Cutting off wood plugs

[ron jones1]

When you use wood plugs to fill screw holes how do you cut off the portion that sticks above the surface.

By the way it isn't with a chisel on maple plugs. It will break below the surface and create quite a mess.

[David G Baker]

I haven't used one or have one but there is a saw that is made specifically for trimming wood plugs. The blade does not have any set to the teeth so it doesn't mar the surface wood that the plug is installed in. Don't know the name of the saw but I am sure that someone on SMC will chime in with the name.

[Lee Schierer]

I use a flush cutting hand saw like this.http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/33481-01-200.jpg You can buy them from a variety of woodworking outlets. The price range varies. The one I have is has two cutting edges so I can cut to the left or to the right. The blade is marked to indicate which side faces the wood and which side is up.

[Bill Huber]

I use a saw about like the one Lee showed.

The one I have is a real cheap one called a FatMax from Stanley.

http://www.toolbarn.com/stanley-20-331.html

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I got a cheapo Stanley flush trim saw from the BORG. You can spend more for a better saw. The Stanley does work, but it is a cheapo saw.

Put a piece of painters tape on the wood, so the saw doesn't scratch the wood. It does add some height to the plug, but IMO sanding the plug down is better than having to sand a scratch out of the wood. Maybe if you spent some serious bucks on a trim saw you wouldn't have to worry about scratches, but I don't have an expensive flush trim saw.

[Myk Rian]

Ditto on the Stanley. Hold it down with your fingers. Works good.

[Doug Shepard]

I usually use a cheapo Shark saw (Japanese style pull-saw) laying on a business card so the wood doesn't get scarred. A sharp plane gets whatever is left to get it flush.

[Jim Rimmer]

Woodcraft had one on sale for $20. Don't know if it is still on sale or not. I got one and got out of the store for $99 (including the saw)

[michael craigdallie]

i have this one from lee valley and i quite like it.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=32928&cat=1,42884

cheers,
m

[Tom Rick]

For me it depends on the size of the project.
For something on the bench and a few plugs I use the flex blade zero kerf saw as above or pop them off with a sharp chisel (helps to knock off a bit up high first to see if it is going to run down). If lots of plugs- a sawsall with a fine tooth metal blade.

[Jamie Buxton]

A sharp chisel works if you're observant about what the wood wants. It is just like planing: you want to be cutting uphill into the fibers, not downhill. The wood tends to want to split along the fiber path. I trim the top of the plug first, well above the finished surface. That lets me see which way the wood wants to work. Then I cut down nearer to the surface. I may take several cuts to get down to the surface, because taking big chunks can cause splitting. On particularly splitty wood, it may help to cut with a slicing motion, not a straight motion.

[Zach England]

Ryoba+LN 97 1/2.

[Mark Ball]

I have the stanley flush cut saw also, about $20, works just fine for me.

[Tom Esh]

Flexible flush-cut saw works great. The trick is to keep the blade flat to avoid marring the work. Not a difficult technique, but a couple practice cuts before taking it to your project is a good idea.

[Joe Shinall]

Ditto on the flush cut saw as everyone else says. And if you find that it is scratching your wood, put paper underneath the rest of the saw. Helps protect the wood.