Stripped out screw holes in oak - repair or use larger screw?

[Jon Danniken]

I have been tasked with repairing the leg of an oak coffee table, which
was originally held together with both screws and glue inside of a
1-1/2" tall apron. The leg was damaged during a move, revealing a
couple of somewhat stripped screw holes, and an original lack of glue in
the joint.

If it was up to me I would just glue it properly, but I have been asked
to also use fasteners, so that is what I will be doing.

I was originally planning on going up from the original size 10 wood
screws to a size 12, but now I am wondering if I could instead repair
the stripped out screw holes and still use the size 10 screws; this
would keep me from having to redrill/resink the legs.

I have seen holes in softwoods repaired by mashing pieces of wood into
the hole, but would something like that work in oak?

Is there any way to repair a stripped out screw hole in oak, or should I
just plan on going to a larger screw?

Thanks for any suggestions,

Jon

[Mike Marlow]

Using toothpicks or other slivers of a soft wood will certainly work to
restore a hole for a screw. It will indeed make a long lasting joint. Use
some wood glue to really solidify that effort, before screwing the joint
back together. The fact that it is oak is quite irrelevant - this will work
just fine. You don't have to completely fill the original hole, just get
1/2 of it filled back in, and glued. Then, the next day, screw it back
together with the original size screws. It may not be as crafstman like as
some purists would like to have to achieve, but it has worked for hundreds
of years - or maybe a bit less, so it will work for you.

--

-Mike-
mmarlo...@windstream.net

[Jon Danniken]

Thanks Mike, I very much appreciate it!

Jon

[-MIKE-]

I don't know if this would work for your particular situation but there
is a technique where you drill out a hole and fill the hole with the
same sized dowel.

Drill out the bad wood with whatever sized bit matches the dowel you'll
use to plug it. Insert the dowel with glue. Once the glue dries, drill
and insert the new screw. This works particularly well if you can cut
your own dowels using the same type of wood and match the direction of
the grain when inserting the dowel.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
mi...@mikedrumsDOT.com
---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

[nailsh...@aol.com]

On Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 11:57:23 PM UTC-5, -MIKE- wrote:

> I don't know if this would work for your particular situation but there
> is a technique where you drill out a hole and fill the hole with the
> same sized dowel.
>
> Drill out the bad wood with whatever sized bit matches the dowel you'll
> use to plug it. Insert the dowel with glue. Once the glue dries, drill
> and insert the new screw. This works particularly well if you can cut
> your own dowels using the same type of wood and match the direction of
> the grain when inserting the dowel.

If he is replacing a screw used to connect the table legs, odds are no one will see it (going by the counter sink description) so grain orientation is a nicety but not necessity.

I use the process you describe above often and have for about 40 years now. The harder the wood, the softer the plug wood is the better you can plug and re-thread your hole.

I use this technique when replacing old hardware, reattaching old connectors, resetting hinges, etc. I always keep a couple of sharp knives in my pocket, and I take a piece of soft wood, say a large splinter from a 2x4, and simply shave a round, tapered plug to use. It literally takes seconds and I leave the splinter long so I can tightly fit the plug to the hole. I get the plug to the right size and taper, then fill the screw hole with glue and a bit more in the plug. Put the plug in the hole and then tap it tight with a couple of shots from a hammer.

The plug should fit tight enough that you can cut off the waste from your plug with a sharp chisel and then wipe off any excess glue. If it is a small screw such as for door hinges, I immediately trim the waste and re-drill. If it is a larger hole I am filling, I cut the waste away, the allow the glue to penetrate the plug and the existing hole. I wait about 30 minutes and re-drill. It isn't unusual for me to replace door hinges in a great old wood door and have to do that to all the hinge holes.

I have never had a screw fail when the hole is filled with a soft, tapered plug. I was shown that in my first year of construction not as a repair, but as a way to cover up a mistake I made when I drilled the hole in the wrong place!

Robert

[John McCoy]

-MIKE- <mi...@mikedrumsDOT.com> wrote in news:mrjgs6$rv1$1...@dont-email.me:

> On 8/25/15 7:50 PM, Jon Danniken wrote:

>> Is there any way to repair a stripped out screw hole in oak, or
>> should I just plan on going to a larger screw?

> I don't know if this would work for your particular situation but there
> is a technique where you drill out a hole and fill the hole with the
> same sized dowel.

Yet another technique is to coat the screw with wax, put
some epoxy in the hole, and run the screw in. The wax
stops the epoxy adhereing to the screw, so you can get it
back out, but it builds up and strengthens the threads in
the wood. You end up with almost a tapped hole.

Personally, since these screws are hidden, I'd go with
Mike Marlow's suggestion of a couple of wood slivers.

John

[Leon]

Exactly what I was going to suggest.

[-MIKE-]

The more I thought about it while reading your post... if you don't have
to match the wood for appearance sake, then a softer wood is definitely
a better choice. The risk of a hard wood plug that small splitting is
very great.

