How to Remove Wood Plugs and Replace to Hide Screws for Furniture Repair (aka Bungs)
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 7. 08. 2024
- Removing and replacing wood plugs (also known as Bungs) can be challenging. Learn how to quickly and easily remove existing wood plugs. See how to make your own wood plugs or bungs. Watch how to trim wood plugs flush on new projects and existing finished furniture. Stain and finish the wood plugs to match the existing finish. We hope you find this useful. Here are some links to tools for wood plugs (as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases to fund our CZcams work):
- Countersink Drill Bits amzn.to/33HiqMr
- Tapered Wood Plug Cutters amzn.to/2QydpQW
- Flush Cut Saw amzn.to/39aNSni
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See the tools we use in our workshop and the tools we recommend: www.amazon.com/shop/homeimpro...
đšđŠ Canadian link - www.amazon.ca/shop/homeimprov...
This video is hosted by Scott Bennett, Owner of Wooden It Be Nice - Furniture Repair in Brooklin, Ontario, Canada. WoodenItBeNice.ca
#plug #woodplug #woodworking - Jak na to + styl
Your voice is so calm and reassuring. While I am stressing over my DYI projects, I listen to your voice and I know it will all be okay.
I so enjoy your fixing furniture. I watched your video on fixing a tambour on my Hoosier cabinet that was my mothers. Not sure I'll do it but it was very good step by step.
Brilliant idea. Thanks for the very clear instructions. Im was going to try to remove plug by using a Forstner bit ( very careful) . Your idea was way better and very successful. Thank you.
I have been binge-watching these videos the last couple of days and have learned so much.
Thanks for sharing that Barry. I love to hear you're learning some new skills - that makes me happy. Scott
@@FixingFurniture Some of the repairs are so simple that I smack my forehead wondering why I didn't think of them before.
Man, after that plug was stained, wow, it looked great! Cool tip on how to remove the plug.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching. Scott
I love your patient, thorough and very informative information regarding the removal and reinstallation of plugs on furniture. Your video is exactly and everything I needed to complete my project. Thank you!
Great video! Crystal clear explanations. I especially like that you delve into some of the related techniques such as how to cut the plug and how to get the mirror finish on your chisel. Not belabored; just to the point.
Awesome, thank you!
I learned basically the same technique for cutting plugs flush 40 years ago. It's nice to see you carrying on the same way. Thanks.
7:50 Now that's a great idea! Cutting them close together. Not only saves material, but makes them easier to break off. I learned a lot from this video, especially the simple way to pull plugs. I probably would've drilled them out.
Glad it was helpful Don! Cheers. Scott
Amazing! I've always wondered how to get those plugs out. I started Woodworking for almost 2 years now and I've only done tables, boards and little things like that. After finding your channel I'm not working on fixing a cracked hardwood table with leaflets and other furniture. Thank you!
loved that you showed all the steps involved - thank you!
Thank you so much for this info. and making it easy for us to understand the process. I have a 50 year old chair that my mom gave me and this really helped me to be able to repair the leg. I hope to keep this chair as long as I live.
Just discovered your channel. All I can say is.... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Subscribed
Hi greetings from the UK, i have seen plenty of antique furniture with pocket hole screws, that method of join can last for many decades, enjoyed your collaboration with Tom, more of those please, keep up the great work, thanks, stay safe and Happy Christmas
Youâre my go-to source to see if Iâm doing it right. Often Iâm not and your method is much better.
Glad to hear our videos are helpful for you... that's rewarding! Thanks. Scott
Interesting thought on pocket holes. I like it when you explain why a joint might have failed.
thank you wish i had seen this years ago.would have saved me hours and hours .
Glad you found it helpful... even iff a little late. Cheers, Scott
You are a true craftsman. Thank you for sharing!!!!
Man, thats very helpful woodworking. Not so much for furniture but matching and repairing wood and hiding. Those are great finishing tips. Thanks so much.
