New Threads for an Old Box
A quick fix for stripped-out screw holes in brittle fiberglass gang boxes.
When encountering plastic gang boxes with stripped-out receptacle mounting holes, using a wood or drywall screw to mount the receptacle can work in a pinch. But screws with more aggressive threads can actually break apart the mounting holes on those old Bakelite or fiberglass gang boxes, rendering them useless.
And when that happens, your simple receptacle-swap job has become a complicated gang-box replacement project. When working with stripped-out holes in brittle boxes, I prefer to tap the hole with the next size up, which usually means bringing it from a #6-32 up to a #8-32.
— David Schmid; Indianapolis, Ind.
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