Methods and apparatus for sealing a puncture or incision formed percutaneously in tissue separating two internal portions of the body of a living being with an anchor, a sealing plug and a filament connecting the anchor and sealing plug are disclosed. The methods and apparatus provide for automatic tamping of the sealing plug. In addition, torque required to tamp the sealing plug is automatically sensed and gear ratios of an automatic tamping device are automatically changed in response to sensed changes in torque. A planetary transmission may be used to automatically change gear ratios in response to the changes in torque.