Repairing Teak Panels

sailingfool · #1 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

I plan to refinish our interior this spring. A while ago I saw an article on how to seamlessly plug screw holes in teak panels by cutting bungs from out-of-sight areas - does anyone remember where this article was plublished or have a link to something similar?

Thanks

Cruisingdad · #2 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Sailinfool,

I think I can help, if I am following you.

My pops is a cabinet maker and he and I just finished doing some more woodwork on my boat this last weekend. First of all, for anyone reading this, let me say: TEAK IS A VERY DANGEROUS WOOD TO WORK WITH!!! The dust has so much oil in it that it tends to want to stick to your lungs and is a great way to clog them up/get pneumonia. My dad is especially carefull with it... especially when cutting it and sanding it with tools (and he has an dust evacuation system). That being said:

You buy a special bit for the plugs. It looks like a barrel with a notch cut out of the top. Most of them are made for 1/2" solid stock. It is easiest to use a drill press if you have one, but if not, a regular drill will work too. Make a bunch of the plugs and just stick them in a baggie. By the way, they do sell the plugs but they are rediculously expensvie and very easy to make.

You use a special recess bit when predrilling for your screws. It makes the hole snug and tap in the plugs. Teak is very soft and you can sand off from there.

Was this what you were asking? If not, PM me and I will see if I can help. I don't know anything about the articles, I just go bug my old man. He is good. I can give you his email address of phone number too if you want.

Hope that helps.

- Brian

SteveCox · #3 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

The easiest way is to buy a Fuller countersink/counterbore and plug cutter set. The counterbores have to be matched to the plug cutters to get the best fit. I would find someone with a drill press if you don't have one. While you can try to cut plugs with a hand held drill very few of us can hold the drill still enough and in a vertical orientation to make good plugs. While most boatbuilders take plugs off with a chisel, if you are only doing a few I would buy a flush cut saw designed specifically for this. If you are truly going for invisible you will need to check the grain pattern of the wood you are plugging and the wood you cut the plug from. You also want to check color. Just make sure when looking at color that both pieces of wood are in the same state. If one has just been sanded to 220 grit then make sure the other one was sanded to the same grit at the same time. Most of us don't go to that much trouble we just get close and make sure the grain is the same direction on the plug and the plugged piece. If the finished piece will be varnished the best glue for the plug is some of the same varnish. That will secure the plug and make it relatively easy to remove if it ever becomes necessary. Let me know if you have more questions.

Faster · #4 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Definitely get yourself a matched brad-point bit and plug cutter set.

Definitely use a drill press, even those "clamp-the-hand-drill-in" types when cutting plugs (especially, plug cutters tend to jump around) and when drilling the holes (if you can). Otherwise take special pains to drill straight.

Drill deep enough holes that the plug left behind is at least 1/8 in, more is better. Leave enough meat behind for the screw to hold (eg if you're doing fiddles or rails)

Do not glue plugs in except with varnish, as Steve recommends. They should be tight enough fit to hold, and no glue means easy removal later.

To remove a plug cleanly, drill a small pilot hole in the middle and insert an appropriately sized wood screw, When the wood screw hits the screw head below, it will pull the plug straight out, without damaging the original hole.

Plugs that stick out excessively when seated can be "lopped off" with a sharp chisel, watch the grain so you don't slice off below the main surface. Chisel in the direction of rising grain. Sand or rasp off the remainder and finish as appropriate.

One more thing - if you want them as invisible as possible, orient the grain of the end of the plug with the wood you're putting it into. If you like the look of smoothly fitted but "obvious" plugs, orient the grain opposite that of the wood. Colour matching is also important here as teak can have significant variations in colour.

This kind of work provides instant rewards when done nicely! Enjoy.

camaraderie · #5 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Or you could save yourself some trouble and just buy them:
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...Sale%20Price|0

SteveCox · #6 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

There are several problems with buying them. The first and probably most significant is that you don't know what size they are. I know, they say 3/8" or whatever but you really can't buy a drill to match that size exactly. The second is cost. If you have no woodworking tools and no access to them I suppose they may be a bargain if you're not doing very many but if you have any size of repair the cost will add up quickly. The third is color and grain matching. What is best is to cut the plugs from a piece of scrap that is from the same board you made the piece from. That assures best color and grain match.

sailingdog · #7 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Buying them is also significantly more expensive over the long run. If you have any significant amount of bright work, getting the set of drills and plug cutters is your best bet. I would also like to second CruisingDad's warning that oily woods like Teak are very dangerous to inhale the dust of.

SteveCox · #8 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Just about any dust inhaled is a problem and the more research is done on it, the worse it gets. Red Cedar and Walnut among others in the domestic line are sensitizers, that is, the more you breathe the more likely you will develop a reaction to it. Kind of like epoxy in that regard. Most of the tropicals, teak included, also fall into that category and in addition some will cause respirtory distress without any sensitizing period. If you are engaged in a dust producing activity (especially sanding) wear a respirator. You will be amazed at the amount of dust that making plugs generates.

sailingdog · #9 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

What is kind of funny, is that epoxy, when it is being applied is fairly dangerous stuff...with the fumes and all, but once it is dry, sanding it is relatively safe, especially when compared to Teak, Cedar, and other boat-friendly woods.

SteveCox · #10 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006

Actually, that is not true. The dust is a sensitizer like I said in my last post. When I was taking my boatbuilding course we had one instructor that had no problem with epoxy despite years of exposure and another that couldn't have it sanded anywhere in the vicinity because of his sensitivity that had developed. It hits different people in different ways.