Need a tip on repairing stripped out screws from a very heavy desk top leaf, which is screwed in from below. Cleaning girl at a law office got on top of desk. Desk leaf came crashing down. No one hurt. I can only think of epoxy glue in some dowels and redrill. Holes too big for larger diameter screws. Any other tips?
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No tips on the striped out screws but whats up with the cleaning lady on the desk, office party getting a little out of control, got any pics.
Drill and dowel is the standard (but white glue is sufficient). I have used Loctite thread restorer (designed for metal, but works on wood) on antiques.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
I don't even bother with a drill.
Just whittle down a hunk of wood to fit....tapered...yellow glue inside the hole with a toothpick...or paperclip.....then pound in the filler as far as it'll go with the hammer.....then mash the hell outta it..then chisel off or utility knife off the extra.....drive in the new screw and away ya go.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
I always have a few chopsticks in my tool box just for this purpose. Squeeze yellow glue into the hole. Jam the chopstick in, being careful to wipe up the squeeze out. Let it dry. Cut it flush. Drill pilot hole so new screw will not wander. TAADAAA! Ready for new screw!
Consider brass inserts. These are "helicoils" like used in engines but they are made from brass with an agressive woodscrew exterior 3 or 4 x the diameter of the original screw. You install them in the rebored fastener hole by using a flat blade screwdriver. No glue required.
Your replacement fastener will be a machine screw.
Hmmm... I'll leave it there.
Have a good Christmas.
Evetss,
A pic would be helpful in assessing the true situation, but as we're lacking that I'll play devil's advocate and imagine that the incurred damage and the inherent weight of the leaf doesn't lend itself to a simple plug and re-screw job.
The leaf could be taken to a drill press and then thru the use of a forstner bit and a fly-cutter, a larger area could be removed to the depth of the old screws and a new patch piece made and installed. This would provide a much larger glue area and consequently more strength.
Alternately, a router and template could be used to install a similar type of Dutchman repair providing the same new area for the hinge screws.
Either approach would be invisible from the top because neither repair would penetrate the top of the leaf.
Things might be somewhat more complicated if the leaf and desk have a "rule" joint, but could be accomplished nonetheless without great difficulty.
Any competent cabinetmaker in your area should be able to do this for you if you don't have the necessary tools or skills.
My favorite technique in such cases is to fill the hole with yellow carpenters glue and wedge in the tails of as many wooden matches as easily possible. Let the matches stand proud until the next day when you cut them off flush with a chisel. I have found that the soft wood of the matchsticks allows the screw to be reinserted without any great trouble and allows the screw to bite well but gives enough to prevent stresses from becoming so great that they split the base structure and create a greater problem.
Besides matchsticks and wood glue are cheap and easy to work with. Should the repair fail in the future the soft wood of the matchsticks are easy to remove for a more comprehensive solution. Nothing lost but time.
There is more room on the floor and less danger of falling down when um....engaged.
Thanks for all the feed back. I just think that its a poor design. The leaf weighs a good 50-75 pounds or more . Finished in cherry veneer on all four sides. Two and a quarter inch thick mdf or particle board. Haven't looked at it closely yet. The screws ripped out from underneath both desks. #8 screws. Hole is bigger than # 12 now. As you can see, it won't take much weight with that design for it to happen again, unless the screws have a very tight grip. Thinking of using 1/4 inch lag screws, but need holes filled correctly....Have done some other work for them, so I wasn't surprised that the girl was on the desk...but that is as far as I will go with that...have a great holiday!!!
Having more info now, I would ask if these leaves are normally in the extended position, and if so, would it be time to consider adding legs under them? Perhaps a T style to prevent tangling your feet up under there. Or are they already so equipped?
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.