October 13, 2012

I thought using pre-made plugs would make economic sense, as the time it takes to make hundreds of plugs in the shop doesn't always seem very efficient when I factor in my labor rates for the customer. So I gave these cherry plugs a try. I was extremely disappointed in the plugs. I had realistic (I thought) expectations, but I found the grain in these plugs was extremely difficult to discern, making it impossible to correctly align the plugs, and also challenging when it came time to chisel away the excess plug. Also, the wood used to make the plugs was almost rubbery in texture, so they did not chisel away cleanly, making it a frustrating process. Nearly all the plugs came from cherry sapwood, which is much lighter in color than the heartwood, though this particular aspect didn't surprise me much. I ended up using several hundred of these plugs, so in the end I was able to make them work, but would not recommend them to anyone based on my experience. I have used manufactured plugs in other species with much greater success in the past, which I suppose is one reason I was so disappointed in the cherry plugs at JD.

October 20, 2010

I use these plugs to patch drilled holes in wood flooring. I ordered five bags of 100 as they were on clearance. I received an email indicating they only had one bag in stock,and the other 400 could be ordered when available but only at the regular price. When I counted the plugs in the bag I received there were 97 instead 100. And of those 97, ten of them were so badly marred on the topside that they are unusable. So I paid for 100, but only received 87 usable plugs.