodweb page.
3. Low inlay: resurface the whole face down to the inlay with light CNC surfacing passes or a plane, if the inlay has depth to spare. If it does not, the honest fix is to pocket the area out and cut a new plug.
4. Uniform gap from a plug that never seated: filling rarely hides it. Recut the pocket slightly deeper over the same vectors and make a new plug.

Preventing a repeat

• Check that flat depth and bit are identical on both halves, and confirm a positive Glue Gap. The official documentation requires it to be greater than zero and less than the Pocket Depth.
• One educator's remedies for small gaps: a slightly larger male start depth and a new V bit.
• Flatten both boards before carving.

Pro tips

• Dry fit before glue. A gap you can see dry will not close wet.
• See the entry on the V inlay depth recipe for settings, and the entry on V inlay glue-up for clamping.