How do I remove the plug backer after a V inlay glue-up: bandsaw, hand tools or a CNC surfacing pass?

What you are removing

After glue-up the plug board sits above the base board on a slab of waste. The official documentation calls this slab Plug Stock (P) in the plug toolpath form. It is derived automatically from Pocket Depth plus Glue Gap and cannot be edited on its own. Everything above the base surface has to go, without tearing the thin inlay edges.

Three documented ways

1. Saw, then hand tools. One published tutorial cuts most of the waste off at the bandsaw or with a flush trim hand saw, then levels with a hand plane and a cabinet scraper before sanding. Another educator prefers a trim plane, sharp card scraper or wide sanding block and avoids router surfacing because a pass can leave a divot that shows through.

2. CNC surfacing in place. The official method: set Z zero on the back surface of the plug, create a separate Pocket toolpath over the area, and set the cut depth equal to the Plug Stock (P) value. Published guides do the same thing with a 3/16 inch upcut bit or a wide flat-bottom bit, taking light passes of 0.01 to 0.02 inch as you approach the surface.

3. Sand only. Practical when the plug stands proud by a small amount. The same guide suggests the bandsaw or plane for anything more than about 1/16 inch proud, then sanding from 80 grit up through 220.

Steps for the CNC method

1. Wait for full cure (see the entry on V inlay glue-up).
2. Re-clamp the base board flat. Zero Z on the plug back.
3. Draw a rectangle around the plug and pocket it to depth P, stopping a hair above the base if you are unsure of your zero.
4. Finish with a sanding block or scraper.

Pro tips

• A lesson shared by one cutting board maker: draw a simple rectangle around the inlay and let the machine clear all the waste, instead of offsetting vectors and bandsawing by hand.
• How much plug material is left to remove depends on the Surface Clearance field in the plug toolpath: a larger value leaves less to remove, a smaller value leaves a sturdier plug.
• A planer is not described in the sources fetched for this entry. If you try one, test on scrap first.