Stripped Screw Hole Repair 101

The top half of the Frankenstein Hutch was originally part of a wall that was added to the kitchen to separate the kitchen from the newly added bath (ca. 1926). Actually, it is more correct to say that it was originally part of a built-in that was probably between a butler’s pantry and a dining room. There are doors on both sides and the drawers move all the way through so they can be opened on bath sides. It then ended up in the wall that separated the bathroom and kitchen. I then rescued it from the wall and am reusing it as part of the hutch. Got it? Good.

Over the years the screws became stripped out on the hutch side of the hinges and larger and larger screws where put in. Because the hutch was surrounded by framing at the time (see picture below) they could do this no-problem. Eventually some screws where replaced by nails.



This is a view of that same area today. The wall is gone.



Once the hutch was rescued from the wall I needed to repair these stripped screw holes. I’ve used this method for more than a half dozen hinges and it works very well.

First you get a 5/16-inch oak dowel. They come in 3-foot lengths and cost about a dollar. Cut short lengths anywhere from ½-inch to 1.5-inches depending on the size of the hinge screw you will be using.



Next use a 5/16-inch drill bit to drill out the stripped screw holes. The dowels will be a tight fit so be sure to sand off any burrs from both the dowels and the newly drilled hole.



Then cover the sides of the dowel in wood glue and push them into the holes. You want to make sure that the hole is slightly deeper than the length of the dowel. It should be a flush fit or the hinge won’t seat right.



For a large door hinge you will need to hammer the dowel in to the hole. Many gentle taps is better than 1 or 2 hard swings with the hammer. Above all, do no harm. For this hutch I used a pair of channel-lock pliers with a piece of scrap wood as a backer to force the dowels in to the hole.

Then just let the glue dry over night and the repair will be as good as new. Be sure to pre-drill all holes for the new screws, and hand-tighten all screws. You don’t want to risk re-stripping the hole with an over-powered drill with a screwdriver attachment.

Editorial
I would like to take this opportunity to renew my objection to chemical paint strippers. What has taken 3 hours with the chemical paint strippers would have taken me about 45 minutes with the heat gun. I could have saved $10.00 and had much less frustration with the heat gun. The heat gun is faster, the results are better, and the clean-up is effortless. Next time I will risk the glass and use the heat gun.