Resetting screws

[Brian Kent]

Some of my most used kitchen cabinet hinges have screws that work loose. There is still some thread in the wood because they are tight when I screw them in, but then are loose again in a week.

How do I strengthen the set of the screws? Wood glue? Epoxy? Tin foil? Thin shim in the screw hole?

Thank you in advance.

Brian

[Karl Brogger]

Longer screw, (if you can), and/or stick a toothpick covered in glue in the hole and brake it off.

[glenn bradley]

The toothpick solution has worked for me several times in different houses and different styles of cabinets (read varying levels of cheap-ness).

[Chip Lindley]

+1 on Toothpicks and a dab of yellow glue!

[John Coloccia]

Toothpicks and glue. The key is to screw it all in while it's still wet.

[Brian Kent]

Thanks. It's done.

Flat toothpicks, yellow glue, and slightly longer screws.

[ken gibbs]

Try wooden matches and yellow glue. Gently tap the wooden match shafts into the old screw hole hole all of the way to the bottom. If the holes are wider than the shaft of one match, just add more wood match shafts until you fill up the hole. Let the holes dry for an hour an then counterbore the holes for the new screws.

[John Coloccia]

For what it's worth, John Phillips (a scottish luthier) did a lot of research into this. He was mainly looking at it from the viewpoint of the best way of repairing things like stripped strap button screws, and guitar neck bolts. Especially the guitar neck bolts. The "traditional" way of fixing the stripped guitar neck bolt is by using a dowel. This presents and end grain surface to the screw. You can make you're own dowel with the grain oriented properly, and that's not too bad, but by far the strongest was mashing toothpicks or matches (I believe he used matches) into the hole with glue, and then screwing in WET, believe it or not. The screw compresses the wood fibers into shape, and then the glue hardens them. You end up with a joint that's arguably superior than the original screw joint.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Maybe I've gotten carried away, but on the shelf beside the glue + brushes are 3 boxes of toothpicks: flat, round, and square. Mix + match to fill problems/mistakes. Also to get glue into cracked/split wood.

[Lee Schierer]

I use 1/8" hardwood dowel with the end sharpened in a pencil sharpener to fill screw holes. I cut them a bit long, apply the glue and tap them in with a hammer and then flush cut them.

[Doug Shepard]

I have a bag of cheap golf tees for really problem holes. Re-drill large enough to fit the tee, add glue, and tap it in. After the glue cures, use a flush cutting saw to trim off the protruding tee, then re-drill the hole (through the tee plug) for the screw.

[Harold Burrell]

I would tear it all down and rebuild the cabinet.








Not really. I just wanted to say something. :o