I drilled a 7/8″ hole about 7/16″ off line. Oh well, I thought, I’ll just glue in a piece of 7/8″ dowel and re bore the hole.
You guys probably already know that didn’t work because 7/8″ dowels are about 1/32 undersized.
So how do I plug my error?
BruceT
Replies
Bruce,
If you have a lathe then you can turn a piece to fit . If not there are many ways to make a suitable dowel piece such as chisel and plane, or use of disc sander etc.
Do you mean to say that you just don't have a piece of wood in stock to fit? (')
Those are very nicely done! I couldn't even find the patch in the third picture (but I'm not half-way through the first cup of coffee yet).
There's a router method for making dowels too, yes?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Sorry, Bruce, those pictures were supposed to have been deleted as I had included them in a different reply to your post which I then deleted because it seems from your post that you are just going to redrill near the "wrong" hole- in which case a dowel (long grain) will do.
If the error is on a piece of furniture rather than a piece of carpentry then one could do what I suggested in those pictures which is to use cross grain and to plant a matching plug piece (can even be a sound knot)into a shallow irregularly shaped hole-which is easily made with a router free hand. The idea being to make an invisible or near invisible natural looking "defect" which is in fact a repair.
Plug cutters of comparatively small diameter like 1/2 inch are meant for covering screw heads i.e repeated application, and only make a short plug, not dowel. (Plug= short grain, dowel =long grain).Philip Marcou
Wow, I'm impressed! The first patch I could easily see. The second and third are impossible for me to make out.
BruceT
The guy at the hardware store will tell you your life will improve if you buy a set of plug cutters. ;-)
They don't have 'em that big. Largest I see at Rockler or Woodcraft even is 5/8".
BruceT
If all you want to do is fill up the hole with something structural, then simply mix some wood flour (you'll find this inside the dust bag of your belt sander) with some 5 minute epoxy. Slother some on that slightly undersized dowel and insert. Wait a while and go for the next hole.
I have never "Slothered." Is this a new or old technique? Are there classes in doing it?LOL
CMT makes them up to 2".
Edit to add link.
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You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. Jack London
Edited 7/29/2008 5:24 pm by dgreen
Here's a site that say's they will do dowels up to 2". From a quick read, it appears they will turn what ever the heart desires.
http://www.arnoldwood.com/WoodDowels.html
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Plugged this catastrophy with a Jatoba plug. Let a router sit in a 1" hole, then plugged it in (hot) and bammo; it tore the hell out of the beam.
Repair uses complimentary templet routing. See FWW no. 75.
Thanks guys for the suggestions. Now I know some resources for repairing damage to good visible surfaces.
I ended up using a piece of 7/8" dowel after all. I cut it to length, coated it with wood glue, inserted in the hole, split it with a chisel and hammered a glued shim into the crack to press the halves against the edges of the hole. Not good enough for finished work, but for this, out of sight under a deadbolt strike, it gave me the support I needed for the strike plate and it was solid enough to re-drill the hole for the bolt with a spade bit.
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