The Hole Thing

Hokay.

I have idea. Might be crazy idea, but ve shall see.

I have two existing holes from the old wiring I need to fill. They won't be covered by a heater or the floor molding, so I needs to fill zem. Now, I am going to use spackling on the other various and sordid dents and chips in the panel, but there's no way one can fill a 1" hole with spackling. And that's what we have - two one-inch holes. My guess is some out there have tried to fill with a filler such as spackling, but I can tell choo zat is too big of a hole.

So. We need something in the hole to fill it so we can spackle over it. One might use a screen or something - I have used cardboard in the past. But this time I Have Idea.

What got me thinking was the fact that I had to cut a new hole elsewhere for one of the new heaters. (They do exist, btw, you will see them eventually). Of course when one bores a hole, one winds up with a round leftover piece, does one not?

That's when the light bulb went off. I'll use the leftover hole as a plug for a hole. And I'll just drill a second one out of scrap. I do think this will work.

To the workbench, Batman!
I get my trusty Black and Decker 1/2" hand drill and put a 1 1/8 hole bit in the chuck. Was going to do this on the drill press but I am too lazy today to do that.

That hole bit is pretty scary up close. Looks like someone Who Shall Remain Nameless has even burned a bit of paint off the end. Repeat after me: let the tool do the work. Don't go too fast. Nothing like the smell of burning hardwood.

We put a piece of scrap left from cutting one of the access holes into our trusty vise. That vise was like the best $35 I ever spent. And away we go. One hand on the trigger of the drill and one hand on the vintage Canon digital camera. Lookit that thing go.

Word of warning: Don't try this at home.

After going slowly and not burning more paint and/or wood (ahem), we wind up with a plug to use to fill a hole. I am seriously beginning to think this will work!

We're going to have a clean plug to insert into the hole. I think.

I also think I have now discovered for myself one of the secrets our friend and toymaker The Database Man uses to make wheels for toys. That looks like a semi-perfectly round wheel with a hole in it for an axle. What a bargain.

Bwhahahahaha. Maybe I make ze amphibious vehicle out of wood, ja? Chust choo vait until choo see dat!

Now it's out of the shop and back onto the job site.

With talk like that you would think I'm on onna dem home improvement shows. Maybe I have been watching too many of them, yes?

We try a test fit into one of the holes. And...it works. Had to sand a tiny bit off the edge of the plug, but it basically slid right in. Need to be careful so I don't drop the thing behind the panel - shudder.

Now we grab some trusty Elmer's Wood Glue. "All Porpoise Use" it says. I wonder about use on dolphins? Is it dolphin safe?

At any rate, this stuff rocks and hey, guess what? It's made in the USA. Every time I use this stuff I am reminded of the fact that in the amateur radio world (aka 'ham' radio), an "Elmer" is a more experienced operator who helps rookies learn the ropes. So an Elmer is a good thing.Open the trusty Elmer's and spread the glue on the circumference of the plug, being careful not to get any glue on our work jeans. One good thing about this wood glue though, is that it easily cleans up with water. That helps when you're cleaning up extra that might ooze out of a joint.

And now ve chust poot ze plug into ze hole and...voila! We have a plug. In other words, success! You can see how the plug will support the filler that will go on later.

After it dries, I'll start on the spackling/filling. Even though there is a small hole in the middle of the plug, and it clearly isn't a perfect fit, it will easy to fill later. We'll wind up with an invisible repair.