anyone ever used one of these ?

[Don Baer]

I'm in need of some Ebony screw hole plugs and wonder if they'd work.

28910

It's for my current project so I need to get it pretty soon.

[Tom Pritchard]

I'm in need of some Ebony screw hole plugs and wonder if they'd work.

28910

It's for my current project so I need to get it pretty soon.

Don, I bought a cheap set at a Homier tool sale, and they worked OK on softwoods, but not on hardwood such as maple. I managed to break one after burning up several attempted plugs out of maple. A better set may work out OK. The concept seemed sound, but I was once again lured by the charms of cheap tools! :rolleyes: When am I going to learn....

[Don Baer]

This ones from Rockler. They told me to just get some walnut plugs and die them black but since I'm making the Maloof table I want it to be authentic. I'm just a little nervous about spending $20 for a very small piece of Ebony and then not haveing it be able to cut the wood or ruining the wood.

[Steve Clardy]

Yes. They work. Get them from Lee Valley. Better quality than some of them out there.
I don't buy plugs anymore since I got the cutters.

[Jamie Buxton]

I regularly use plug cutters. I like the kind that makes tapered plugs. Lee Valley has them, as do others. The way to use them is to make lots of plunges (with a drill press), and then do a resaw-like operation on the bandsaw to free the plugs. I generally keep the waste side of the block on the bandsaw's fence, and cover the exposed face with masking tape before I make the cut. If you don't use the masking tape, the cut-off plugs tend to disappear.

[Jim Becker]

Yea...and the tapered ones from Lee Valley I use now are so much better. Great plugs and easy cutting.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Like most everyone says, tapered set from Lee Valley.

[Anthony Yakonick]

Did anyone mention the tapered ones from Lee Valley?;)

[Kent Parker]

Don,

Plug cutters are used frequently in the marine industry. In a past life I used to build full and partial interiors in boats. Plugs were always needed for trim work.

We always used the "Fuller" brand of plug cutters in addition to their trapered drill bits and countersinks. A quick Google search found some at Hartville tool. I've never had one break, always top quality.

Plug cutters are best used in a drill press but can be used in a hand held drill also if you have strong hands.

If you just need a few plugs for your project and don't want to buy one, I'll mail you one of mine. Just return it when your done.

PM me with your address and size of plugs you need.

Cheers.

Kent

[Don Baer]

Thanks for the arimation guys SMC once agiiiin comes through with the answers.

Kent,
Thanks for the offer but I can't pass up an excuse to buy another tool...:D

[Doug Shepard]

For 1/4" plugs you're pretty much stuck with the type in your pic. I haven't use the LV ones. Maybe they dont burn quite as bad, but for 3/8 and larger plugs I've had better luck with this type of cutter. I dont think they burn as much, plus if the plug gets stuck you can push it out through the side openings.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=2088

[Kent Parker]

Don,

http://www.bitsnbores.com/html/picturedex_1.html

This site has a pretty complete line of Fuller bits and cutters

Cheers,

Kent

[Erik Rudd]

I have the plug cutters from Rockler and have used them with jatoba and hard maple with good results and no complaints. I think you'd be happy with them.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

I'll vote for the LV ones, I have one and have used it in White Oak and it worked well.

The tapered ones are best.

Good luck!

[Brian Jarnell]

Might I ask what you use these plugs for?

[Dev Emch]

Yaaahhhhh Baabbbyyyyy! These work great!

Couple of tips. Some are straight cut and others are tapered cut. You need to ask which is which. I prefer the slight taper as this allows you to minimize the joint line. I guess if the plug is raised, that may not be an issue.

Also, you will need to use a fostner bit running at the right speed and held tight as a bug in the rug. Your holes have to be dead on accurate for these to fit right. Normal drill bits and to some extent, brad points tend to make more of an egg shaped hole.

Lastly, watch your feeds and speeds. Ebony is pretty hard stuff and its black. Black helps hide those burn marks your making if your spinning to fast.:rolleyes:

Best of luck...

P.S. Edit. I have some tapered ones (small sizes) from Lee Valley. The larger one (3/4 in) is a FISCH bit which I got from our woodcraft. Fisch is very expensive but I have found it to work very well on maple and cherry. I do tons of maple plugs of this size. I actually have an old Twinnings tea tin (back when tea came in metal tins) which I keep full of maple plugs.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Might I ask what you use these plugs for?

If you are asking me, Brian, then I'll tell you, I use them to cover up screw holes. I counter sink the screws and then use the plug to "Plug" the hole, cut it off flush, sand and you can just about hide the holes.

Cheers!

[Mark Singer]

I use them often....you must use adrill press ...It will not work in a hand drill.
The LV ones are good

[Robert Mayer]

I bought a small set from lowes for about $12. Came with 3 tapered cutters. I havent used them to cut ebony but I have used them in walnut.

[Robert Mickley]

I had the set from Lowes and I wasn't impressed, I ended up geting a set at Hartville hardware from Wolfcraft

http://www.wolfcraft.com/product_detail.cfm?id=57

So far I've used them in hard maple walnut and oak, side eject works great, use a thin enough board that you can drill all the way through, when you start the next plug the first one ejects. on the last one drill just far enough to eject the last plug and your done

[Tyler Howell]

Got a tip from Creeker Dave Richards that I have used. Works great. :cool:


Use narrow stock slightly larger than the plug. (Use all safety precautions and secure your work)
Mill your plug so that you grind away all but the plug and a little scrap on the top.
Use the scrap to hold the plug and align the wood grain.
Cut her off and smooth with toyl of your choice.