How to Fill Pocket Holes – 4 Simple Techniques

Need to fill pocket holes after finishing your project? In this guide, learn four of the best ways to fill them and the pros and cons of each. 

Pocket holes are a great woodworking technique for creating strong, hidden joints. They are great for beginner woodworkers because they do not require many tools and can be easily made with just a power drill and a pocket hole jig.

I use pocket holes in about 90% of my projects…maybe even more!

However, pocket holes are pretty big and can be quite an eyesore.

The best way to work with them is to make sure that the boards are oriented such that they are hidden away from view – underneath the project or toward the back. This is what I do when designing and building my projects.

However, there are a lot of situations where that might not be possible.

In these cases, you need to fill them up.

There are four popular ways of filling the pocket holes, and as you go from one to the other, the number of tools needed goes up. At the same time, the amount that they blend in also increases. So, let’s discuss each of these techniques and their pros and cons, and you can pick the one that works best for you and the project at hand.

How to Fill Pocket Holes

As always, I made a video for you to watch the whole process. The full written article follows below.

***This post contains referral or affiliate links. It is a way for this site to earn advertising fees by advertising or linking to certain products and/or services.  Please read my full disclosure here ***

Using Wood Filler

Wood filler, or wood putty, is a simple and straightforward choice for filling pocket holes because it is easy to apply and can be painted over seamlessly. You only need a putty knife and the patience to wait for it to dry. 

How to cover pocket holes with wood filler

• Fill the holes to the brim with wood filler, packing the filler firmly to make sure it fills the entire hole.
• I like to leave a little extra on top of the hole because wood filler shrinks as it dries. 

• Allow the wood filler to dry. Depending on the temperature and humidity, this can take several hours. I typically have to wait overnight.
• Sand smooth to remove any excess wood filler.
• Once it starts to dry, it shrinks, and you can end up with a little dip in the wood filler. Or you may have air pockets that show up as holes. This means you need to apply filler again. This process can take several iterations. I usually have to do at least two rounds.

• Sand the area smooth to make the surface even.  

This technique is perfect if you are going to paint your project. Once it’s painted, you will never know there was a pocket hole.

Of course, you have to make sure that the wood filler fills in all the cracks, sides, and corners of that pocket hole and that it stays nice and flat.

Wood Filler: Pros and Cons
Pros	– Easy to apply – Disappears seamlessly under paint if applied right.
Cons	– Not ideal for stained projects, as it can leave a visible patch that doesn’t match the wood grain – Takes a long time to dry. – Needs multiple coats of wood filler

Bondo is another great alternative to wood filler as it dries quickly.

Using Pre-Cut Pocket Hole Plugs

This is probably the easiest way to fill pocket holes. You can purchase pre-cut pocket hole plugs that slide into the hole. They come in various materials—plastic plugs for painted projects and wood ones for stained projects. You can even find plugs to match the wood type of your project, like pine or oak.

The biggest drawback of this technique is the price. Depending on the material, the wood plugs can be pretty expensive.

How to use wood plugs for filling pocket holes

• Apply wood glue to the plug or in the pocket hole
• Insert the plug into the pocket hole with the flat side facing up. You may need to use a mallet to tap the plug into place until it is flush. 

• Wipe away any glue that has seeped out, then allow the glue to dry. 
• Cut off the excess plug that sticks out of the surface with a flush trim saw or an oscillating tool. I highly recommend this clean wood cut blade with the oscillating saw.
• Even out the surface by sanding it down.

Important: When using the saw, pay attention to the angle at which you hold it. Be careful not to damage the wood around the pocket hole.

Pre-Cut Plugs: Pros and Cons
Pros	– Easy and convenient  – Come in a wide variety of wood types – Great for both staining and painting – Require less equipment
Cons	– Expensive option, especially for projects with many pocket holes

Using Dowel Rods

Using dowel rods for pocket hole filler is my personal favorite technique. With this method, you are essentially making your own pocket hole plugs.

It is much faster than using wood filler. You need to find a dowel that matches the species of the wood you are using. Dowels are pretty budget-friendly and this technique works well for both stained and painted projects. 

How to fill a hole with the dowel rod

• Add wood glue to the pocket hole.
• Slide the dowel rod into the hole, working it in until it goes as far as possible. You may have to twist it a little bit to get it in.

• Use a flush-cut saw to trim the dowel rod until it is even with the rest of the wood.

• If there are any gaps left (which is very rare), you can fill them in with wood filler. If you are staining, you can make your own wood filler with wood glue and sawdust.
• Sand smooth.

Dowel Rods: Pros and Cons
Pros	– Strong and durable – Inexpensive – Works well under both paint and stain
Cons	– Requires specialty equipment – Can be hard to find dowel rods for certain wood types

If you can find a dowel that matches the boards you’re using, a dowel is the perfect way to fill up those holes. However, if you can’t find a dowel that matches the wood species you are using, you can cut your own plugs.

Using a Plug Cutter Attachment

Making your own plugs is a great option if you are unable to find a dowel that matches your wood type.

All you need for this is a plug cutter attachment for the Kreg 720. Unfortunately, you do need the Kreg 720 to use the plug cutter.

The biggest advantage of this technique is being able to match the exact wood type and also the grain direction. It is the best possible option for when you are staining a project.

The plug cutter attachment is made of two parts :

• The drill guide, which you need to swap out with the existing guide.
• A special drill bit replaces the stepped pocket hole drill bit.

Making the plugs is pretty straightforward:

• Clamp a board into the jig
• Drill using the special drill bit. This will make the pocket hole plugs. The plugs are still attached to the board.
• Cut off the excess board to free the pocket hole plugs using a jigsaw, circular saw or band saw.

And that gives you custom pocket hole plugs.

Now you can use these plugs to fill pocket holes just like the pre-cut pocket hole plugs – put them in with some wood glue and sand smooth.

Plug cutter attachment: Pros and Cons
Pros	– Can match wood type and grain patterns for a seamless look – Reuses leftover wood – Cost-effective in the long run
Cons	– Higher upfront investment than other options – Requires the most equipment – Has a steeper learning curve

The plug cutter attachment does get pretty expensive, and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are making a lot of projects with a lot of visible pocket holes or using extremely exotic wood (in which case you really shouldn’t be using pocket holes).

So which technique is the best?

• Making your own plugs with the plug cutter attachment is the best bet if you want the perfect match. You will be using the exact boards to get your plugs, and you can also get the correct grain orientation. But it gets very expensive.
• The next best option is to use a dowel to fill the pocket holes because it provides a great fill quality and is budget-friendly.
• The pre-made plugs are pretty easy to use, and if you match the wood species, you can get a really good match. But do get pretty expensive if you have a lot of holes to fill.
• The wood filler is the most budget-friendly option, but it takes patience because it may require multiple coats to fill properly, and you have to wait for each coat to dry. I have heard bondo is a great alternative which dries quickly as well.

To test the pocket hole filling techniques, I stained all the pocket hole fillers. As expected, the best match is the custom-cut plugs with the plug cutter, and the dowel is a close second. Of course, the wood filler does not take stain well at all.

Overall, the method you choose depends on your project needs and comfort level with woodworking, but if you were to ask me for my recommendation, it would be the dowels.

Need more help with pocket holes? Learn 10 of the best tips and tricks for making pocket holes.