You bet! I'm happy to hear you found this useful. Scott
Nice to see such a succinct and to the point series on repair! This has been missing on the net up until now as far as I know. Keep it upfolks.
Thank you for the encouraging feedback Dick! Scott
Yet another future project I have been putting off because I haven't had luck with those. I just went and tried your trick and damn thing going popped right out. My Thanks as always.
Love the way you take so much time on things that most people will never see. Another very informative video from a true craftsman.
Thank you very much! Scott
Great tips and instructions. Thank you Scott for sharing with us.
Thanks for watching!
Really enjoyed
the making and finishing of the plugs. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for posting your comment. Scott
Great video, I have had a chair re-upholstery project in mind for years but had no idea about how to deal with the wood plug removal. The drill bit and screw method you demonstrated worked perfectly!
That's great! Glad to hear about your success! Scott
Excellent video! Great tip on how to pull out the old plug using the mechanical advantage of a screw!
Thanks. Glad you found dit helpful. Scott
Been looking high and low for plug removal methods. Thank YOU.
You're welcome. It makes me happy to hear you found this useful! Scott
Perfect timing for this vid! Handrail work ahead.
This was so helpful! Iâm building a tiny house, and Iâm using wood plugs to conceal a cedar wall. I donât want to damage the finish on the boards - looks like Iâll need a sharp chisel and a steady hand! This video was so informative and the only one I could find with instructions for installing wood plugs in a finished piece. Thank you!
That's awesome that it's helped you out. Thanks for sharing that Annice! Scott
Thank you this was very helpful as I have a project that I have to remove two wood plugs on a chair restoration. These videos are so thoughtful and well presented.
Glad it was helpful!
Very informative. Thank you.
Great video!
Excellent work, you have my subscription. Cheers
Wonderful job & skills! Thanks for sharing! Great tips!
Thank you! Cheers!
Hi just found your channel and subscribed, love the videos and your techniques. Got loads of videos to watch đđ
Thank you for all the helpful tips!
You are so welcome! Scott
I enjoyed the video. What a relaxed guy.
Glad you enjoyed it! Scott
This is really nice.
Very informative, Thank you
Great trick to remove those plugs!
BTW our house has a number of raised panel cabinet door with no plugs, only PVA glue in the framing (panel is free). Thirty years and going strong... all of them.
I love this channel . Thank you! You've been of much help
Happy to hear that! You're comment made my day today. Thanks. Scott
Great channel; you explain things clearly and well.
I appreciate that! Thanks Mike! Scott
se nota que usted sabe. gracias por los videos, saludos de Argentina.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Need to pull a bunch of plugs from my ipe deck!
I have had the same concerns re pocket holes and screw made furniture, so Iâve stuck with either mortise and tenons or dowel joints. Great tips, thanks
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts Jeanie. Scott
Great video! The advice I've read for boat work is not to use wood glue to hold the bungs/plugs, but rather to use a little bit of varnish. The theory is that it makes it easier to remove plugs in the future, and you're less likely to harm the counterbored hole.
Exactly!
Iâm about to fix our garden furniture which involves plugs. I am grateful for your advice. Wish I had looked at your video description before making my purchase though. Zipped off to Amazon as soon as you explained how to make the new plugs and bought the first reasonably priced set that came up. Iâm hoping that they last for the chairs at the very least. The ones you recommended seem like much better quality (based on cost)
Glad it was helpful! Good luck with your project. Scott
thanks for useful tips and great skills
You're welcome. Happy to share repair knowledge and empower others to pick up some skills. Scott
What a cool idea to remove a plug! It looked like you were using a #2 Robertson bit to drive the removal screw, then I noticed French on the glue bottle label. Sacre bleu--you must be Canadian.
Thank you sir
I have that exact Stanley flush saw that I bought to do just this task, but I wasn't happy with the result. I appreciate that the chisel option is the most versatile, but I decided to go hunting for a better flush cut saw and ended up going for a Japanese saw (I had to look up the type, but it's called a Kataba) which works flawlessly without leaving any marks on the surrounding wood.
