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stripped screwholes

woodpeckers | Posted in General Discussion on January 31, 2009 07:08am

i have 2 interior doors with hinges stripped off the jamb, looks like somebody tried to fix it before be using thicker screw.  the holes are about 1/4″. do i pump some quick drying epoxy into the holes or do i drill 3/4″ holes and pot a dowel in it. how would you guys fix this problem?

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Replies

  1. frammer52 | Jan 31, 2009 07:11pm | #1

    Wooden matchstiks wook fine

  2. User avater
    DDay | Jan 31, 2009 08:15pm | #2

    Depending on the exact situation, my first choice would be wood toothpicks glued in with titebond II, if the hole is very poor and needs it the I would drill out the hole larger and glue in a dowel.

  3. silver77 | Jan 31, 2009 08:20pm | #3

    Wood matches or cedar shims cut to fit work but in your case, I would
    sharpen 3/16 or 1/4" hardwood dowel in a pencil sharpener...trim to
    fit,glue, tap in and let dry for 1-1/2 hr. Then cut flush and rehang hinges...

    silver

  4. User avater
    IMERC | Jan 31, 2009 08:42pm | #4

    glue, match sticks or toothpicks...

     

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

    WOW!!! What a Ride!


    Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

     

    "Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"

  5. woodway | Jan 31, 2009 08:46pm | #5

    Buy one or two pieces wooden dowel material, about 1/8 to 3/16 inch in diameter, at your local yard. Using a drill of same diameter, drill out the existing stripped screw holes to the diameter of the dowel and insert a short piece of the dowel into the hole with liberal use of wood glue. Trim the dowel flush with the surface then redrill a small pilot hole for the new screw...done.

  6. DonCanDo | Jan 31, 2009 09:21pm | #6

    Lots of fans of matchsticks and toothpicks here, but I'll let you in on my little secret... chopsicks!

    They are the perfect diameter to fix these holes just about every time.  I drive them in with a hammer until they stop.  Sometimes that's several inches until they hit the framing.  Then I cut them flush with a utility knife.

    Hmm, I wonder if they use forks to fix loose hinges in China.

    1. User avater
      Sphere | Jan 31, 2009 09:28pm | #7

      Ha, funny. I carry bamboo skewers for such things. They are real stringy and work well.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

      Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

       

      They kill Prophets, for Profits.

       

       

      1. joewood | Jan 31, 2009 09:31pm | #8

        I've heard wood golf tees work the best! Might want to scuff the paint a bit before gluing.http://woodsshop.com/

        Edited 1/31/2009 2:06 pm by JoeWood

      2. rasconc | Feb 01, 2009 01:57am | #23

        And you can use them to stick under fingernails of suspected tool thieves. I use them and chopsticks, toothpicks, and matches. For hinges that is. (;-)For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.

    2. User avater
      IMERC | Jan 31, 2009 11:26pm | #9

      sometimes there's a finish on/in them that glue won't stick to... 

      Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

      WOW!!! What a Ride!

      Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

       

      "Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"

      1. DonCanDo | Feb 01, 2009 12:00am | #11

        Glue?  Who needs glue?  Just add more chopsticks :-)

        But yeah, I have had trouble getting glue to stick and after carefully examining the finish, I realized it was moo goo gai pan.

        1. User avater
          nazard | Feb 01, 2009 12:17am | #13

          You should always use a small clamp.  A Ti Ne Po Ne clamp will work in most moo situations.  Remember to chop the stick and not saw or cut it.

          I'm now going back over to Knots where I really belong....

          1. DanH | Feb 01, 2009 01:07am | #15

            I was thinking Cooks Talk.
            The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

        2. User avater
          BillHartmann | Feb 01, 2009 01:08am | #16

          "I realized it was moo goo gai pan."I thought that was glue..
          William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe

          1. DonCanDo | Feb 01, 2009 01:17am | #17

            No, you're thinking of moo glue gai pan.

    3. User avater
      Dam_inspector | Feb 01, 2009 02:16am | #26

      Plastic anchors work too.

  7. fingers | Jan 31, 2009 11:54pm | #10

    I've got a tapered reamer-type bit that has the same taper as a manual pencil sharpener. I got it from? maybe Lee Valley? Ream the hole, sharpen a dowel, and glue it in with titebond, cut it flush in 24 hrs. Works well.

  8. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 12:04am | #12

    Or...use LONGER screws to catch the stud so you don't keep chewing up the jamb. It sounds like the door's too heavy for the size and/or number of hinges (or the jambs made of too-soft wood), so the problem will reoccur if you simply patch the holes.

