misaligned hinge screw

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Hi all,

I'm desperate. I was trying to apply hinges to a box I made and they came out improperly aligned. Is there a way to fix this, or do I have to scrap the whole box.

Please tell me I can fix it.

Thanks

Gerry:confused:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Gerry,

Can you remove the hinge, glue a plug in the screw hole, reposition the hinge and reattach it?

[Sam Murdoch]

The plug can be a whittled down match stick or the like. Ken's way is a good save. Sometimes you can just enlarge the countersink hole in the hardware a bit to help the alignment. Small hinges are difficult to accurately center for the screw but for hinges using a # 5 screw or larger, it's always good to use a vix centering bit for the pre drill. Worth having 2 or 3 sizes of these on hand. One source among many - http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/VIX-2564/564-VIX-Self-Centering-Bit-HEX-Shank/?gclid=CLGN4bmp4LgCFcOe4Aod6HMAZg&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=VIX-2564&ef_id=Ufx3jQAABEGYoUq6:20130803032253:s

[Lee Schierer]

I prefer using hardwood dowels. I buy 1/8" dowels and sharpen them with a pencil sharpener so they fit in the screw hole a bit better, coat them with glue and tap them into the hole. Let the glue dry, trim them flush and drill a pilot hole where it needs to be.

[Tom Ewell]

yeah, fill the holes and re-do, normal stuff.

welcome to woodworking.

most cases, round toothpicks will work too.

[George Bokros]

For larger screws I use golf tee's.

George

[Roy Harding]

I make small boxes for a living - everybody above is dead on correct.

The only reason I posted was to mention that I use #2 screws a LOT - but I still use a small (5/64" I think) self centering drill bit such as Sam Murdoch mentioned above to mark the holes - then I use a jewellers drill to actually drill the pilot holes. The Vix bits help me establish where dead centre is, the jewellers drill then sort of "slides" into position.

Bottom line - don't worry about it - fill the hole with SOMETHING (I've used just about ALL the suggested methods above - I need to look into the golf tee idea), and re-drill.

[Bob Glenn]

I use wooden BBQ skewers. They can be purchased cheaply at most grocery stores and you can find them in different diameters with a little searching. If you want to size down a skewer, use one of the wire stripper pliers used to crimp electrical connectors. You can make them any size you need.

[George Bokros]

I BBQ skewers.

Never gave them a thought. I will try them next time I have a smaller screw hole to repair, seems much better than toothpicks to me.

George

[Tom Giacomo]

I use round tooth picks with a little glue for small sizes.

[Mort Stevens]

Sometimes you can take a sharp scratch awl and 'move' the hole to where it needs to be. I often have problems centering screws in hinges, etc... I usually use a scratch awl to mark the location, but the wood grain always takes it off center, same for so called 'self-centering' center punches. I read a trick once about using a nail set, because it won't follow the gain, but I've never had success with that method either. Anyone have any good tricks for getting the screw hole centered?

[Sam Murdoch]

Anyone have any good tricks for getting the screw hole centered?

Other than a vix bit - tap a nail or a screw or an awl whose wire size fits the hole but too big to go through the hole except that the tip can make a mark deep enough to break the grain pattern. Follow up with a small drill bit. THIS IS VERY TEDIOUS. The Vix bit is the best solution.

[Mike Henderson]

A Vix bit is nice but not a guarantee. One problem is that sometimes you cut the hinge mortise a bit out of place. You might have to move the hinge in a small amount, and now you have a hole which you used to hold the hinge in place while you did the initial fitting. You trim the mortise and now the hole is out of place. Like the others above, I plug the hole and re-drill.

The other problem I'd had with Vix bits is that sometime they don't center as well as you'd like them to. Now, I take take a knife and make a mark in the center of the hole in the hinge wing. I use that to drill out a pilot hole for the screw. Then, when you find that the hinges are not in the proper place, you have to fill the holes and re-drill:)

Mike

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Thanks to all for your responses, and 1034 pardons and apologies for not responding sooner, but things came up. I managed to get my box completed. The hinges were not perfect, but for my first box I let it go. I got a spring loaded center punch, which helped, but not as much as I would have hoped or thought. I will look into a self centering drill bit. And I'm really interesed in the jewellers drill that Roy mentioned. Roy, if this thread isn't dead I would like to know more about that tool.

Thanks again to all.

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Thanks to all for your responses. Apologies for not responding sooner, but things came up. I finished my first box and whereas the hinges were not perfect I let it go. I got a spring loaded centering punch, which helped, but not as much as I would have thought. I will look into a self centering drill bit, and I like Roy's idea of using a jeweller's drill. Roy, if this thread isn't dead I would be interested in knowing more about that tool.

Again , thanks to all.

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Thanks to all for your responses. Apologies for not responding sooner, but things came up. I finished my first box and whereas the hinges were not perfect I let it go. I got a spring loaded centering punch, which helped, but not as much as I would have thought. I will look into a self centering drill bit, and I like Roy's idea of using a jeweller's drill. Roy, if this thread isn't dead I would be interested in knowing more about that tool.

Again , thanks to all.

[Roy Harding]

... Roy, if this thread isn't dead I would be interested in knowing more about that tool.
...

Sure - you can get it here (http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=32297&cat=1,180,42337). I use it to drill pilot holes for small (#0, #1, & #2) screws. As I said earlier in the thread, I use a self-centring vix bit in the hardware to establish the centre of the hole, then drill a pilot hole with the jeweller's drill. It's basically a miniature version of a Yankee Drill - I use bits in it as small as 1/64" - and it may even hold smaller bits.

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Thanks Roy.