Plugging fastening holes

[brettdennis]

I have to re-plug some fastening holes, the planks are pitch pine 1and 3/8 inch thick. Any tricks of the trade to share please? Should I epoxy them in or use polysulphide caulking, I have found Boatlife's boatcaulk very useful underwater. I have spent a wonderful afternoon making pine plugs using an expensive assortment of adapted hole-saws (can you believe the price of real plug-making bits!). <span style="color:black"> </span>

 

[DinghyMan]

Axminster do some pretty good small plug cutters - 6 to 16 mm Tapered Cutters and ready mane softwood plugs Tapered plugs

The tapered ones are well worth the money but must be used in a drill press not with a hand held drill.

They also do the paired drills and cutters.

No connection other than spending plenty with them....

 

[Ruffles]

I was up 'til the early hours last night cutting 60 odd tapered plugs using just a handheld powerdrill. Only broke a couple. Someone on this forum suggested using a pre-drilled board as a guide and it worked brilliantly.

Whoever it was - thanks!

 

[jhughes]

Screwfix and Toolstation do cheap sets of plug cutters, quality is fairly good, enough for a few hundred plugs if you use a drill press, watch the heat build up and touch up the cutting edges on an oil stone.
I dip the tip of my plugs in polyurethane glue (Seawater resistant from Screwfix) before tapping in. Click here for link to Screwfix glue.
The glue is really good but is not like the old PVA, if you get it on your hands and don't remove it before it dries it takes about 5 days of serious scrubbing with swafega to get them clean.

 

[Peterduck]

3/8" thick planking is awfully thin to be trying to set plugs on fasteners. If you are planning to paint over the fasteners, just simply wipe a layer of putty [either linseed oil or epoxy-based] over them. By trying to drill the head deep enough to give a plug something to grip on you weaken the plank that the fastening is trying to hold in place. Plugs are fine for planks which are 1" thick, but not on 3/8" thick.
Peter.

 

[brettdennis]

Thanks guys! The planks are 1 AND 3/8 inch thick Peterduck.(She is 51 ft on the waterline.) No thoughts about the Boatlife polysulphide caulking compound? I also used a pre-drilled board, a solution which I eventually worked out, so much easier. <span style="color:black"> </span>