    1. User avater
      Sphere | Feb 01, 2009 01:34am | #19

      I will avoid the innuendo I could I could fabricate from your alluding to longer screws and studs..

      But no one, not one has mentioned that the screw in a fill is catching end grain in all of our fixes..and we know how that works.

      So, by reason of default, you win the prize..!!!

      Just come on over, and well get right on it.

      (G)

      Edit: I never used to stutter. really. I didn't.

      Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

      Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

       

      They kill Prophets, for Profits.

       

       

      Edited 1/31/2009 5:36 pm ET by Sphere

      1. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 01:53am | #21

        I noticed the filling with end grain and wondered why anyone thought that would work better than the jamb did. I've done it on cabinet doors, but it isn't much of a fix for a heavier door.

        1. DanH | Feb 01, 2009 01:59am | #24

          That's why I prefer a whittled plug, made to fit the cleaned-out hole but not an enlarged hole. Then a modestly undersized pilot hole and the screw will wedge in. You're mostly using the wedge effect, with the plug being tightly compressed against the sides of the hole by the screw. The plug is thin enough that it can flex a bit and tightly grip into the threads of the screw. (Helps to pick a wood of medium hardness for the plug.)
          The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

          Edited 1/31/2009 6:00 pm by DanH

          1. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 02:06am | #25

            It's still end grain and the threads are cutting it in small pieces as they go in. "Wedge effect" was what the person who put the over-sized screws in was counting on before stripping the hole a little larger.

          2. Snort | Feb 01, 2009 02:16am | #27

            Ya can only put so wide a screw in a hinge! Most are stripped from over tightening in a 3/4" jamb. When we add the long stop-side screw, we always redrill the hole as big as the screw... keeps it from jacking the jamb back... which sounds like it may be fun on the dance floor, but not in door hanging.edited for proper anglishhttp://www.tvwsolar.com I went down to the lobby
            To make a small call out.
            A pretty dancing girl was there,
            And she began to shout,
            "Go on back to see the gypsy.
            He can move you from the rear,
            Drive you from your fear,
            Bring you through the mirror.
            He did it in Las Vegas,
            And he can do it here."

            Edited 1/31/2009 6:18 pm ET by Snort

          3. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 02:44am | #33

            <<we always redrill the hole as big as the screw... keeps it from jacking the jamb back...>>That works. I like solid shimming under each hinge.

          4. User avater
            Sphere | Feb 01, 2009 02:25am | #28

            'Zactly. I just had a nightmare on XMAS day for a friend, she had a steel door and wood jamb..every hole was shot, and the jamb was attached to a side lite.

            The damm door was steel edged, the old screws were nowhere to be found ( #8x3/4 FH) so I redrilled the hinges and had a suitable countersink ( thank god) and swiped one screw from each other hinge. That fixed the door edge. Then I had 3" # 10's deck screws, with full thread to the head, to get the jamb leaf secured to the jack * She's selling the house, and needs a new door, but it was zero outside and won't close*

            I love my ersatz piles of stuff in my van, I can fix anything, once.

            Now how about you tell me how to fix a dulcimer that the tuning pegs have out wallered the taperd holes? I need friction, but adjustabilty under string tension..and yes, I have a tapered reamer, but no LATHE! Arrgghhh.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

            Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

             

            They kill Prophets, for Profits.

             

             

          5. Snort | Feb 01, 2009 02:26am | #29

            Chalk?http://www.tvwsolar.com

            I went down to the lobby

            To make a small call out.

            A pretty dancing girl was there,

            And she began to shout,

            "Go on back to see the gypsy.

            He can move you from the rear,

            Drive you from your fear,

            Bring you through the mirror.

            He did it in Las Vegas,

            And he can do it here."

          6. User avater
            Sphere | Feb 01, 2009 02:33am | #30

            And rosin and talc oh my!

            Good call..but I need to fatten the tuners on this kit job, new taper.... blahhhhSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

            Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

             

            They kill Prophets, for Profits.

             

             

          7. User avater
            Dam_inspector | Feb 01, 2009 02:38am | #31

            I can't believe you don't have a lathe. Maybe get Jet to make you some new ones, no, get Andewfew to do it. He owes you, if I remember right.

          8. User avater
            Sphere | Feb 01, 2009 02:42am | #32

            I have a lathe, no motor...got one? I need a 1/3 hp 56 frame.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

            Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations

             

            They kill Prophets, for Profits.