[nailsh...@aol.com]

On Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at 9:55:39 AM UTC-5, -MIKE- wrote:

> The more I thought about it while reading your post... if you don't have
> to match the wood for appearance sake, then a softer wood is definitely
> a better choice. The risk of a hard wood plug that small splitting is
> very great.

It is. Just as important, a hardwood plug will not lend itself to having its wood fibers pushed into the hole's cracks and old screw threads like a glue covered soft plug will. Properly applied, meaning plugged, pilot drilled while the glue is wet and then immediately installing the screw is the ticket. Between the soft wood fibers and the glue, it makes a perfect fitting, easy to make plug. Ideal for the repair he is doing to the underside of a table.

Again, never seen that fail. I use that technique a lot in hard and soft woods.

Robert

[dadiOH]

John McCoy wrote:
> -MIKE- <mi...@mikedrumsDOT.com> wrote in
> news:mrjgs6$rv1$1...@dont-email.me:
>
>> On 8/25/15 7:50 PM, Jon Danniken wrote:
>
>>> Is there any way to repair a stripped out screw hole in oak, or
>>> should I just plan on going to a larger screw?
>
>> I don't know if this would work for your particular situation but
>> there is a technique where you drill out a hole and fill the hole
>> with the same sized dowel.
>
> Yet another technique is to coat the screw with wax, put
> some epoxy in the hole, and run the screw in. The wax
> stops the epoxy adhereing to the screw, so you can get it
> back out, but it builds up and strengthens the threads in
> the wood. You end up with almost a tapped hole.

One more way is steel wool...stuff it in, squirt in a couple of drops of
super glue, let dry, screw.

[Electric Comet]

On Tue, 25 Aug 2015 17:50:47 -0700
Jon Danniken <jonSPAM...@yaSMPAhoo.com> wrote:

> I have seen holes in softwoods repaired by mashing pieces of wood into
> the hole, but would something like that work in oak?
>
> Is there any way to repair a stripped out screw hole in oak, or
> should I just plan on going to a larger screw?

the way you go depends on how much wood there is to work with
the dowel is the best if there's enough wood

if there is not a lot of wood then i make a batch of small wood chips
mixed with wood glue and fill in the hole then glue the joint and put in
the screws and clamp it

wood glue always surprises me how well it holds
sometimes i feel like i am pushing my luck the way i use it

[Leon]

On 8/26/2015 8:20 PM, Electric Comet wrote:

> wood glue always surprises me how well it holds
> sometimes i feel like i am pushing my luck the way i use it
>

Really? Have you not heard, stronger than the wood itself?

[Dr. Deb]

ALWAYS repair, never replace with a larger screw. The problem is that the wood fibers have been compressed and worn, using a larger screw just enhances the damage already done, unless you go really big when you up size. If you are going that route, you need to redrill the hole. However, usually the piece does not give you the option of going that much oversize. Even if it does, repair with a shot of glue and either a bamboo skewer from your local Chinese restaurant or a wood sliver trimmed to fit the hole. The good news is, you can run the replacement screw in immediately after the repair and the screw will actually force the glue and new wood fibers into the void left by the old screw.

[Electric Comet]

On Thu, 27 Aug 2015 08:54:50 -0500
Leon <lcb11211@swbelldotnet> wrote:

> Really? Have you not heard, stronger than the wood itself?

i use it for metal also and plastic and paper and paper mache

i glued a piece of sheet metal to particle board then i drilled through the
center of the sheet metal and glued a plastic tube to the sheet metal and
the particle board

it was quite ugly and i laughed while doing thinking it just was not going
to work

few days later the outside of the glue mass was clear and i could see the
undried yellowish glue underneath

many days later it was all clear and i was surprised how strong it all was

it was regular titebond glue

congrats
seems like you got your med dosage right

[John McCoy]

"Dr. Deb" <dang...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:2d7030c7-a9fe-44d0...@googlegroups.com:

> ALWAYS repair, never replace with a larger screw. The problem is that
> the wood fibers have been compressed and worn, using a larger screw
> just enhances the damage already done, unless you go really big when
> you up size.

Without disputing the general truth of your comment, I'll note
that when refastening a wooden boat, it's common practice to go
one size larger (e.g. from a #10 to #12) if a new screw of the
same size won't go tightly into the hole.

Boats are a bit of a special case, tho, since the unavoidable
exposure to water swells the wood fibers.

John

[Lew Hodgett]

<nailsh...@aol.com> wrote:

-MIKE- wrote:

> I don't know if this would work for your particular situation but
> there
> is a technique where you drill out a hole and fill the hole with the
> same sized dowel.
>
> Drill out the bad wood with whatever sized bit matches the dowel
> you'll
> use to plug it. Insert the dowel with glue. Once the glue dries,
> drill
> and insert the new screw. This works particularly well if you can
> cut
> your own dowels using the same type of wood and match the direction
> of
> the grain when inserting the dowel.

