Bung replacement

[knots]

I have a mid 50's plywood boat with few bungs that are missing. I found some bungs at West Marine and I'm wondering what should I use to hold them in. These will be stained and then varnished.

Thank you

Norm

[Woxbox]

Where are the bungs going -- outside or inside? Below the waterline?
This has been debated before, but generally you want to be able to remove them without damaging the surrounding wood -- which means just enough glue to hold them in, and not epoxy.

[gaffman]

Use epoxy.

[Tom Robb]

Epoxy will no doubt hold them in, but the person who has to remove them someday will be seriously annoyed with you.
Try old gooy varnish if the hole isn't badly chewed up.

[Yeadon]

When in doubt, I usually refer to Howard Chapelle's Boatbuilding ...

... plugs are dipped in varnish, or thick paint, and then driven into the countersink. A good job requires that the grain the plug be in line with that of the planking.
Use a wooden mallet to drive the plug and take care not to crush it in driving, by too heavy a blow. When the plug is driven home, let the paint or varnish harden for a day or so, then cut the plug outside of the planking with a sharp chisel.

Chapelle isn't exactly modern, but it's fairly contemporary for the boat you're describing.

[BETTY-B]

When in doubt, I usually refer to Howard Chapelle's Boatbuilding ...

... plugs are dipped in varnish, or thick paint, and then driven into the countersink. A good job requires that the grain the plug be in line with that of the planking.
Use a wooden mallet to drive the plug and take care not to crush it in driving, by too heavy a blow. When the plug is driven home, let the paint or varnish harden for a day or so, then cut the plug outside of the planking with a sharp chisel.

Chapelle isn't exactly modern, but it's fairly contemporary for the boat you're describing.

That's what I do when I want them to all but dissapear(varnish). And I have been using thickened red lead for under water bungs. For production, I wet out a few holes first, then paint up the bungs before I carefully drive them in.

Oh wait. I cant imagine a fifty year old bung hole being tight for a fresh bung bought from West Marine. You might want to get a plug cutter and counter sink kit and re-do those. The cheapest kits I have seen in Seattle are at Hardwicks(Fuller). They ship too.

DAN

[Jay Greer]

Of course there are many different answers for this one! This is what trial and error taught me:
I use only plugs (bungs) I make myself. The ones that are purchased in the store stand the chance of having absorbed moisture, thus being slightly over sized and a bitch to drive home. I use a tack hammer for driving them. That is, the kind that has a split pointed end opposite the hammer face. This kind of hammer is designed to deliver a dead blow without rebound and drives bungs cleanly and precisely. Why bother to dip the plugs in goo and get your fingers and the hammer plus the surounding wood sticky and stained? Use a wooden dowel that is slightly smaller than the hole to spin in as much adhesive as is needed. Yes, thick varnish works well. So does brown Weldwood glue! These two adhesives will allow for removal at a later date, if necessary. As stated by another poster, if you use epoxy, you or someone else will hate you later!
Jay

[Nordicthug]

Another method that works well and is quick and cheap is to put a handfull of plugs (bungs) in a paper sack, then pour in some boiled linseed oil and shake to coat the plugs. I've used this method on decks and above waterline planking. Works a treat. Fast, too.

As Betty-B says, it's important the bungs actually fit the holes.

Gerry N.

[Tom Robb]

Harry Bryan has a nice piece in WB this month about bungs and bunging technique. It's worth a read.

[S.V. Airlie]

added suggestion. Make sure the grain on/in the bungs run in the same direction as the wood being bunged.

[Flying Orca]

WB #200 shellac article talks about bungs too.

[Eric D]

tapered plug cutter is worth more than your store bought plugs. Make your own, get a set of the cutters and you can adjust for ill fitting bungs real easily.

follow Jay's advice, he has done 1 or 2 over the years I bet.

[Eric Hvalsoe]

Never bought plugs, always make them - Fuller plugcutters, but heck, they are just plugs. Snug fit I can use varnish. If it is a lousy fit I might set em with urethane (gorilla) glue. If it is really sloppy I can keep the plug in place with a piece of tape till the glue sets up. The urethane will hold a loose plug but is not as nasty to clean out as epoxy, if that is the way you want to think about it. On bright surfaces urethane does not stain as does epoxy. Plenty of instances I'll just set plugs with epoxy.

[Ian McColgin]

This is a mid-fifties plywood boat. So first, make sure that there's been no water intrusion and rot around the unbunged holes. Maybe pull a fastening or a dozen to see if there's problems there.

On general principles with plywood, I'd CPES the holes first. If you can roll the boat so's the CPES can flow through the plys in all directions so much the better. Then, on the assumption that unlike dimensional wood construction, the fastening will outlast the plywood, I'd epoxy the bungs in place.

For conventional construction, I'd stick to traditional methods like thickened nasty waste varnish or shellack.

[lofting4fun]

I have a mid 50's plywood boat with few bungs that are missing. I found some bungs at West Marine and I'm wondering what should I use to hold them in. These will be stained and then varnished.

Thank you

Norm

I make my own bungs and use weldwood glue ( a powder- mix with water )after using a small amount of white or red lead on top of the screw head(the shipwrights I know that work on the wood fishing fleet use that ) Weldwood glue is used to bind plywood,works sweet,cant see it, and you can re-pop the bungs cleanly with a pic....I let the bugs sit in the glue for a sec ...

[lofting4fun]

added suggestion. Make sure the grain on/in the bungs run in the same direction as the wood being bunged.

Dont think it matters on plywood...?

[Tom Robb]

If it's finished bright, it matters.

[lofting4fun]

Oh yes, I see ...for asthetics