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What would be the best way for me to fill in button holes in this situation?
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nitz:
Ok, my cab is a generic one that I bought and gutted and had to build a new CP for. I put pinball buttons in on the sides. I'm going to be overhauling this thing over the next month or so as there's a lot of stuff I'm not happy with (first project, lots of mistakes ::)). I'm thinking of moving the CP down a fair bit to make it more the height of the old Midway Pacman/Galaga style cabs (my favorite cabs!) and also because vertically challenged people and kids have a slight bit of trouble playing and having a good view of the screen the way it is now.

Thing is, I would need to plug up the pinball holes and drill new ones lower. This isn't like a CP where one side of the hole is never seen. Both sides will be seen, so I need a way to plug them and paint over them so that A) it doesn't look like crap, B) touching it doesn't make whatever I used to plug them with push through! I'm a little afraid of that happening if I just use wood putty.

Crap, I wish I hadn't drilled these things in the first place until I was sure my CP was where I wanted it! :banghead:

Any ideas?
brock.sampson:
Assuming 1 1/8" hole get a 1" dowel and cut a couple pieces off just short of the thickness of your cabinet side thickness.  Screw a wood block from the inside to the side of your panel then glue/nail/screw the dowel to that piece.  That will fill most of the void of the hole.  Use bondo to fill the rest and sand smooth.
nitz:
I'm sure that would be nice and strong, so it's a good idea, except that the "inside" side of the hole would be very visible right above my control panel, so I don't really want a block of wood stuck there. I'm wondering if my only option then is to fill it in with wood putty and hope that's good enough. I suppose as long as no one pokes and prods at it, it probably will be, and if I do a good enough job, no one should know it's there. I wonder if it's possible to get 1 1/8" dowels? Maybe super gluing one of those in there would work better? ???
bkenobi:
You could use a hole saw to cut a plug that's 1-1/8"+ and then use a dremel to make it fit perfectly.  Then, use wood glue to make the bond.  Finally, use bondo or wood filler to make the surface solid and smooth with sand paper.  I can't see pictures due to my work's filters, so I'm assuming this should work for you.
nitz:
That would be exactly what I'm looking for. I guess I was kinda hoping there might be a ready made solution like someone who sells button hole plugs or some other substitute I could buy - my tool collection is pretty limited. I may just have to see if I can find a buddy who can lend me a hole saw and dremel. ;D

Thanks.
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