Filling belly weight holes

[SurfJockey]

Got out to Home Depot and grabbed some Quikwood.  This stuff is awesome.  Comes in a little putty stick that has 2 parts in it.  You cut a piece off, knead it with your fingers until the colors mix to one solid color, and stuff it in the hole you want to fill.  Setting up in an hour, I'm amazed at how hard this stuff gets, yet sands awesome!  I cut off a bit more than I needed to fill my holes so I balled a small piece up and let it set.  I put it on my garage floor and hit it with a hammer and sent it flying across the garage.  Not a dent on it.  Plus once it sets, theres less than 1% shrinkage.....And you all know how much we despise shrinkage.  Awesome stuff for probably a lot more than plugmaking too.     

[Scott G.]

Shrinkage     What do you mean ?  

[SurfJockey]

 

[Scott G.]

  Good one Jason..LMAO...

[Jeffish]

I'm actually going to take my putty back that I bought and get this stuff.

[SurfJockey]

You will not be disappointed Jeff.  After one coat of primer, I could barely see it.  I'm sure it'll be damn near invisible after a sanding and second coat before painting.

[ChrisL]

Jay did you glue the weight in and then fill with the putty, or just use the putty to hold it in?

[SurfJockey]

I use a 2 part epoxy to hold the weight snug first and let cure fully before packing the hole with the Quikwood. 

Did you get anything turned this weekend?

[wb]

I just mix up some extra 2 part epoxy when I am gluing in the weight, then I use the extra epoxy to fill the hole.
Fill the hole slightly proud and as it cures it will shrink flat.
No sanding; cheaper easier and faster, nothing else to buy. You are already mixing the epoxy anyway.

[SurfJockey]

Does the epoxy sand smooth, hiding the hole after priming?

[BigAl13]

Jason did you try the dowel yet.I've tried it all and there are a lot of good products for me the dowel works the best, my second choice would be bondo I mix it right on a plastic tea spoon with a little hardner one tsp will give u enough product ad time for about 8 holes. The best part is it drys in 3-4 minutes and sands smooth. Also my newest invention for sealing plugs is a 4' pice of 1 1/2" pvc pipe one glue on cap and one furnco cap. Glue the cap on the bottom of the pipe, press a hole through the furnco with a small finish nail, tie the nail to a 4' piece of mono slide your plugs on the mono and put the other end through the furnco. Now fill the pipe with your sealer and drop in the plugs on the mono, press the furnco cap on. The benefit is you can stand it upright in a corner freeing up your bench,sealer won't evaporate saving $, and when your done soaking them put the cap back on and store for your next batch. It works well for me let me know if you like it. Also coming soon big als one of a kind 20 plug spinning paint booth, ill show yall when its done, I may auction of the first one

[wb]

Does the epoxy sand smooth, hiding the hole after priming?

Use a formula that is lower viscosity then fill it just proud- support it so gravity is your frend- it will settle some, then shrink smooth. No sanding. My fav is Hysol 151- 24hr full cure, stinks a bit until cured, but lasts forever and holds paint well too.

[SurfJockey]

Al, I haven't tried the dowel yet.  For the sized plugs I'm building right now, it probably wouldn't work for me.  I'm trying to get my belly weight as low as I can get to the bottom of the plug so it doesn't roll.  If I used the dowel to close the hole, it would mean that my weight would end up too close to the center of the plug.  I do like your sealing idea.  I was thinking of using a 6" diameter PVC pipe with a sealed end, and a cleanout cap on the other filled with my sealer mix for soaking.  The mono is an awesome idea for getting them in/out of the sealer.    I have been working on a drying spinner as well.  I attached a photo of the rack itself.  This will be turned by a rotisserie motor inside of a cabinet with a light in it for warmth.


 

[SurfJockey]

Warren, With your method, do you have to be exact in pouring to fill the hole?  If you do add too much, will the epoxy sand nicely?  Is the filled hole noticeable after painting? 

[Jeffish]

If you use the epoxy instead of the putty, surface tension is not your friend. They way I want my plugs to look is to not notice any belly weight hole even existed.

I'll only use belly weights for plugs without lips, and I haven't been making anything without a lip on it yet, so no need for putty for me.

Bondo will work too, but you have to make sure you have it 100% sealed off. Bondo can't get wet.

Attached is my 8 plug dryer. Which will be attached to a rotisserie motor.

[Hotrod]

Cool Jeff

[ChrisL]

I didn't get anything successfully turned this weekend.  I only had about 10 minutes in the shop.  I'm itching to get all the tools back to my house and get things rolling.

Dryers look good guys.

[BigAl13]

Jason in that case try pouring the lead directly into your plug, this will alow you to keep the weight as low as possible. Your dryer is similar to what I'm building but mine isn't so much for drying but being able to paint numerous plugs the same way at the same time. Also someon just told me a little secret if your gonna use onion sack to make scales, spray the plug with hi hold hair spray and while its still tacky put on the onion sack. Then you can tape it off and spray it.

[wb]

Warren, With your method, do you have to be exact in pouring to fill the hole?  If you do add too much, will the epoxy sand nicely?  Is the filled hole noticeable after painting? 

It is less work if you are more exact. With a little practice you will hit it right every time. But yes, you can sand the epoxy if you must. It gums up the paper somewhat, you need the epoxy to keep seeing new abrasive. The fill job is noticeable only if you're really looking. With lighter colors it is less noticeable. The paint hides it pretty well. If you sanded and primed prior to color coat it would disappear. but hey, a couple chomps by the demons and you won't notice it at all anyway...