Stripped wood screw in cabinet

[gtsgarage]

Hello - You all are some of the handiest folks I have access to.

One of our cabinet hinges in the kitchen has a stripped hole for one of the hinges. I am worried a bigger screw will just split the wood. Wood could be slightly split from when the painter reinstalled the cabinets. So I need another solution to stop the screw from getting worse. The hinge is currently lose.

What do you think of the wood JB epoxy?

Any suggestion on how to make a small wood screw stick in a damaged hole?

 

[Spire]

Dip a toothpick or 2 into wood glue, insert in hole, put same screw back in the hole.

Break the fire part of a match stick off, works good too.

 

[The Cobbler]

shoot a picture

 

[Bogie1632]

Dip a toothpick or 2 into wood glue, insert in hole, put same screw back in the hole.

Break the fire part of a match stick off, works good too.

x2.

This works great and has been a simple stripped hole repair technique forever.

V/R
Bogie

 

[LeeG]

Next step up from the toothpick trick is to find a hardwood dowel that fits snugly, and glue it in. Then you can drill it with the appropriate size countersink and reinsert the screw.

 

[rharman]

Dip a toothpick or 2 into wood glue, insert in hole, put same screw back in the hole.

Break the fire part of a match stick off, works good too.

Spire beat me to it.

I've used the toothpick trick with good results.

 

[four.cycle]

^ FLAT toothpick. (not round) Dip in wood glue, insert into stripped hole. Allow to cure overnight. Shave off excess toothpick sticking out of hole with razor blade. Reassemble hinge and cabinet door.

 

[BD1]

Remove screw and fill with wood filler. Let setup and drill small pilot hole.
You still have others holding solid


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[topp64]

I have had success using a golf tee. Probably falls between a toothpick and wood dowel.

 

[acer66]

Dip a toothpick or 2 into wood glue, insert in hole, put same screw back in the hole.

Break the fire part of a match stick off, works good too.

That trick works for me too, I just never used glue.

 

[exmaxima1]

I generally like the idea of gluing in toothpicks or golf T's.

Another option that works well is a piece of insulated stranded wire. Bottom it in the hole and cut it flush. The screw will bite into the insulation and the stranded wire gives it strength.

 

[mikeinri]

Echoing those above regarding the matchstick (or toothpick for smaller holes), learned that from my FIL (RIP), who was a carpenter.

Mike

 

[DFB]

Chopsticks!

Get em when you go Chinese buffet for lunch

 

[DGersic]

I repair lots of stripped out wood screw holes. Toothpicks are good, as are wood skewers like you’d make kabobs with. And wood glue. Dip your filler in the glue, stuff it in the hole, break it off flush, and run the screw in to it.



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[kbs2244]

I vote for the toothpick with glue.
Use an expanding type glue like Gorilla

I have even used it for stairway hand rails.

 

[coleman10]

Been using the match stick trick for years. Never used the wood glue, though, and never had a problem with it holding.

 

[rlitman]

Been using the match stick trick for years. Never used the wood glue, though, and never had a problem with it holding.

I've been using toothpicks (round and square), match sticks, skewers and chopsticks for this for many years. Glue, only in the most extreme of cases.

If you're just looking to add a little bite for a tapered wood screw in an overworn screw hole, then I'd suggest this: Take your round toothpick and break it in half. Shove the thick end in the hole as far as it will go and snap the pointy end off at the surface. If that's not enough, then repeat with the other half, but this time go point first, because the remaining hole shouldn't be large enough to take the wide end first deeply enough. Then put the screw in without any drilling.

My reasoning is that you want to fill the hole the most at the deepest point. Nearer the surface, too much overfill can lead to splitting. So, use the taper of a toothpick to your advantage.

...Use an expanding type glue like Gorilla...

NEVER use expanding glues like Gorilla on finished cabinetry. That's a recipe for disaster.

Also, contrary to popular belief, the expanded foam remnants of the glue contribute NOTHING to the overall joint strength. That foam will not hold a wood screw any better than a styrofoam cup.

 

[sberry]

I poke it full of jb quick, drill then put screw in.

 

[rlitman]

I poke it full of jb quick, drill then put screw in.

I wouldn't do this. Adding any hard material into the hole increases the chances of splitting the wood, because the hard material has no ability to get out of the way of the screw. Yes, drilling it can help, but using a piece of wood (as in the toothpick) rather than epoxy is overall less risky.

The toothpick is softer than the surrounding wood, so it's fibers will be crushed before the cabinet splits.

At least, that's the way I'd treat a wood framed cabinet. Now if we were talking about particle board, then that's a different story. However particle board doesn't split so much as it kind of spalls, which is a very different issue requiring different handling.

