After fairing and sanding the Sycamore Veneer, small holes were left from the screws used to hold the parts in place for epoxy.

The best matching plugs can be made from face grain. Below, 1/4″ x 1/4″ pieces are cut from the end grain of a 5″ wide Sycamore veneer plank.

Then, the 5″ fragile end cut offs are put in the chuck of the drill with medium tightness, and sharpened to points. When they are about 1/16″ at the tip, a 1/2″ tapered plug was cut off with a sharp chisel.

Each hole was filled by gluing a plug in place, tapping gently with a hammer. When the glue (Titebond III) dried, the plugs were carefully cut off with a pull-stroke Japanese saw, and sanded flush.

After varnish was completed, you can barely see some the face grain plugs, and the surprising figure of Quartersawn Sycamore.

Small face grain plugs are a detail often not noticed, but removing the screws prevents future corrosion, and 3/8″ plugs are not needed.