Removing wood plugs

[lustyd]

Hi all, my boat has several bits of old teak with wooden plugs covering screws. This has been a bit of a barrier for me doing various things properly (i.e. removing the wood!) because I would rather leave the wood in place than destroy it by trying to dig out the plugs.

1 - is this easier than I think?
2 - do I just dig them out, or is there a better way?
3 - is it easy to put new ones in after?

Thanks in advance everyone

 

[Rigger Mortice]

1. Yes.

2. No. Yes

Use a self tapper.
Either, just screw it in and pull with pliers/mole grip.
Or, use a washer and a small tube (a largish nut will do) As you screw down, the washer tightens on the nut and pulls the plug out. You need to get the right sizes to do this as it all depends on the depth of the plug.

3. New plugs are easy enough to put in but they need to be the right size (pretty obvious really! The difference, for example, between metric and imperial can be very small, but enough to cause problems). The less damage to the hole the better. If it is damaged then the plug may not stay in very well.

 

[pyrojames]

The self tapper method works as long as the surrounding timber is sound and no glue or varnish has been used to fit the plug. If the plug is tight/glued in the hole, the surrounding wood will split away.

Better to get a forstner bit just over the size of the plug (13 mm for a 1/2 plug etc) and drill most the plug out, then carefully remove any remains from the bottom of the hole. This has the advantage that you can get a plug cutter that matches the forstner bit and get a good fit for the replacement plugs.

 

[Woodlouse]

Personally I'd be digging them out with a small screwdriver. If they've been intelligently put in, without strong adhesive then you should be able to stick a small flat head in the middle, twist and remove it.

However you may still need to redrill the holes, in which case pyrojames's idea seems sensible.

 

[lustyd]

Thanks guys. The plugs have been in since 1969 so probably quite well stuck. I like the idea of drilling etc but seems like a lot of work just so I get a slightly better finish on my painting so think I'll just leave them in and mask off the area
Cheers
Dave

 

[vyv_cox]

I have removed many by simply drilling a pilot hole, then screwing in a self tapper. When the self tapper hits the screw beneath the plug it pushes the plug out. I accept that the plugs may have been glued in but it has always worked for me.

 

[Kukri]

Variant on the above:
1. Clear any varnish from the surface (or you will pull up some surface fibres with the plug) Use a hot air gun for this and you will soften any varnish holding the plugs in.

2. Drill a small (1/16") pilot hole using a hand drill, gently, to establish the depth, You don't want to damage the screw head.

3. Using a very sharp, narrow, chisel, cut the plug away in pieces.

4. You will be able to re-use the existing hole, after replacing the screw or bolt.

 

[121]

Prior to digging or screwing, play a hot air gun over plug to soften any old glue of varnish - always come out easier that way.

 

[Poignard]

The traditional way to fix plugs in place was with varnish. The idea is that the varnish acts as a very weak glue and enables the plug to be easily removed by jacking it out with a woodscrew (or self-tapper), with minimum risk of lifting the grain of the surrounding timber.

But if some wazzock has used glue then you will have a more time-consuming job getting it out and greater risk of damage. I have used Forstner bits, a Dremel, narrow chisels and gouges with varying degrees of success.

Q. How can you tell whether varnish or glue has been used before you start trying to remove the plug?
A. I don't know!

I have never tried the heat application idea but it makes sense.

 

[KellysEye]

I removed plugs by drilling them out, it also take the glue out. Drill with an exact sized bit and go very carefully so as not to damage the surrounding wood.

 

[Blueboatman]

Take a flat bladed screwdriver the width of the plug, align it across the grain, smack handle once with hammer. The glue/varnish joint should crack neatly all round. Then proceed with any of the above suggestions. With a bit of luck you may get the plug out without lifting any surrounding timber.
A possible ( untried) refinement would be to lay a pice of metal over the plug with suitable hole drilled, then as you yank out he plug, the metal plate will prevent edges lifting....untried though, yet

 

[KellysEye]

>lay a pice of metal over the plug with suitable hole drilled, then as you yank out he plug, the metal plate will prevent edges lifting....

That sounds like a good idea if pulling them out but I think drilling is better. We saw a number of boats in Trinidad that were having their decks renovated and all the workers drilled. We also removed our teak round where spray hood fits for repainting and that was drilled.

 

[parbuckle]

Well you have plenty of suggestions to remove the plug but without care the biggest problem may be getting the screw out,I would spend some time cleaning out the slot as it may be filled with whatever held the plug in,I use the smallest flat head screwdriver and be thorough . Then make sure you have the correct size screwdriver and test to see if it is fairly easy to remove ,if it is really tight be carefull you dont want to damage the head especially if it is brass . A common method to loosen is to use a hammer and drift to break any seal around the thread that occurs over time . Good luck but I bet there is one that you end up drilling out.

 

[BlueLancer]

For really tough screws use a Brace with a suitable bit fitted. You will be amazed at how much force you can apply with out damaging the screw head. Don't use a powered drill/screwdriver as you will get climb out, which will cause a lot of damage

 

[Kukri]

Heat softens epoxy - not as well as it does varnish, but it does help.