Hurray for small victories

Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Have you ever had one of those small home repair problems, that wouldn't go away. There are quite a few cabinets in my kitchen. All are oak. Nearly all have stood up well over the years. One of the cabinet doors has been a continuing problem, the screw holding the door hinge to the oak frame keeps coming loose. This is the uppermost of two hinges. When it gets loose enough, the door sags noticeably.

For years, I've fixed it – temporarily – by filling the hole with broken off toothpicks, and driving the screw back in. This 'fix' usually lasted about 2 years. And then it came loose all over again. I can't tell you how many times I've done that, but no matter how I varied the toothpick method, it never lasted for long.

The other week, the dreaded door sagged again. This time I got some J-B Weld KwikWood epoxy putty, about $5 or 6. I had to do it twice just to get it to work once. This putty has two parts that you have to knead together to activate the epoxy chemistry. Once you do that you have about 10 minutes working time to get it in place, and then you should let it cure for an hour. The first try, I stuffed the activated putty into the screw hole, waited an hour, drilled a new hole for the screw, and reattached the door. I was in too much of a hurry. I didn't stuff the putty far enough into the existing hole, leaving a large gap deeper in the hole. Within a few hours, the screw came out and the door sagged again.

The second time around, I drilled a wider hole into the oak frame, ¼" diameter, taking care to get out all the wood debris & dust from the hole. I prepped more putty, and used a nail head to ram small bits of the putty into the hole. And, just to be sure, I let it cure overnight. This time I think it worked. It's been a week and the door hasn't sagged. Hurray for small victories!
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mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Have you ever had one of those small home repair problems, that wouldn't go away. There are quite a few cabinets in my kitchen. All are oak. Nearly all have stood up well over the years. One of the cabinet doors has been a continuing problem, the screw holding the door hinge to the oak frame keeps coming loose. This is the uppermost of two hinges. When it gets loose enough, the door sags noticeably.

For years, I've fixed it – temporarily – by filling the hole with broken off toothpicks, and driving the screw back in. This 'fix' usually lasted about 2 years. And then it came loose all over again. I can't tell you how many times I've done that, but no matter how I varied the toothpick method, it never lasted for long.

The other week, the dreaded door sagged again. This time I got some J-B Weld KwikWood epoxy putty, about $5 or 6. I had to do it twice just to get it to work once. This putty has two parts that you have to knead together to activate the epoxy chemistry. Once you do that you have about 10 minutes working time to get it in place, and then you should let it cure for an hour. The first try, I stuffed the activated putty into the screw hole, waited an hour, drilled a new hole for the screw, and reattached the door. I was in too much of a hurry. I didn't stuff the putty far enough into the existing hole, leaving a large gap deeper in the hole. Within a few hours, the screw came out and the door sagged again.

The second time around, I drilled a wider hole into the oak frame, ¼" diameter, taking care to get out all the wood debris & dust from the hole. I prepped more putty, and used a nail head to ram small bits of the putty into the hole. And, just to be sure, I let it cure overnight. This time I think it worked. It's been a week and the door hasn't sagged. Hurray for small victories!
Yep, frustrating, especially when it didn't dry long enough. ;) :D
A couple of tips to add to your toolbag:
apply glue to the toothpicks and the hole
or, drill the hole say 1/4", get a 1/4 dowel and apply glue to both the hole and a short piece of dowel, hammer it in; let dry overnight and cut off the exposed dowel

Got to allow drying, usually longer than recommended
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Have you ever had one of those small home repair problems, that wouldn't go away. There are quite a few cabinets in my kitchen. All are oak. Nearly all have stood up well over the years. One of the cabinet doors has been a continuing problem, the screw holding the door hinge to the oak frame keeps coming loose. This is the uppermost of two hinges. When it gets loose enough, the door sags noticeably.

For years, I've fixed it – temporarily – by filling the hole with broken off toothpicks, and driving the screw back in. This 'fix' usually lasted about 2 years. And then it came loose all over again. I can't tell you how many times I've done that, but no matter how I varied the toothpick method, it never lasted for long.

The other week, the dreaded door sagged again. This time I got some J-B Weld KwikWood epoxy putty, about $5 or 6. I had to do it twice just to get it to work once. This putty has two parts that you have to knead together to activate the epoxy chemistry. Once you do that you have about 10 minutes working time to get it in place, and then you should let it cure for an hour. The first try, I stuffed the activated putty into the screw hole, waited an hour, drilled a new hole for the screw, and reattached the door. I was in too much of a hurry. I didn't stuff the putty far enough into the existing hole, leaving a large gap deeper in the hole. Within a few hours, the screw came out and the door sagged again.

The second time around, I drilled a wider hole into the oak frame, ¼" diameter, taking care to get out all the wood debris & dust from the hole. I prepped more putty, and used a nail head to ram small bits of the putty into the hole. And, just to be sure, I let it cure overnight. This time I think it worked. It's been a week and the door hasn't sagged. Hurray for small victories!
View attachment 36763
I use golf tees when I have to fill a screw hole. They work great. However, I also have brad point drill bits, so it's really easy to hit the center. Another good tool is Vix bits, which are made for drilling holes for hinges- you put the hinge where it needs to be and use the hole in the plate to guide the bit into place.

Shop around- less expensive options exist.

Vix Bits-

Brad Point bits-
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
PC 7 Epoxy has a 24 hour cure but it is forever.

Those 5 minute or 1 hour cures are iffy.
Never heard of that PC-7 stuff before. I'll try & remember it if I need it in the future.

I think what made a big difference was realizing I had to drill out the existing hole to a larger diameter. Large enough to make it easy to completely fill it with the activated putty.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
@Swerd you have access to hypodermic needles. Get one with a good sized needle, maybe a vampire blood drawing one, squirt glue in those holes and toothpick it around the inside areas. :D
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
@Swerd you have access to hypodermic needles. Get one with a good sized needle, maybe a vampire blood drawing one, squirt glue in those holes and toothpick it around the inside areas. :D
I like using epoxy putty better. Drill a larger diameter hole, such as ¼", so the head of a nail fits inside. Stuff in one or two small bits of putty and tamp them in with the nail head. Repeat as needed until the hole is full.

No runny glue oozing out of the hole, and no syringe or needles required.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I heard stories (anecdotal, didn't witness it) of farmers who've JB welded cracked engine cases back together on frickin full sized tractors and it worked! That stuff can do some pretty impressive shit!
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
I heard stories (anecdotal, didn't witness it) of farmers who've JB welded cracked engine cases back together on frickin full sized tractors and it worked! That stuff can do some pretty impressive shit!
Yeah. It’s basically gold!

I have used it on all kinds of stuff. I used it on a boat block that froze and cracked. My BIL did the same thing on his stock car engine. Neither ever leaked. Mmm love that stuff!!
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
Here are some testing:
I guess this may be partially the same but other tests


 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
I just use a 1/4 or 3/8's bit and dowel rod. Drill out, apply wood glue into the hole, put in the dowel, cut off just proud of the surface, and then sand to flush.
 

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