JC,

Sounds like the ideal set up for you would be a hole saw for the field
work and a plug cutter the same size as the hole saw in the shop on a
drill press so that you could make your own plugs of the same material,
grain , etc. as what came out of the sample hole.  In kind replacement
would be much better than using a dowel.  Also, it seems that some plug
cutters create a tapered plug that would do a nice job repairing the
sampling damage.

TG


John Callan wrote:
> First, I think its quiet because all the responsible pinheads are in
> Ohio for PTN.
>
> The plug is just me looking for a convenient and fairly uniform way
> of taking paint samples home for study and perhaps to send to friends
> for opinions.  The more typical practice is to chip out a piece with
> a pocket knife or scalpel.  I'd like it to be a uniform shape and
> size so that I can plug the hole easily and not leave the resource
> with an open invitation to wood eating critters.  (Leaving holes
> behind is also an invitation to criticisms, in fact, criticisms I
> made myself in former lives, and would just as soon not be thought of
> as someone who leaves a trail of holes in historic building materials
> behind to let the world know he's been there.)
>
> I think the hole cutter is promising.  It does seem that my plug-
> cutter was just a bit too small and too hard to hold steady.  It is
> also true that the bit was intended for a drill press, not a hand
> held drill.  I'll try various sizes of hole cutters with centering
> bits.  When I find one that works I'll have to find a dowel of the
> same size, so I'd like to keep it as small as practical.  I don't
> think a dowel larger than 1" is going to be readily available.
>
> But, its not really a big problem.
>
> -jc

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