Cool! Thank you for that tip. I will look into getting a Kataba. Scott
another great tutorial
respect
Thank you! Cheers!
Great advice, very helpfulđ
Thanks for sharing that Greg! Scott
This was so cozy to watch
Glad you liked it! Scott
Great content. Very informative. Subscribed!
Awesome, thank you! Scott
An excellent video, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Scott
It's nice to see some of your work and techniques.
Thanks. I appreciate that. Scott
Your videos seem thought out and good content. About 2 yrs ago I started doing furniture restorations along with the Chests, Urns and other projects I do. The restorations and repairs I've been getting have been primary handed down from inheritances from their grandparents or great grandparents. Customers want the items restored because of the memories they have. chairs, dining room sets, rocking chairs, old Ice box refrigerators, and old travel chests. The estimates on hutches, cabinets and dressers have all been in need of too much repair, so they leave them in storage for a future date.
@@richardgerhard7809 That's nice to hear. It sounds like you may have set your pricing right... if you get all the jobs you quote, you're not charging enough. Cheers. Scott
I was taught to place the plug / bung grain in alignment with the wood grain of the hole, so that more than anything, it will expand and contract in the same direction orientation. Same species for both, but this was boat building specific.
Like your skill and presentation love from oxford England
Thank you so much.
nice video, you really went in depth on plugs and thats what I was looking for and the mirror finish on the chisel was pretty cool. maybe I should start using a leather strop or whatever its called for knife edges too. I'm just trying to learn some stuff for wood working. I'm a noob lol. I would of probably of just used my angle grinder to flush out the plugs if I didn't watch this or some other videos on plugs.
Glad you're enjoying our videos. As someone learning woodworking, here's an important lesson on wood movement for you czcams.com/video/pmM1APci8TY/video.html
Back again but to be honest I have not paid attenton in other recent video's how much you have changed your cabinets? but I would bet you've tot to something during the height of the Covid lay offs / time etc. but none the less I keep seeing things in your videos each time I watch that I missed the first time. so always worth the second look! Thanks again for sharing Scott.
Thanks a lot ! Great tip !
Glad it was helpful! Scott
Great video, thank you.
You are welcome! Glad you enjoyed it Bill. Scott đšđŠ
Nice tip and lesson
Thank you Pat. Glad you like it! Scott
Excellent tutorial on plugs. I like the screw extraction method. If I did it, the plug would have been hacked to death.
Tricks of the trade... glad to hear you found this helpful. Scott
Hey Scott, great video! Listen, Henry Taylor is one manufacturer still making paring chisel s with offset handles.......only paring so no hammers but gives you back that flat reference. I have several short and long blades versions, they are well made and work exceedingly well on those occasions when one needs to work in the middle of a larger surface.
Thank you for letting me know Michael. I just went to the Lee Valley Tools website and bought the 3/4" Henry Taylor paring chisel. I appreciate you reaching out. Thanks! Scott
Hi Michael - I mentioned you in a video I published today about your recommendation on this chisel. As I write this I realized I pronounced your last name wrong though, sorry. czcams.com/video/5nyTR_fPS_Y/video.html
Lol, no you did good. Thanks for the shout out.
@@michaelfling7786 Thanks again for the recommendation Michael. I really appreciate it!
@@FixingFurniture You're more than welcome, Scott. Keep up the fun work!!
My wife was having a yard sale about 15 years ago so I had to throw together a set a sawhorses quick And I wanted to use the pocket hole jig she had bought me for Christmas so thatâs what I did that was 15 years ago and I use those sawhorses quite often and theyâre still pretty dang tight, also i never used glue .. its one of those honey i need them NOW !
Scott, first, you put out nice videos. You have a calm and deliberate manner that I find impressive. I was about to say you erred in referring to the drilled hole as countersink when it is actually a counterbore. I am not so sure now and will leave it to you to decide. I am a lifetime woodworker but non-professional so I consider mine a "layman's" opinion. I believe you used a countersink bit but a counterbore technique. I believe a countersunk screw would sit flush with the surface.
