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I have a new beautiful Samsung refrigerator. Black Stainless. The Door handle screw holes are stripped. We can only screw in the handle mounts about halfway. It seems to be aluminum or metal. Would you suggest I just drill out the threads and use JB weld?

Thanks so much

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  • What model is it? – ThreePhaseEel Dec 8 '16 at 23:56
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    Take a nice clear picture of the mount holes without the door handle in place. A second picture should show the part of the handle that is intended to mount to the door. Then post them here. It will provide basis for suggestions. – Michael Karas♦ Dec 9 '16 at 0:05
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    Shop for "screw thread insert". Note that you need to re-use only the door and the handle; you may want to buy the new screws and inserts together. – A. I. Breveleri Dec 9 '16 at 0:49
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    Can you get warranty service? – Daniel Griscom Dec 9 '16 at 2:43
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    What do you mean "halfway"? Do the screws spin while still protruding from their seats? Are they the correct screws? – isherwood Dec 9 '16 at 16:27
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Take the bolt to the hardware store, figure out the thread size by screwing it into nuts until you find one that fits. Then go over to the aisle with taps and dies and buy a tap that matches that thread size.

You'll want to screw that tap into the hole until you meet resistance.

At the point where you find resistance, you'll want to use a wrench to slowly keep threading the tap into the hole for 2 or 3 turns. This should clean up the bad threads up by re-cutting the metal. Remove the tap and try to thread your handle in again. If it still does not go in all the way, try to tap another 2-3 turns, but be cautious of threading too deep - you may start cutting away at the insulation inside of the refrigerator.

This process is called "thread chasing," if you'd like to do some more research on the topic.

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    Thanks so much. I believe I will try the tap and die method as the bolt that holds on the handle is quite specialized and I do not think I can get away with using anything else. I will borrow a set or go to Harbor Freight tools. You posters are great. It is very important work you do sharing your extensive knowledge. – Surf Zulu Dec 29 '16 at 20:47
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The solution to this used to be called "Helicoils." Now, you can find them as "Threadserts" or just thread inserts. Measure the hole, get the closest insert you can find. They usually come with the right drill bit and screws, but you can just get the ones to match at a hardware store. Use a cordless drill with the correct drill bit, insert the coil with some adhesive, and you've got yourself a new screw hole.

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    This could be risky depending on how the the fridge door is assembled. I would assume the nut material isn't very thick and the helicoil pre-drill might take away all of the metal, leaving little or no meat for the threads to hold onto. – kavisiegel Dec 9 '16 at 16:37
  • This might call for rivnuts, if there isn't thick enough metal to take new threads. – keshlam Jan 10 '17 at 23:24
  • I like helicoils if there is enough metal they work great, another possibility is Pemnuts if the nut is spinning in sheet metal. – Ed Beal Aug 3 '17 at 13:17

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