CMT 529.095.31 Plug Cutter, 3/8-Inch Minor Diameter, 49/64-Inch Diameter, 1/2-Inch Shank

Cuts plugs quickly and well. I got this cutter for several reasons. I have used it to make short lengths of hardwood to use as dowels. I also have used it to cut the ends of spindles for chairs. If you choose, you can make 3/8 round ends for chair or table stretchers. Works well for all these.

This plug cutter was very sharp and very accurate on size. Easy to use in hand-held drill or on the drill press.

What more can you ask? These things are diesel.

Ive been building custom furniture for many years now and often use plugs and/or dowels as a means of joinery and as a design element. So far Ive purchased 7 different CMT plug cutters and can say that they are extremely sharp and have performed well over the years. I will say that using this type/design of cutter will produce a fair amount of wood chips so have extra wood scraps available for multiple plugs. Highly recommend

This works as advertised after cutting a few dozen plugs in jatoba (hard tropical wood). This is in contrast to a similar purpose tool I picked up at Woodcraft and subsequently returned. That one produced short plugs, all of which had to be forced out of the cutter leading to cracking and/or deformation. This one has great clearance to enable production of much longer plugs and a simple way to get them out from the open back. There is, however, clear burning on the outside which produces a thin dark ring around the plug when used. This may be due to the wood I used. Havent tried it in softer woods yet.

I bought two of these as I had about 4000 plugs to cut. Half way done and the first cutter hasnt slowed down. Im cutting Kayu batu (an Indonesian hard wood) so Id say the cutter is fairly durable. Unlike some plug cutters, this one does not make a beveled end. But the trade off is a good one in my case. I can use one of the cut plugs to fill 3 or 4 holes. Also, since Im using small bench belt sander to make a small bevel on the plug, the bevel can be shallow to maximize plug wall contact with the hole. Diameter of cut plug is from .380 to .385 (probably affected by whatever drying is occurring in the plugs I just measured (cut a couple of weeks ago) so figure 10 thousandths over as a good guess. They drive in snugly in a .375 (3/8) hole.

I’ve purchased cheap plug cutters that dulled quickly. This thing is well machined, sharp and high quality. Feels like it’ll last forever.

Bought this to cut red oak plugs to hide screws on the wall section of unfinished 3/4 thick red oak flooring. Plug cutter from Lowes croaked after less than a couple of dozen plugs that were oversize to start with. This cutter just keeps on keeping on. Ive cut several hundred so far. I find that when I cut plugs by cutting all the way through a scrap flooring piece, I soon have a pile of plugs mixed with chips on the drill press table. This cutter does cut a huge hole to get the 3/8 plug. It is easier to set the drill press stop to cut almost all the way through and when the board is pimpled with plugs, to take it to the band saw and set the scrap piece against the rip fence and cut the plugs free. Good plugs if a bit loose. They glue in place easily and a chisel will split most of them off with enough height left to plug another hole. Plug cutting is boring (Oops! Pardon the pun) and repetitious but at least this plug cutter turns out good plugs and so far is still sharp. By the nature of the job, a good deal of friction occurs between the plug and inside of the cutter. Beware of overheating that might ruin the cutter. This cutter cuts many more plugs than the Lowes cutter before getting hot. When I need a different size plug, Ill buy another CMT.

Wowww. I am amazed at the quality of this bit, and at this price. It is extremely sharp. And mine came in the original cmt orange tool package. I was expecting some knockoff junk. But this bit will be around for a while if handled with care. I bought it to make some pocket hole plugs with the same wood i used for a project. I use the kreg k5 pocket hole master system. When i saw kreg sold a plug cutter for like 80$ i was thinking there has to be a way to do it without their little piece of plastic accessory. I literly tried everything. Although the dowel trick did work pretty well at keeping the costs down, it didnt match the wood good enough for me (nobody sells grade d select pine dowels). I was able to make perfect pocket hole plugs with this. And if i make one the whole length of this bit, once i cut it off the rest of it is long enough to plug a second hole! Perfect all the way around. Im going to buy a second just to keep in package and use in 5 years when i have this original one sharpened.