How to: Repair Stripped Screw Holes in Wood

created at: 10/30/2012

If y'all'll recall from your course school science lessons, a screw is a uncomplicated car. It's a continuous helix-shaped thread that cuts a groove into the surrounding material, thereby keeping the screw in place and, commonly, holding two things together.

And, they work great…except when that "surrounding cloth" they're supposed to cut into gets worn abroad, and the screw but spins and spins within the hole, property absolutely nothing together.

Luckily, there's a super easy solution to ready information technology, and it costs about 4 cents and takes less than five minutes.

This is the screen door on my back entrance. Since I hire, that means it's a piece of junk that my landlords bought twenty years ago crusade it was the cheapest, and information technology breaks all the time. Usually, I can set up things like this with a tighten (or a boot), merely last week, the channel that sits on the latch side of the door and creates a seal with the frame (anyone know what this part is chosen?) pulled away entirely, considering the fiberboard around the screws stripped out.

Here's how I fixed it in about iv minutes for five screw holes. Since it's crummy and no one cares how its looks, I could have just drilled a new hole and started all over once more, just in that location are plenty of other occassions when that won't piece of work: DIY and article of furniture projects where the hardware needs to be evenly spaced; any time you'll be able to meet the original hole; or where symmetry is important, such equally a kitchenb cabinet pull or knob that needs to match the others.

created at: 10/30/2012

Note: sometimes, this can be fixed with a longer screw, where the additional threads can cut into the wood at the back of the hole. Other times, a drywall ballast will piece of work. I didn't have matching hardware around, so I went with this, my favorite method, which replaces the stripped out pigsty with bodily wood for the screw to screw into.

created at: 10/30/2012

Measure the diameter of the spiral threads, and cut a small plug from a similarly sized dowel rod. Your local hardware store will accept them in increments of 1/32 of an inch, so y'all'll certainly be able to find one that volition fit snugly. If the pigsty is quite modest, you might as well be able to apply a few wooden toothpicks.

created at: 10/30/2012

Dip the dowel in lots of wood gum, and insert into the pigsty. The forest glue will non just help the dowel to stick, but likewise causes the wood fibers to dandy and fill the stripped hole perfectly. As well, since your door will interact with the elements, be certain to use a waterproof wood glue. My favorite is Titebond Three.

Allow the glue to dry for a few hours, then sand the dowel, or cut with a flush cut trim saw.

created at: 10/30/2012

And so, after the glue has dried, drill a tiny airplane pilot pigsty with your smallest drill scrap, and supervene upon the screw. I was able to just use the same hardware, which was helpful, since I don't have tons of white, hex-headed sheet metallic screws in my fastener box. Just, unlike the large abode centers in my town, most smaller, neighborhood hardware stores accept lots of odd, more specific fasteners, plus knowledgeable staff that can help you find exactly what you're looking for…only take the erstwhile one in every bit an example.

That'southward it! If you have dowels lying effectually (you should, they're all kinds of useful; exist sure to go on whatsoever scraps from other projects), this is a gratis fix, and tin can be completed in no time.

Thanks to True Value for sponsoring this post and letting u.s. be a part of the 2022 True Value blog squad.