Good question Leonard. I had to look this up to be sure, as countersink is the terminology I learned over the years. It turns out a counterbore is a flat-bottom hole. A countersink is a hole drilled to make a screw flush or set it below the surface. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countersink
That made me do some thinking... which is a good thing. Thanks for your question Leonard. Scott
Great idea! Would this work if the plug was glued as well? If not, I would love to see a method to handle that. Thank you!
You are very fine artist
Thank you so much.
I agree. Pocket holes are not going to allow the furniture I make today to be around in 2221. No antiques a hundred years from now. I am a Dowling jig fan and with practice, these are super and fewer holes left to fill up.
Nice clear presentation, very professional. I donât know if you respond to comments but Iâm not clear about the sharpening board, I got the strop and the honing compound what was used on the opposite side? And, what was the staining product. (I live on a boat which needed repair. Iâve exposed about 100 screws in removing the time and am now reinstalling the time and about to screw coving plugs. I havenât found a match for the stain and attempted mixing off the shelf colors isnât working.
I like pocket hole screws but I donât use them as the solo joinery method. I use them with glue as a clamping facilitator for areas and joints not easily clamped or wherein time is a constraint. I have removed pocket screws after gluing with no steaming reduction in joint strength. Iâve switched to pocket screws with panel glue ups for ease and speed as you can keep working without having to wait on clamping; I donât use thus method if youâll readily see both sides but it works well for table tops. Pocket screws also work great for quick shop jigs, fixtures, or cabinets; theyâve always outlasted my need. I find I change things before any joints fail; always trying to save time and streamline things.
Cool đ
Thanks
Nice job on the explanation . Do you know who makes that SamaN stain you use . I'd like to check some of it out . Thanks
There are several versions similar to the ones you use, many have poor reviews. Do you have a specific brand you use/prefer? Thank you for sharing your expertise.
How would you approach removing a pocket hole plug that enters the wood on an angle, and where the plug was glued?
does this work just as effectively with soft wood, like spruce or red deal? Do the plugs cut just as clean as the hardwood ones that you cut?
Thank you for this informative video. Question: when cutting the plugs level with the chisel would it help putting down some type of tape around the hole to prevent or reduce the chance of scraping the original adjacent wood? I m thinking of easy removal tape that will not leave any residue. Tape could be applied before hole is drilled?
Wow!!! I would pay for all that knowledge you just have out... đđŸđđŸđđżđđŸ
Tq teacher
Thanks
Hi. I really enjoyed your video. I have question for you. I am redoing some dining room chairs, and my surface where the plugs are is slightly curved. How do you deal with that? Any tricks?
Awesome!
(How would you repair a gouge if the chisel slipped??? [asking for a friend...LOL] )
You where talking about pocket hole screws. I recently built a shop stool using nothing but them. What I noticed is that in the softish wood i used (Doug Fir). Once the wood dried more (as it was fairly green) the screws did loosen and require retightening. So far that did the trick. But Its going to be interesting to see how they do over time. (stools only been together for about two months at this point). I have never seen them fail in face frames of cabinets. But those are all Kiln Dried woods.
There's an important difference between face frames and stools. Stools and chairs are subjected to live loads - people sitting and shifting. Because of this movement, the metal screws will wear out the wood and will loosen over time. That's why chair legs don't have screws in them. It will be interesting to hear how the stool performs over time. Cheers. Scott
yeah its definitely a good test. The stool was made this way since i was in a hurry for shop furniture and at roughly 15$ and a short amount of time. It was an acceptable compromise. Other wise mortise and tenon's all the way.
Very helpful and informative! Thanks for sharing your expertise. If you have a moment to reply I'd to know what size of strop you use. I would like to make one but not certain about the best width and length. I assume you also hone your planes in a similar fashion.
