Kerg pocket hole plugs.

[Richard Wolf]

I need some mahogany plugs for pocket holes. They don't sell them, but I seem to remember a jig they sold to make your own. Any help?

Richard

[Michael Heffernan]

Richard,

Woodworker's Supply sells a pocket hole plug cutter. This is the only one I've ever found.
http://woodworker.com/fullpres.asp?P...57132436074--1

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Michael

[Richard Wolf]

Thanks Michael, that's what I'm looking for.

Richard

[Roger Jensen]

Thanks Michael. I want to try these with pre-finished ply. I have some cabinets I won't be able to use pocket screws on the outside so I'd like to try this so I don't have to finish the plugs to match pre-finished maple. The plywood may splinter apart when I try to drill these out, but it doesn't hurt to try. The other tricky part will be to cut them so they'll be flush with the cabinet when inserted. The plugs you can purchase are proud of the wood and have to be planed level. I'll have to cut a shorter plug and glue it the right depth.

Thanks again,

Roger

[sean m. titmas]

Roger,
experiment with the plug cutter first before you commit to using prefinished material. i have the same plug cutter and find it to splinter quite often when used in solid wood but i think it will destroy the veneer if used on plywood. getting the plugs to set flush is also another near impossibility. im not saying it cant be done but the tolerances are so fine that it may take you 25 plugs before you get one to cut clean and set flush.

[Paul Ryan]

Richard,

It is an awful lot of work but if you make yourself an 3/8 dowl you can cut the angle pretty easy. I make my own by buying 3/8 red oak dowls and just cutting the angle on my band saw and then cut off the excess with a trim saw. My local store gets $7.50 for a package of plugs and I can by an oak dowl for .50.

[Roger Jensen]

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't even considered cutting them until I saw this thread and figured I can always use the cutter some day for something else, or my wife can sell it at a garage sale for 50 cents after I croak.

The challenge I'm having with the Kreg version is getting them flush with the pre-finished ply after I install them. I'm not that handy with a plane or chisel to get them level without scaring the pre-finished ply. Plus I'll never get them finished the same.

Oh well, I'll play around with it.

Thanks again,

Roger

[Wayne Cannon]

Have you tried a Japanese flush-cutting saw, i.e., one with no set to the teeth, such as a Kugihiki? I find that trimming dowels flush this way plus a little sanding is all that's necessary. It takes a little care to prevent scratching the plywood, but it does work well.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...86&cat=1,42884
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...32&cat=1,42884

[Harold Burrell]

Richard,

It is an awful lot of work but if you make yourself an 3/8 dowl you can cut the angle pretty easy. I make my own by buying 3/8 red oak dowls and just cutting the angle on my band saw and then cut off the excess with a trim saw. My local store gets $7.50 for a package of plugs and I can by an oak dowl for .50.

Oh, man...

How simple and yet so positively GENIUS!!!

I so love this place...

[Lee Schierer]

I just put glue in the hole tap in a length of dowel, let the glue set up a bit and trim it flush with a flush cutting saw. Since the dowel then has an angled end I cut that off a bit longer than needed and drive that plug (with glue) into the next hole.

You can also make your own dowels from any wood using a round over bit and the router.

If I were to buy the plug cutter bit. I would change the angle I cut the plug so I get true face grain plugs instead of end grain plugs so they would blend in better.

[Don Bullock]

...

If I were to buy the plug cutter bit. I would change the angle I cut the plug so I get true face grain plugs instead of end grain plugs so they would blend in better.

Great point!!! That's the advantage I see to the plug cutter over using dowels.

[sean m. titmas]

The plug cutter comes with directions for making a jig that holds the wood at 15# more or less so that the plug has the same grain and face orientation that the surrounding wood has.