555970 MARK V – MOUNTED OVERARM PIN ROUTER
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3. Rout out a slot. To repair damage such
as that shown in Figure 34, rout out a
rounded-end slot that’s longer and
wider than the damaged area (See Fig.
35). Set your depth-of-cut to be only as
deep as the damaged wood. If you’re
repairing a surface defect on a veneer,
cut only to the depth of the veneer.
4. Make the plug. Tape a piece of tracing
paper over the slot and pencil an out-
line about 1/16" larger all around than
the slot to allow for sanding your plug
to size. Transfer the outline to a piece of
the same species of wood. Try to match
the wood grain as closely as possible.
Cut out your plug with your Scroll Saw
or Bandsaw. If your slot has to go all
the way through your wood (as in the
case of our thin panel cabinet door), you
can turn the damaged piece over and
use a pencil to trace around the outline
directly onto your workpiece...rather
than using the tracing paper approach.
As with the tracing approach, you
should cut your plug about 1/16" larger
than your routed slot.
5: Sand the plug to size. Use a Disc
Sander to sand around the edges of the
plug with your MARK V Worktable
tilted to about a 2° angle so it will be
tapered slightly and smaller at the bot-
tom than it is at the top. Start by sand-
ing it to within about 1/64" of your pen-
cil line. Be careful! If you sand it too
far, you’ll have to make the plug over
again (See Fig. 36).
Stop frequently and test the plug for
size to see if it fits. Continue sanding
the edges of the plug until it drops into
the opening and its top surface rests
flush with the surface of the item you’re
repairing.
6. Install and finish the plug. Glue the
plug into position. If necessary, use glue
or plastic wood to fill in any voids on
the backside of your restored item left
by the plug’s taper. Use a test stick
method to stain or finish the plug until
it matches the original item perfectly.
Figure 34. A damaged area on a
cabinet door.
Figure 35. Rout a slot to remove the
damaged area.
Figure 36. Cut and sand a plug to fit.