Larry Edgerton
05-25-2012, 6:31 PM
I had a situation this week where I did not feel comfortable with the fastening system on some out door newel posts. These are synthetic posts with a wood core. I wanted to use carrage bolts but no plugs are available. I had to get the carrage bolts back to the wood and then plug the plastic.
So.... I used a fly cutter with the center pilot bit removed.
To get the taper I bent the cutter with my arbor press to about 1.5 degrees right at the beam.
I am not sure how they come, but I oriented the point of the cutter so that it was on the inside radius instead of the outside because the center is the part I want to part from the stock first. Usually it is the other way around.
I planed some Versatex to 1/2" and set the stop on the drill press so I really had to lean on it to get through the material. This is where you have to pay attention, when the plug is parted from the stock. Took a couple of tries and a couple of adjustments, but I now have 1 1/2" tapered plugs out of Versatex. Keep in mind that the face side is down.
I tried it on some wood and it worked well for that too. As I was driving to work I had an idea that I have not tried yet and that is to use double faced tape to hold the plug so I don't have to be so quick with the quill. I'll try it when I am at the shop next.
Larry
So.... I used a fly cutter with the center pilot bit removed.
To get the taper I bent the cutter with my arbor press to about 1.5 degrees right at the beam.
I am not sure how they come, but I oriented the point of the cutter so that it was on the inside radius instead of the outside because the center is the part I want to part from the stock first. Usually it is the other way around.
I planed some Versatex to 1/2" and set the stop on the drill press so I really had to lean on it to get through the material. This is where you have to pay attention, when the plug is parted from the stock. Took a couple of tries and a couple of adjustments, but I now have 1 1/2" tapered plugs out of Versatex. Keep in mind that the face side is down.
I tried it on some wood and it worked well for that too. As I was driving to work I had an idea that I have not tried yet and that is to use double faced tape to hold the plug so I don't have to be so quick with the quill. I'll try it when I am at the shop next.
Larry