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I’m trying to secure some M&T joints with dowels and then insert plugs to cover the hole. The problem I have is that when drilling the holes, I always get a little tearout which mars the final surface. My question is: am I using a dull bit (its new), wrong kind of bit, or is there a technique that would prevent this? btw, the wood is mohogany if that makes any difference.
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Replies
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Jeffrey,
What are the diameter of the holes? Back the piece with scrap, use either a brad point, Fortsner, or Jennings bit. Either one will score the stock first. (Haven't seen a Fortsner or Jennings smaller than 1/4").
FWIW, for pegged mortise and tenon joints I leave the peg slightly proud on both sides then plane flush. This eliminates the need to plug.
Dano
*Or, leave the peg slightly proud, and carefully carve/chamfer it to polish its endgrain just above the surounding piece with the edges either slightly proud or tapered to meet the surrounding surface.Very elegant and honest finishing technique.Rich
*If you are having problems with the entry hole tearing out use a piece of wood clamped on both sides should prevent tearout. Also make sure your drill is sharp. I recently pegged several large doors and my first test hole (on a scrap) wasn't good, so I took a couple of minutes and sharpened the brad point bit and all of the holes were clean on entry but I still backed up with a scrap to prevent blow out on the back side.Stephen
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