Flush-Routing Plugs - Using Flute Bit

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I’ve found that a router equipped with a straight or spiral flute bit does a much faster (and free of tear-out) job of cutting plugs flush than does the old saw-and-chisel approach. I simply adjust the tip of the router bit shy of the workpiece surface by about the thickness of a sheet of loose-leaf paper, and then tilt the router to lower the spinning bit onto the end of the plug. The few thousandths of an inch of plug projection that remains is easily sanded or scraped away.

A laminate trimmer works best because of its maneuverability and small footprint. However, sometimes adjacent plugs prevent setting the subbase completely onto the work surface. In that case, you may have to trim a few plugs the old-fashioned way to create a landing pad for the base.

—George Aspinall, Tacoma, Washington