New answers tagged screws
1
I bought some shorter Tapcons and noticed the shank on the new ones was thicker than the old ones I had. The short ones went in as easy as could be expected but the shank did not break as the old ones did. 1/4" Tapcons with 3/16" drilled hole as they suggest. They must have made them thicker due to breaking.
0
Use a Dremel with a cut off grinder wheel. Works fast and precise. Buy new screws. No holding of screws required. There are thousands other purposes for the Dremel tool you will discover. And it's fun.
1
Try to get a hacksaw like this one.
You can slide it in under the hinge and cut through the rusted bolts. You will need to pull on the seat to keep the bolt from turning as you cut.
If you can not find one with a handle then just use a blade without a handle and wrap a towel several times around the end you will be holding, wrap the towel tight and use ...
2
You don't want to dowel the stripped screw hole: to plug it instead. The difference is that a plug is cross-grain while a dowel is long-grain.
The reasons?
Using a dowel...
Gives you end grain to screw into. Screws do not hold well in end grain.
Gives you a short- to long-grain glue joint. Such joints do not hold well regardless of the glue used.
...
1
No one can tell you for sure since there are many varieties and sizes of drywall anchors. I suggest you get some anchors which have screws roughly the same diameter as your shelf screws. Then try them out in some inconspicuous spot on your wall. See if the anchors are holding firmly in the wall. You could even try mounting the shelf and testing it. ...
1
If it,s a quick-n-dirty, wood glue.
Otherwise a competent epoxy, period, becuase you can dial it in to be exactly what you need.
I am not talking about random hardware store packs (not least, most are far too fast). I'm talking about a well-developed epoxy system such as West System. However, we could fan this out into a product like Git-Rot if wood ...
1
Neither is really needed. Use a slightly over-size dowel and hammer it in there. Sand off or cut the excess. It won't come out.
(edit) caveat: Obviously this answer is only applicable where the recipient wood is substantial enough to take a tight fitting dowel without splitting (example a door frame with stripped screws). If not, I recommend an exact ...
5
Wood glue, but not for the reason why you ask. In terms of long-term stability, the observable difference is exactly zero. There is no force acting on the dowel, and there is no exposure to water to be expected.
You could probably stick the dowel in with a bit of spit and dirt, and it would do. Still wood glue is the correct thing to use.
Wood glue is non-...
6
Wood glue, always. Sandpaper the dowel and hole to give a better surface for the glue to hold.
5
Wood glue works well; when cured it can flex a little as can wood itself. Epoxies tend to be rather brittle.
Epoxies vary a lot: slower epoxies (e.g. Araldite Precision) are (i) much less exothermic, and (ii) liquid for long enough to soak in a little. They need the parts to be held stably together during curing. They should be stronger than fast epoxies ...
2
For installing a dowel in the hole I'd prefer wood glue. However, given that the objective is not to plug an unwanted hole with a dowel but rather to repair a screw hole...
The hole could be filled with epoxy alone - no filler wood. The hole is drilled out oversize and then filled with just epoxy. An interesting outcome of the epoxy solution is that the ...
31
Wood glue, hands down. Wood glue is designed to penetrate the wood for a tighter bond. Properly done, wood glue is stronger than the surrounding wood. I have chairs I've wood glued and clamped and they're still fine years later.
Epoxy is OK, but you have to make sure you get the right epoxy too. Many are exothermic (they get hot) and might eat your wood. ...
0
In addition to JACK's answer that both the screws on the handles and the [nut] things underneath loosen counter clockwise...
The screw that actually holds the rubber washer on actually loosens clockwise (reverse-thread)...At least the one for the hot water anyway. I still have to replace the cold side. See photos below for image of screw mentioned.
Before ...
2
Both of those screws loosen counterclockwise. Spray some WD-40 on them and let it soak in for a bit. There is a washer or "o" ring at the base of the spout or in the base of the valve. hit that big nut with some WD-40 and turn it counterclockwise too loosen. you might have to loosen the supply nuts to get an adjustable wrench in there, a pair of ...
0
A ratchet socket wrench might be what you're looking for if your screwdriver type socket wrench is too tall:
If not, then use the previous suggestion of pliers or vice-grips near the floor.
1
Indoors? No they won't corrode. Zinc looks different than stainless which is more dull, so just get the right screws. It looks bad, I've done it before on accident.
Commercial door hardware companies will have boxes of them.
3
For one of the best known thread repair inserts, Heli-Coils, (I've used them , not associated with them otherwise) an M6x1 insert has a maximum outside diameter of 7.95mm.
Data here.
A better repair in many cases would be to have a welder (person) with a welder (machine) plug the hole, then drill it out and retap it to the size you actually want. Of course, ...
2
I like the toothpick idea. We used to stick a golf tee in stripped holes as a filler. Was usually the right size to fill and tapered.
3
Glue in toothpicks, or drill a 1/4" hole and glue in a dowel, or use a fatter screw if the application permits. They also make "screw grippers" for stripped out holes, but they cost more than any of these solutions, and are generally weaker.
If you're glueing stuff in, wait a few hours before loading it.
3
It sounds like, from the huge amount of discussion in the comments, that you have already expended enough energy on this to have been able to go to the store and buy the necessary tap. The tap you need will likely cost just a few US dollars.
The tap size needed for US style electrical fixture mounting screws is #6 - 32 NC.
You can even use the small tap ...
2
Remember you can just fit a GFCI upstream of here
All GFCI devices have the ability to protect downline locations. So if you know where this outlet location is fed from, then you can simply fit the GFCI device there instead, and leave the receptacle as you found it or use a plain receptacle.
I mention that because a lot of people don't think it's GFCI ...
1
From what I understand the bookcase is sitting on the floor but the front edge of the bottom is a little lifted? I would not be worried. If you are worried chuck a few shims under it. Each screw is probably rated in excess of 50lbs of pull out, even if the bookcase somehow pulled forward you could just add some washer to the screws and re-secure it.
...
0
The answer is going to depend on the construction of the shelf and load capacity of the mounting brackets, but I don't like your chances. It sounds like the installer did a poor job, and I would have it re-installed if I were in your shoes.
3
I quite commonly install shims to support the front of (brand-agnostic) bookcases so they are leaning towards the wall, not away from it. Should be trivial to get a pack of shims (thin wooden wedges - narrow wooden shingles) and properly support the front of this bookcase as installed.
3
You may just need a better support plate, like this one from Home Depot:
"Mounting holes are pre-tapped to accept devices faster"
6
Remove the castor, get some PL premium, glue it back on.
Or just get some small pieces of wood (wooden match sticks - minus the head - and jamb those into the hole with or without glue, cut the ends of the wood pieces off flush and screw into that mess.
0
They actually make self-drilling drywall screws (in 1 1/4" length, at least) for use with steel studs. I have a box of pro-fit branded ones I use whenever I need to attach wood to metal and pre-drilling is onerous. Check with your local hardware store, these are probably even more common in Florida as virtually all single family homes here in NY are framed ...
Top 50 recent answers are included