----------------------------------------------------------------------<nailsh...@aol.com> wrote:If he is replacing a screw used to connect the table legs, odds are noone will see it (going by the counter sink description) so grainorientation is a nicety but not necessity.I use the process you describe above often and have for about 40 yearsnow. The harder the wood, the softer the plug wood is the better youcan plug and re-thread your hole.I use this technique when replacing old hardware, reattaching oldconnectors, resetting hinges, etc. I always keep a couple of sharpknives in my pocket, and I take a piece of soft wood, say a largesplinter from a 2x4, and simply shave a round, tapered plug to use.It literally takes seconds and I leave the splinter long so I cantightly fit the plug to the hole. I get the plug to the right sizeand taper, then fill the screw hole with glue and a bit more in theplug. Put the plug in the hole and then tap it tight with a couple ofshots from a hammer.The plug should fit tight enough that you can cut off the waste fromyour plug with a sharp chisel and then wipe off any excess glue. Ifit is a small screw such as for door hinges, I immediately trim thewaste and re-drill. If it is a larger hole I am filling, I cut thewaste away, the allow the glue to penetrate the plug and the existinghole. I wait about 30 minutes and re-drill. It isn't unusual for meto replace door hinges in a great old wood door and have to do that toall the hinge holes.I have never had a screw fail when the hole is filled with a soft,tapered plug. I was shown that in my first year of construction notas a repair, but as a way to cover up a mistake I made when I drilledthe hole in the wrong place!Robert---------------------------------------------------------------------Working with fiberglass opens up a lot of techniques not normallyassociated with woodworking and fasteners is one of them.In order to mount brackets, rope cleats,etc on fiberglass, coarsethread,self tapping, sheet metals are used.I have found these coarse thread self tapping fasteners also do agreat jobin wood.A pilot drill having 75% of the thread OD works quite well for me.Another technique that works quite well is to drill out a damagedthreaded hole by about 30%-40% (for example, if the damaged holeis designed to accept a 3/16", screw, drill out the hole with a 1/4"drill).Then mix some epoxy fairing putty (epoxy and micro-balloons), butterthe hole till full, butter the fastener and drive it home removing theexcess fairing putty overfill.About the only wood screws I have any more are for decorative use.Lew

[Mike Marlow]

Electric Comet wrote:
> On Thu, 27 Aug 2015 08:54:50 -0500
> Leon <lcb11211@swbelldotnet> wrote:
>
>> Really? Have you not heard, stronger than the wood itself?
>
> i use it for metal also and plastic and paper and paper mache
>
> i glued a piece of sheet metal to particle board then i drilled
> through the center of the sheet metal and glued a plastic tube to the
> sheet metal and the particle board
>
> it was quite ugly and i laughed while doing thinking it just was not
> going to work
>
> few days later the outside of the glue mass was clear and i could see
> the undried yellowish glue underneath
>
> many days later it was all clear and i was surprised how strong it
> all was
>

I just don't believe a moment of that. You may have done those things, but
I do not believe in the claims of strength.

--

-Mike-
mmarlo...@windstream.net

[J. Clarke]

In article <mrodp0$ksb$1...@dont-email.me>, mmarlo...@windstream.net
says...

Depends on the glue and the metal. For a while Bessey was doing
something to their K-bodies that made Titebond stick so tight to the
bars that it has to be cut off.

[DerbyDad03]

On Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at 9:47:38 AM UTC-4, John McCoy wrote:
> -MIKE- <mi...@mikedrumsDOT.com> wrote in news:mrjgs6$rv1$1...@dont-email.me:
>
> > On 8/25/15 7:50 PM, Jon Danniken wrote:
>
> >> Is there any way to repair a stripped out screw hole in oak, or
> >> should I just plan on going to a larger screw?
>
> > I don't know if this would work for your particular situation but there
> > is a technique where you drill out a hole and fill the hole with the
> > same sized dowel.
>
> Yet another technique is to coat the screw with wax, put
> some epoxy in the hole, and run the screw in. The wax
> stops the epoxy adhereing to the screw, so you can get it
> back out, but it builds up and strengthens the threads in
> the wood. You end up with almost a tapped hole.
>

>

> John

I have always used Vaseline to prevent epoxy from adhering to things I don't want it to. I keep an old jar in my "epoxy kit". Just another option.

[Martin Eastburn]

If not a dowel use a plug drill and make short dowels to fill homes.

Martin

On 8/25/2015 11:57 PM, -MIKE- wrote:

[joelj...@aol.com]

> I have been tasked with repairing the leg of an oak coffee table ...
...

> I was originally planning on going up from the original size 10 wood
> screws to a size 12, but now I am wondering if I could instead repair

> the stripped out screw holes and still use the size 10 screws ...

Larger screws is a bad idea. I further weakens the wood.

I used to dip toothpicks in glue and stuff the damaged hole. I've now found that gluing in bamboo skewers works even better.