BUNGS!

[Johnd]

I hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather that the Chesapeake Bay has. I am sanding off the p/o stain and clear coat, and have had several bungs come out. These bungs are about 1/8'' thick, surely after several sandings. Any thoughts on just using a waterproof wood fill instead of replacing them? The teak is in great shape, just thinning as time passes.

John d

[Sea Hunt Video]

John:

I am no expert but I did replace a lot of bungs when I was refinishing some of the teak rails on S/V Tadpole.

Why not use teak bungs and just sand off/down the protruding tip with something like a Dremel Multi-tool That's what I did although admittedly the protruding tips were only about 1/16" on average. I think teak bungs would look a lot better than "wood fill or wood putty", at least IMHO.

[Jeff and Sarah]

A quick rap on a sharp chisel with a mallet knocks bungs level with the base wood- a lot faster and easier than sanding.

Definitely use new bungs. The job will be easier and look far better than using filler. The filler would never match the color and would shrink away from the edges of the countersink unless you taper the hole. This is one time that the right way is the easier way. You can buy bungs at WM or buy the drill bit to make your own at Lowes.

[Johnd]

Ok then. I will go back with bungs. Doesn't sound so hateful.

Thanks guys.

[Carter Brey]

A quick rap on a sharp chisel with a mallet knocks bungs level with the base wood- a lot faster and easier than sanding.

Definitely use new bungs. The job will be easier and look far better than using filler. The filler would never match the color and would shrink away from the edges of the countersink unless you taper the hole. This is one time that the right way is the easier way. You can buy bungs at WM or buy the drill bit to make your own at Lowes.

Although the chisel technique is commonly recommended, it can be impractical when there is not enough surrounding teak to support the bung after years of sanding. In addition, the bung can occasionally chip off a little below the level of the surrounding teak. That can be depressing.

My preferred technique is to put a bung in a vise and, with a coping saw, slice off several thin (1/8" or so) wafers of bung. You can then simply press it into place after painting its underside and edges with epoxy or varnish. No chisels or sanding necessary.

I keep a baggy of these wafers on board for quick repairs as needed.

Cheers,
Carter Brey
Sabre 28-II #532 "Delphine"
City Island, NY

[Johnd]

Can I buy a dozen 'wafers' from you Carter? Just kidding but does WM really sell teak bungs?

[Jeff and Sarah]

Sounds like a good tip.

[bhartley]

Jamestown Distributing has the best price on teak bungs in volume.

[Johnd]

Thank you! I need to now measure the bung diameter...looks like 3/8, but not sure.

John

[Steve Laume]

I make my own with a cutter on the drill press. Once you have the cutter they are virtually free. I drill a whole scrap of board and then pop them out with a screwdriver when I need them. It is easy to keep track of them that way. By snapping them off you can see which way the grain runs. Once you know that, a very sharp chisel can be pushed into the bung, up hill on the grain. That way they never split below the surface level. If I have a very shallow bung or some wild grain I will slice of thin pieces before trimming to the final level.

If you are careful with the chisel, you only need to sand very lightly, Steve.

[Johnd]

Thanks Steve. Great advice from all. I have decided to replace the bungs, and NOT clear coat my teak. It may look awesome, but man sakes alive the dust and elbow grease are not worth removing it, ever again...

John d

[Noel Heslop]

I guess because of your minimal depth, you may need to consider epoxy to glue in your bungs.

I have used both epoxy and the traditional varnish with good results.

Varnish is excellent as a glue for your bung where you have some depth to work with.

Otherwise, I used epoxy where I had no depth, and especially with part of the SS screw head showing.

My extra trick was to have teak sawdust handy to dust off with the epoxy where a damaged bung hole was irregular. Meaning gaps showed on one side of the bung or the other, because of the various PO's doing there fixes on our aging boats. Yes, I am guilty of a short cut, but I am happy with the result.

Method: With masking tape ready to hold bung in place, add epoxy to bung and position/insert expoxied bung, then sawdust tipped on top of epoxy ( a minimal amount) and pushed and feathered in with a scrapper. Masking tape over top to hold in place.

Have fun.

[Jim Cornwell]

The traditional method of "gluing" bungs is to coat the mating surface with varnish, then press or tap in place with a mallet. There's a good reason for this. Varnish is an adequate adhesive without being permanent. It's akin to a post-it note. If, for any reason, removal of the underlying fastener is necessary, the bung can be easily chipped out and later replaced. If epoxy or other permanent adhesive is used, that baby won't come out without lots of damage to the surrounding wood. Jim.

[Ron M.]

if you have access to a drill press a tapered plug cutter will produce a nice tight fitting bung. Some experiment will show just how much of the bung needs to be reduced,(in length) to achieve this. I think you're right.......3/8"

[Gary H]

Any good techniques for making bung holes? I am thinking a forstner bit for the bung hole. Thoughts on making the bung hole first or the pilot hole for the screw first?

Or - has anyone run across a bit that will do both at one time?