Filling holes in wood mast

[kristian]

Hello all,

An interesting project has come my way and I could use some advice on the best way to handle it. The job in question is filling a few holes in a wooden mast where a winch is being removed. About 6 1/4" holes in a hollow box section wooden mast. I was thinking the way to go would be to glue in wooden plugs and plane them fair, but I'd like to hear what those in the know think. It's also been recomended to simply fill and fair with thick epoxy. Any tips?

Kristian

I'd lean toward filling with wood. It would be best if you can fill with plugs, rather than dowels, to avoid endgrain facing the weather/sun. If the wood in the holes is blackened/deeply discolored, you might consider drilling them out first (it'd probably be easier anyway.)

Filling with epoxy will work, but is not preferred because the epoxy does not expand/contract with moisture/heat changes at the same rate, and may result in slowly crushing/tearing surrounding wood fibers. (But this is a somewhat extreme wood purist viewpoint. For the same reason, try to use wood plugs of similar wood rather than something markedly different.)

[kristian]

Thanks much. I made some teak plugs, and am going to bond them in with resorcinol glue. Whats the best way to fair flush without damaging the mast? Small plane?

[Jim Fulton]

You don't need a plane. Glue the plugs in with the grain running in the same direction as the grain in the mast. After it dries, take a sharp chisel and carefully pare the top of the plug down so that it is even with the mast surface. Sand lightly if necessary (it may not be) and you're done. It's usually better to make plugs (or bungs) out of the same kind of wood as object that you're putting the plugs into so that the whole structure will expand and contract at the same rate.

Jim Fulton

[kristian]

Thanks all! Cut some plugs and it turned out very nicely. It's not often that I get to use a chisel.