Thanks for the idea! I used bamboo chopsticks and plastic wood putty. Haven't tried drilling it yet but it seems like it plugged the holes pretty well. The door wood is extremely old and soft so hopefully it works!
The problem with matches or toothpicks are two-fold. First, they strip themselves, fairly quickly (or perhaps shred would be a better description). And second, they put a lot of sideways pressure on the wood, and can cause it to strip.
A better fix is to drill out the hole with a 1/4" bit, put some glue on a length of 1/4" dowel, and hammer it in. When it's dry, cut it flush (you do have a flush-cut saw, don't you?) and drill a new pilot hole for the screw.
This: "they put a lot of sideways pressure on the wood, and can cause it to strip"
was supposed to be "can cause it to split".
Toothpicks, etc., can make an easy, fast fix, but they'll strip themselves, in a couple of years, and if you keep jamming in more you can split the wood.
It wasn't until the third time of having to go back to the same door, after having "fixed" it with toothpicks, that I got fed up and went with a permanent fix.
And for this sort of problem, the fastest permanent fix is to dowel it. It doesn't take but a few seconds, if you have glue, drill, and dowel on-hand.
This is actually a fantastic idea! I've done it my self from time to time! It works like a charm and holds really well.
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9 Comments
dnewey 12 years ago
HenryA62 5 years ago
Thanks for the idea! I used bamboo chopsticks and plastic wood putty. Haven't tried drilling it yet but it seems like it plugged the holes pretty well. The door wood is extremely old and soft so hopefully it works!
gadjetramjet 9 years ago
I use wood golf tees, works great!
eefmf 13 years ago
They come in different sizes to suit the screw.
jdege 13 years ago
A better fix is to drill out the hole with a 1/4" bit, put some glue on a length of 1/4" dowel, and hammer it in. When it's dry, cut it flush (you do have a flush-cut saw, don't you?) and drill a new pilot hole for the screw.
jdege 13 years ago
was supposed to be "can cause it to split".
Toothpicks, etc., can make an easy, fast fix, but they'll strip themselves, in a couple of years, and if you keep jamming in more you can split the wood.
It wasn't until the third time of having to go back to the same door, after having "fixed" it with toothpicks, that I got fed up and went with a permanent fix.
And for this sort of problem, the fastest permanent fix is to dowel it. It doesn't take but a few seconds, if you have glue, drill, and dowel on-hand.
CaseyCase 13 years ago
Ranie-K 13 years ago
Alphonsus 13 years ago