Making wooden plugs

[pcatterall]

Plug Cutter/ Wood Dowel maker 8 Bit set. Standard & Four-Tooth type

The above description was my attempt to copy an eBay link....... total failure as you can see!

Hopefully the description of the cutters I have will tell our experts the type of plug making tools I have.

I want to cut some plugs out of the offcut end of my replacement teak grab rail. I knew I had some tools for the job and eventually located them.

I can see how the four pronged type cut the plug but cant fathom how to start the hole. Eventually I made some plugs by drilling a starter hole the size of the outer diameter of the cutter then used that as a starter guide.

Is that the way to do it or have I missed a trick? I still have no idea how to use the 'standard' tool ??

I did look on line for DIY advice but couldn't find anything suitable

Any advice please?

 

[prv]

Mine worked ok using a pillar drill. Are you trying to use a handheld drill? Don't think that will work as it will just dance across the surface unless you can hold it rock-solid in position.

Pete

 

[steve jones]

These work best in a drill press because they tend to wander across the face of the wood a bit before they bite. If you don't have access to a press... stand on your plank with your feet quite close together, get your drill running and stab it at the plank moderately hard using your feet as a crude guide. It's a bit course but if you only have a few plugs to make it may help.

 

[pvb]

If you only need a few, it's probably easier to buy them.

 

[pcatterall]

Ahh that might be the secret!! I had better get my new Lidl bench/pillar drill out then! My predrilled hole did stop the skipping about but it seemed an odd way to do it.
Thanks

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

Make a jig from other wood with a guide hole as you already did for the starter.

 

[DownWest]

Make a jig from other wood with a guide hole as you already did for the starter.

Plus one, if you don't have a pillar drill. Drill a plywood scrap and clamp it over the decent wood as a guide.

 

[Tranona]

Once you have your pillar drill set up it is easy I usually do a strip and just push them out with a screwdriver as I need them.

 

[VicS]

Plug Cutter/ Wood Dowel maker 8 Bit set. Standard & Four-Tooth type

The above description was my attempt to copy an eBay link....... total failure as you can see!


Any advice please?

Sometimes links dont copy but how about

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plug-Cutt...it-set-Standard-Four-Tooth-type-/171241215749

That did !


As for advice ... you could do what I did and make them by hand !

 

[pcatterall]

Sometimes links dont copy but how about

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plug-Cutt...it-set-Standard-Four-Tooth-type-/171241215749

That did !


As for advice ... you could do what I did and make them by hand !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-Pc-Wood...Maker-Tool-Shank-Drill-Bits-New-/110877498745

Ahhh, thanks. That address bar was not visible on my ebay until I used the google version!!

 

[nigelmercier]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-Pc-Wood...Maker-Tool-Shank-Drill-Bits-New-/110877498745
Ahhh, thanks. That address bar was not visible on my ebay until I used the google version!!

You need to be using a web browser, not the terrible eBay app.

PunkyLamb is a good seller, bought much from them.

 

[Hadenough]

If you only need a few, it's probably easier to buy them.

But the point is that you take the plug from the offcut or back of the job you need to plug so that it is an exact match.

 

[Len Ingalls]

But the point is that you take the plug from the offcut or back of the job you need to plug so that it is an exact match.

And if you take the plug from face of board & align the grain,plug is near invisible.
Any boughten plugs I've seen are end grain & always appear much darker when finished than the board being plugged.
Personal preference of course.

 

[nigelmercier]

I believe the OP has now been answered, so perhaps I may post an additional question: would this kit be a good way to repair veneer that has stained screw holes in it?

 

[DownWest]

I believe the OP has now been answered, so perhaps I may post an additional question: would this kit be a good way to repair veneer that has stained screw holes in it?

Think you might have trouble cutting thin veneers with them.

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

With respect to veneer, I suspect it would be too thin to plug satisfactorily. Once you've drilled out the stained screw-hole(s), what then? A plug needs to be at least 1/8" finished thickness in order to hold, in my view.

Any boughten plugs I've seen are end grain & always appear much darker when finished than the board being plugged.

This makes them dowels, not plugs. Dowels are almost always a no-no, as they can much more readily wick water into themselves and the substrate, encouraging rot.

For the OP, you would usually want to use a drill press with a plug-cutter. Failing that, if you drill a pilot hole the same diameter as the OD of the plug-cutter in a piece of scrap, then you can use that as a guide to hold the plug-cutter (as already suggested).

More information on plugs here.

Mike

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

I believe the OP has now been answered, so perhaps I may post an additional question: would this kit be a good way to repair veneer that has stained screw holes in it?

You will need to cut around the existing screw hole, then make a plug to fit. I think that these tools may be a bit harsh for that, even cutting out the stained part it would be difficult to stop at the right depth. Rather an X-Acto knife and good measurement for a square hole.

 

[pvb]

But the point is that you take the plug from the offcut or back of the job you need to plug so that it is an exact match.

By the time it's weathered (or varnished) it'll be a decent match.

 

[Len Ingalls]

I believe the OP has now been answered, so perhaps I may post an additional question: would this kit be a good way to repair veneer that has stained screw holes in it?

Consider using a gasket punch to cut round holes in old veneer around the stained holes.
Then cut round plugs from new veneer using same punch & glue them into holes with grain matched as good as possible.View attachment 56063

Cheers/ Len

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

Sounds like a practicable solution, with the punched 'plugs' glued to the screw-heads. (This is not what you'd normally do with a boat, and assumes you'll not ever want to withdraw the screws.) If the screws are below the bottom surface of the veneer, then you could build up the punched plugs in layers till you're above the surface and then sand back.

Mike