             

             

          9. User avater
            Dam_inspector | Feb 01, 2009 02:49am | #34

            No but junkhound does.

          10. User avater
            BillHartmann | Feb 02, 2009 07:01pm | #43

            What's this "motor".Make a treadle.
            .
            William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe

          11. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 02:56am | #36

            Steel edged door? I have steel doors, but the wood substrate extends to the edges. If i had to just move a hinge, i could. Because i'm such a scrounge, i've occasionally used a new door in the old jamb even if the hinges don't match. If it's going to be painted, just Bondo the old mortice and presto, new jamb and new jamb-side holes to play with.

            I thought you could buy tuning pegs in different sizes? My only other OTB thought would be to put PEG (polyethylene glycol, that is) in the holes to swell the wood. Shellac is bound to work... <G>

            Edited 1/31/2009 7:32 pm by splintergroupie

          12. DanH | Feb 01, 2009 02:51am | #35

            If the plug isn't oversized (due to drilling out the hole), the walls of the plug will be thin and will crush relatively easily.
            The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

          13. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 03:11am | #37

            Ok, Dan. You remove the hinges and set the door aside. Now assemble the correct drill bits, which will have no anchor for a center point. find and buy dowel rods, which are nominal sizes, but seldom match the drill bits, so you might want to take a sample hole with you when you go to Lowe's. If you don't get a pretty close fit, you'd better pick up some epoxy, bec the end grain of the jamb you're gluing to isn't a great gluing surface to hold a piece of wood, let alone one that isn't a tight fit. Poly would work, but the cure time is way longer. Now glue it, wait, sand it flush, and redrill for your screws. Hang the door again. Don't toss the rest of the dowel rod bec you'll be doing it again in a couple years, but you'll probably be faster at it for having all that experience. Or just drive longer screws through the jamb, unless you have a sidelight there. If the carp didn't put in solid shimming behind the hinge, drill out as Snort suggests to relieve the screw shaft. The longest part of the operation for me would be finding one of a half-dozen cordless drills i never return to wherever they would be if i ever actually returned them somewhere.

          14. DanH | Feb 01, 2009 03:20am | #38

            Or, like I said, hack up a piece of 2x4 and whittle it down to a slightly tapered plug to fit the hole (just clean the hole out with an undersized screw), glue up the plug and hammer it in, wait to dry, drill a small pilot hole, and insert a screw of proper size and length.
            The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith

        2. dovetail97128 | Feb 01, 2009 04:19am | #39

          Which is why I use a deep plug cutter and then drill out the correct size hole for the plug. ;-)
          They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

          1. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 04:29am | #40

            The plug is face grain then, which gives the screw more traction, but it's glued end-grain to end-grain in the hole.You guys will do anything to avoid a longer screw, woncha? I'm taking my Rabbit and going home. <G>

          2. dovetail97128 | Feb 01, 2009 04:32am | #41

            Yea. I am a big fan of rolling over and going to sleep.
            They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

          3. splintergroupie | Feb 01, 2009 05:08am | #42

            LOL! We ought to get some sort of door prize for the set and score on that one.

  9. DanH | Feb 01, 2009 01:04am | #14

    I prefer to not use dowel but instead whittle a piece of wood to fit the hole. After the glue is well set, drill an appropriate pilot hole, so that the screw will go in straight.

    The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
  10. User avater
    Heck | Feb 01, 2009 01:17am | #18

    golf tees

      

    when you are up to yur knees in gators, make gatorade     

    1. KenHill3 | Feb 01, 2009 01:37am | #20

      I always have bamboo skewers and round toothpicks on board. And a Vix bit for the new hole. Essential also for moving hinges, strikes, etc. a slight amount.

      Edited 1/31/2009 5:40 pm by kenhill3

      1. Snort | Feb 01, 2009 01:56am | #22

        Longer screws usually only work in one hole of the hinge. We use golf tees or round toothpicks, if we've just been to lunch. Both are harder wood than matchsticks or cedar shims. Doesn't really matter about screwing into end grain here, either. We plug, put the hinge in place, and use a vix bit towards the back of the hinge hole. The screw will split the tee, wedging it into the hole in the jamb, and pulling the hinge towards the back of the gain.http://www.tvwsolar.com

        I went down to the lobby

        To make a small call out.

        A pretty dancing girl was there,

        And she began to shout,

        "Go on back to see the gypsy.

        He can move you from the rear,

        Drive you from your fear,

        Bring you through the mirror.

        He did it in Las Vegas,

        And he can do it here."

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