removing teak plugs

[Conachair]

Anyone come up with a reliable way of removing teak plugs over screws? I always end up digging away and making a mess. And what's best sealant \ glue to put them back in?

TIA

Padz-conachair

 

[Poignard]

What I do is to make a hole in the centre of the plug with a bradawl, then screw in a woodscrew [or self-tapper] and this jacks out the plug. If the plug has been glued in place with varnish, as generally recommended, it should come out without damaging the surrounding timber. If epoxy has been used you could use a small holesaw [might have to make your own for small sizes] or a Forstner bit or a Dremel with a rotary burr.

 

[LostinFrance]

Just a small SHARP chisel and a few taps will take out the centre part of the pellet and the rest will split. Its all I ever do. If you try to pull it out with a screw, you risk splitting the surrounding wood fibres. Even if glued in with varnish - and I'm not sure I can get my head around that theory - the friction (assuming the pellet has been made the right size for the hole) may still pull up some fibres even with teak.

 

[LostinFrance]

The right glue - well pellets are cross grained, so it means you are trying to get glue to grip onto end grain, not many glues can cope with that, which is why the pellets are such a snug fit. For interior joinery I use white pva glue, exterior I have tried everything from cascamite through polyurethane to epoxy. If the pellet is a tight fit (tapped in) it doesn't make much difference. If the pellet is a bad fit then I would use a gap filling glue like epoxy or polyurethane - messy. Try to use tapered pellets if you can find them.

 

[pcatterall]

Yes, take out a small section in the middle first so there is only a bit of adhesive at each end to break out. then you can usually chisel the rest out working towards the section you have taken out and thus less danger of damaging the surounding timber...patience wins all the time!!