Topic: making wood plugs (Read 12462 times) Show 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Today I began my arbour project, having a small dilemma that I am hoping is just a technique issue. I am trying to cut wood plugs out of Garapa (Brazilian Ash) using this plug cutter. My results seem to be less than optimal, as I do a lot more drilling than I do plugging. I seem to get better results if I go tortuously slow, but in general, it takes me 5 attempts to get a single plug. Upon rare occasion get a plug long enough that I can get 3 or 4 out of. The plugs I am cutting are out of the 'tail stock' or waste of the piece I wish to put the plugs in. I would imagine that my results would be better if I were to use a drill press? Something that I do not have access to. So I guess my questions are: Is this normal? Is this the nature of this wood? Would I get better results with a different type plug cutter? Should I just use 'pre-made' plugs, which I have a ton of in both oak in maple? TIA « Last Edit: May 16, 2010, 02:31 PM by harry_ » LoggedDisclaimer: This post is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Contents may settle during shipment. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. This is not an offer to sell securities. May be too intense for some viewers. No user-serviceable parts inside. Subject to change without notice. One size fits all (very poorly). Festool USA does not pre-approve the contents of this website nor endorse the application or use of any Festool product in any way other than in the manner described in the Festool Instruction Manual. To reduce the risk of serious injury and/or damage to your Festool product, always read, understand and follow all warnings and instructions in your Festool product's Instruction Manual. Although Festool strives for accuracy in the website material, the website may contain inaccuracies. Festool makes no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness or timeliness of the material on this website or about the results to be obtained from using the website. Festool and its affiliates cannot be responsible for improper postings or your reliance on the website's material. Your use of any material contained on this website is entirely at your own risk. The content contained on this site is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Harry Trying to cut wood plugs without a drill press or some form of jig to hold the hand drill rock steady will be nigh on impossible. If you dont have access to a drill press and are insistant on using the original timber scraps then try and find a local wood macine shop or hobby woodworker thats got one. Plug cutters are not designed to be used freehand. Guy DIPLOMACY: "The art of being able to tell someone to go to Hades in such a way that they positively look forward to the journey" Guy, I am not really insistent on anything other than spending money. Maybe I will try a couple of my pre-made plugs and see how it looks. If I cant make them hide, I can call them an `accent`!If it is just a matter of me doing it freehand, then I guess it is just a case of it is what it is. I'll just suck it up since time is the one thing I have the most of. LoggedDisclaimer: This post is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Contents may settle during shipment. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. This is not an offer to sell securities. May be too intense for some viewers. No user-serviceable parts inside. Subject to change without notice. One size fits all (very poorly). Oh, and thanks for the rapid response! LoggedDisclaimer: This post is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Contents may settle during shipment. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. This is not an offer to sell securities. May be too intense for some viewers. No user-serviceable parts inside. Subject to change without notice. One size fits all (very poorly). Harry Why dont you drill a hole in an offcut of ply the same size as the outside
diameter What size plugs do you need? LoggedLogged I would imagine it would be close to impossible to cut plugs freehand with a cutter like that. Even if you manage to drill straight, the single cutter would invite your drill to revolve around the cutting point instead of around the drill axis.As soon as the cutter is buried in the wood, this behaviour will be counteracted by the guiding
forces of the outer rim in the wood, but it would be somewhat of a miracle if you were to cut a perfect circular piece from the top. Just my 2 Eurocents. Regards, Job LoggedTS55, OF1010, RO150, RTS400, PS300, T15+3, CTL22E, CMS-TS55+Basis5A (OF1010), MFT/3, MFS400/700, FS800-1080-1400-1900, Centrotec-SYS 09, DF 500 full set, some accessories OK. I went back at it. It appears that 2 different things were happening. First being the piece of wood I was last using. It would seem that it's grain was just not liking me, simply turning to dust as I went. I have had oak behave this way on me before and why I did not think that the same rules would apply are beyond me. Second being that I was giving up too early on my cut depth. Once I decided to just 'keep going' I was able to get plugs of decent length. Long enough that I was able to use a single plug for several holes. Third, just a general lack of patience on my part. the picture will speak for itself. jvsteenb: It is not impossible, just difficult. The behaviour is as you said, the trick is to not begin rotation on the point of the cutter. I never get a perfectly circular piece from the beginning. I have always pruned the bottom to flat, tapped into the hole, then pruned it proud and let the sander do the rest. Everyone: LoggedDisclaimer: This post is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Contents may settle during shipment. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. This is not an offer to sell securities. May be too intense for some viewers. No user-serviceable parts inside. Subject to change without notice. One size fits all (very poorly). I use a plug cutter in a router. I find i get much better results but you do need a cutter designed for routers. Woodguy LoggedIf its made of wood, i can make it smaller. You can get plug cutters for your plunger router. Google for "Amana plug cutter" should get you started. I personally like the snug plug cutters from Lee Valley and use them in a drill press. LoggedHarry, I've had nightmares trying to cut plugs with a hand held drill. It's tough, and the plug cutter runs all over the place making for not-so-great results. I haven't tried this yet, but it seems appealing, and is geared toward those of us who do not own a drill press. http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11486&filter=plug%20cutter LoggedThe more Festools I buy, the more money I earn. The more money I earn, the
more Festools I buy. The more... Harry That's exactly what I do , when away from the pillar drill I posted about it on TF here:http://www.talkfestool.com/vb/general-woodworking-q/3453-broken-plug-extraction.html Great minds think alike when looking for a similar solution. Rob. LoggedIt looks like the cutter needs to be sharpened for one thing.
Cutting plugs with a plunge router works great, maybe even better I just checked Amana and they have a few 1/2" shank carbide plug cutters for the router. The plug cutter makes 10 mm plugs and is high speed steel. Run it on the slowest speed and don't work it too hard and it will probably work great. It's also possible to re-sharpen. « Last Edit: May 17, 2010, 10:10 AM by Michael Kellough » LoggedHarry, I'm just south of you near Leominster if you wanna come down and use my drill press. PM me if interested. LoggedStoolman, for the offer, I truly appreciate it! It would appear unnecessary though. As I said in an earlier post, it must have just been the particular board I was on. I went to a different board and had better luck. Today on yet a different board, I was able to get 5 consecutive plugs, each very close to an inch long. I have 4 more boards to do, with 10 plugs per board. I hope that my successes continue at this rate! LoggedDisclaimer: This post is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Void where prohibited. Some assembly required. Batteries not included. Contents may settle during shipment. Use only as directed. No other warranty expressed or implied. This is not an offer to sell securities. May be too intense for some viewers. No user-serviceable parts inside. Subject to change without notice. One size fits all (very poorly). How do you make a plug cutter?homemade plug cutter. chopped up a 1/2″ stainless bolt.. turned the threads down to 3/8″ shank so it would fit in a collet.. made the other side shiny, bored the plug hole and tapered the cutting end.. clamped it sideways in the mill to cut the side chip clearance.. Can I use a plug cutter without a drill press?(Caution: Plug cutters have no pilot to guide the cut, so they're not safe to use in a handheld drill.)
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