 

[DGersic]

Been using the match stick trick for years. Never used the wood glue, though, and never had a problem with it holding.

It’ll hold ok without the glue. The glue is there to keep the wood bits in place the next time the screw is removed.

Here’s one example. The blue plastic posts around the edges are screwed to the plywood surface.

They only have 1/2” or so of screw in to the wood. These posts hold rubber bands, 1/4” diameter. The three white pop bumpers are solenoid driven kickers. So a 1 1/16” steel ball enters this area, and is kicked away from the pop bumper, in to the rubber and posts. Eventually it can loosen the screw, tearing out the plywood.

I do lots of these repairs. Skewers and toothpicks work best. Matchsticks will work, in a pinch, but are a softer wood and don’t hold as well.

Depending on the location, drilling through and using a T nut on the back is also done, but that won’t help with a cabinet hinge repair.




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[ALinCarolina]

All the toothpick and dowel methods should work fine for one of the hinge holes but if you run into something that needs more strength or if you need to have a more finished appearance then do what I recently did on a mahogany door for a nice curio cabinet repair. Drill out the stripped hole with a sharp brad point bit so it will have sharp neat edges. There are tapered plug cutters of different sizes. Cut some plugs from a piece of the same type wood and glue that in the hole matching the same grain direction, finish the same to match and drill a new hole. The advantage of these plugs is that the screw will be engaged in edge grain not end grain like it would with a dowel or toothpick which will hold up much better in the long run.
That is admittedly overkill for a cabinet hinge hole but hopefully might prove useful for someone with a more demanding repair.

 

[rlitman]

It’ll hold ok without the glue. The glue is there to keep the wood bits in place the next time the screw is removed...

Good point. Yes, the toothpicks will probably fall out when you remove the screw, but if you dab them in a little wood glue first, then that won't happen.

I know I said not to use epoxy+drilling, because adding anything too hard to move out of the way of the screw is a recipe for damage, but if you put the screw in while the glue is wet, then you avoid that risk. The problem is squeeze-out. Epoxy is hard to clean up, polyurethane glue is a downright nightmare, and even wood glue is a problem if the squeeze-out ends up hidden under your hinge. You really don't want to be ripping off chunks of wood or finish when you lift the hinge at a later time.

So, if you do glue, the safe thing to do is use so little that none ever leaves the hole.

All the toothpick and dowel methods should work fine for one of the hinge holes but if you run into something that needs more strength or if you need to have a more finished appearance then do what I recently did on a mahogany door for a nice curio cabinet repair. Drill out the stripped hole with a sharp brad point bit so it will have sharp neat edges. There are tapered plug cutters of different sizes. Cut some plugs from a piece of the same type wood and glue that in the hole matching the same grain direction, finish the same to match and drill a new hole. The advantage of these plugs is that the screw will be engaged in edge grain not end grain like it would with a dowel or toothpick which will hold up much better in the long run.
That is admittedly overkill for a cabinet hinge hole but hopefully might prove useful for someone with a more demanding repair.

I remember a kit sold at my lumberyard that had a conical drill bit and a bag of matched conical plugs (think pencil point taper). You drill/ream out your hole, glue in your plug, but it flush and now have a do-over.

It's probably a great solution for re-centering a poorly positioned screw hole, but its way overkill for one that's just loose.

Plug cutters have a very shallow taper that's almost cylindrical. Yes, for severe damage, that's sometimes the best option. I usually use a forstner for the hole.

 

[gbick]

Make sure you use a power driver reinstalling the screw so you can repeat the whole procedure again and again. A friend removed her cupboard doors for painting with a cordless driver. I suggested she use a plain old antiquated screwdriver to reinstall them. She rolled her eyes and said she knew how to put screws in. You guessed it, a week later, the doors are all loose, almost every hole stripped. I told her to stick toothpicks in with a little glue and realize the sponsors of the diy shows are trying to sell power tools.

 

[nikerret]

Dip a toothpick or 2 into wood glue, insert in hole, put same screw back in the hole.

Break the fire part of a match stick off, works good too.

This was going to be my suggestion. I like the flat toothpicks instead of the round or square ones, for this purpose. If done correctly, it will last as long as the rest of the cabinets.

 

[nadogail]

Dip a toothpick or 2 into wood glue, insert in hole, put same screw back in the hole.

Break the fire part of a match stick off, works good too.

What he said.

 

[oldgoat]

I've used the toothpicks with blue many times with success. Never paid much attention whether they were found or flat. A few times I've drilled it out and put asleep in. but it takes longer and I never saw any difference in results.