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I use those same douglas fir ballusters quite regularly.
I agree, it can be a real pain to through-drill with the hardness of the resin lines in the wood, I try to pick through the pile and grab the pieces with the smallest grain lines, I feel they machine the best.
The stuff is also a little harder than AYC, and seems to dull the tools faster, although I think thats partially them getting gummed up with the resin too.
Makes great plugs though, I fish mine in the canal a lot. Never had any issues with cracking, etc. - maybe you had a bad piece?
The one thing I really dislike about it though is that the density is not very consistant. You could have one balluster that weighs maybe 1lb, and the next one weighs like 5!
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