I show stropping a plane blade in this video. czcams.com/video/l7UPnpMNywE/video.html My strop is 1 3/4 x 9". If I had to replace it, I would go with a 3" wide strop to have more width for large plane blades. I hope that helps. Scott
The best plug cutters -by their nature are cut as a taper form. If you don't have one of these - grind or sand your drill bit down to a VERY tight fit. the gap with the glue will always show - be it 1/4 mm or less -what you want is over tight and matching grain - ideally no spacing and things -once sanded -disappear. Tight Tight Tight is what you want. Many sell sets that leave a clear glue line around the edge- Tapered plugs get rid of this with the next thump down - Don't have one -taper one of your drill bits to be SLIGHTLY smaller than the plug -so that there is always a force fit.
Thanks for sharing your tips! Scott
I find that a bit of a side to side slicing motion helps pare those plugs more easily.
Oops! Should have. Watched a little longer.
I was taught that you should put a groove on the side of the dowel/plug to allow the excess glue to escape. Any thoughts on this?
I want a perfect surface without needing any filler. I wouldn't put.a groove in it. Also, if you're using the right amount of glue, there isn't enough glue to get in the way. I hope that helps. Scott
Very cool. But were those original plugs glued in?
I was taught to cut a groove - I use a piercing saw for this - along the length of the plug. This is to allow the excess glue a channel to escape.
That's interesting. Doesn't that leave a slight hole on the finished plug? Scott
I was taught to cut a groove for dowels but not for plugs.
@@jeanine6492 oh, that makes sense. I've replaced a few dowels that had grooves in them. Thanks Jeanine
Thanks for the clear demonstration of plug removal. Would the technique (inserting screw in the plug) be effective for removing broken ends of chair stretchers? There is no screw inside to turn against but it could be a kind of handle to.help.pull the broken.piece out. I have had a hard time drilling the pieces out without destroying the hole.
Well you'll like this video then as we show how to remove broken dowels - czcams.com/video/Yk-1Th3jmlE/video.html
@@FixingFurniture thanks for this, it will be very helpful. Turning the drill in reverse to avoid damaging the dowel hole is very clever. I can combine this with some heat gun as the assembly is with hide glue. Thanks again!
Great video--however, I am still failing to get my wood plug out of an old mahogany chair--oddly they are slightly oval. Any suggestions for what to do when the plug just isn't coming out? Your videos are so great--just stuck on this one.
When that happens, I drill out the center of the plug and use a chisel to gently break away the perimeter of the plug so I don't damage the surrounding wood. Here's a video on that technique for removing dowels czcams.com/video/Yk-1Th3jmlE/video.html
That is exactly how we remove plugs at my shop.
can you just painters tape around it? or did you tried ? tape with saw?
Would like to know if the plugs were glued in, originally. Thank you
Yes, plugs won't stay in place over time if they don't have a bit of glue on them to keep them in place. Cheers. Scott
I don't know why they went into the end grain. They could have pocket holed into the edge grain for a better bond. The end grain screw over time with the expansions and contraction around the screw gradually loosened up it's grip.
How can you remove a plug that has previously been glued or epoxied in place and make a clean appearance?
Hi Sir, do you know what is the electrical tool used that remove excess plug from the surface and make it even with the surface. I saw in some videos but do not know the name of that tool. That tool also does not damage the surrounding of the surface. I have low strength and chisel may not be suitable for me.
Hello,
Can anyone give me a link to buy a sample kit of wood stain?
I come from Belgium.
Regards.
On video the varathane didn't seem to match the old finish - and the finish step is the one that I'm scratching my head about the most. Was that a on camera thing or there's a difference in real life too? I'll have to work on my parents hardwood handrail in the house and I wanna make sure I blend it seamlessly, and I'm not sure I can blend that varnish. I'll be using Saman stain and Saman water based varnish for interior.
Andrei Fasola The only way to have a totally seamless finish is to refinish the whole surface.