(Topic ID: 166781)

Best way to repair a stripped screw hole?

By BlackCatBone

7 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 29 posts
  • 20 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 years ago by lb1
  • Topic is favorited by 3 Pinsiders

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    IMG_9250 (resized).JPG
    IMG_9249 (resized).JPG
    shrink (resized).PNG

    #1 7 years ago

    What is the best way to repair a stripped screw hole so that it will securely hold a snugged up screw?

    11
    #2 7 years ago

    Glue up a piece of wood and stick it in there and snap it off.
    Toothpicks/bamboo skewers, or a combination of something like that
    Gorilla glue works well

    #3 7 years ago

    toothpicks or chopsticks and wood glue.

    #4 7 years ago

    Final option- check the back of the playfield, if there is nothing there, drill right through and install a T nut on the other side and use an 8-32 screw.

    #5 7 years ago

    Toothpick and 30 minute epoxy (not that 5 minute crap) to completely fill the hole. Leave overnight then drill a new pilot hole. 30 minute epoxy can really take a beating, good for posts and high vibration applications.

    #7 7 years ago

    I get some wood glue on a toothpick and put down in the hole as far as it will go. Then I pull it back up just a tiny bit and cut it off flush with flush cutters. At that point I push it back down into the hole so the toothpick is slightly below the level of the playfield. That way it leaves a tiny amount of hole up top for the screw to find when you are reassembling the playfield.

    #8 7 years ago

    Been using toothpics for 50 years or sometime wooden match if available ..

    #9 7 years ago

    Dip a kabob skewer into wood glue

    Put skewer into hole

    Tap with hammer until seated

    Snip off skewer with diags flush with playfield

    Put screw into center of skewer and tighten.

    No need to wait for glue to dry, the skewer is now going nowhere.

    #10 7 years ago

    Or stick some large gauge solder in the hole and trim it flush. Quick and no mess.

    #11 7 years ago

    Put a dab of wood glue in the hole and jam some paper towel in it. Quick and easy and it snugs up the hole perfectly.

    #12 7 years ago

    I've used toothpicks and matchsticks forever, but never used glue. It is really unnecessary as the extra wood volume creates the tension, not the glue. But it won't hurt anything if you use it.

    #13 7 years ago

    The glue helps or the next time you have to remove that screw the bits of wood come out of the hole.

    #14 7 years ago

    Yeah the glue helps solidify the whole area. I should have mentioned above that I always use the blunt end of high-quality round toothpicks because they fill the holes better and more solid.

    #15 7 years ago

    That's a good point, but I never have to redo repairs so I wouldn't have ever notice that.

    #16 7 years ago

    Whoa, a couple of responses here are real head-scratchers...

    #17 7 years ago
    Quoted from cody_chunn:

    Whoa, a couple of responses here are real head-scratchers.

    I agree. Neither solder nor paper towels sound like a good idea.

    #18 7 years ago

    But even though the solder sounds crazy I may just have to try it. Kind of like grape jelly on a grilled cheese sandwich.

    #19 7 years ago
    Quoted from Black_Knight:

    That's a good point, but I never have to redo repairs so I wouldn't have ever notice that.

    You may need to clean a subway Ramo or rebuild a flipper

    -1
    #20 7 years ago

    Solder. A soft metal that readily conforms to the hole when a screw is driven into it. No alignment issues like when a tooth pick pushes the screw to one side or the other. It works. It's a trick Tim Arnold showed me while working at the PHoF.

    #21 7 years ago
    Quoted from Superchicken:

    Solder. A soft metal that readily conforms to the hole when a screw is driven into it. No alignment issues like when a tooth pick pushes the screw to one side or the other. It works. It's a trick Tim Arnold showed me while working at the PHoF.

    Oh that is so cool!! Yes I can see it working fairly well but it is just something you may never think of.

    Any tips for electrical tape??

    #22 7 years ago

    Since the OP didn't mention if it was wood or metal, I won't offer a suggestion.

    #23 7 years ago
    Quoted from CNKay:

    Oh that is so cool!! Yes I can see it working fairly well but it is just something you may never think of.
    Any tips for electrical tape??

    Solder works best if you don't have a big huge crater to repair. Generally, if the hole should fit a #6 screw and it's now a #8 (or #8 now #10) it works well. I have a roll plumber's solder from Home-boy Depot I keep around for this.

    I avoid electrical tape if at all possible and use a high quality shrink tubing and heat gun designed for shrink tubing:

    shrink (resized).PNGshrink (resized).PNG

    #24 7 years ago

    Next time I'm going to try using a skewer (as per Vid's suggestion) instead of a round toothpick. More wood & less adhesive is really the best way to go. Is it too late to change my answer?

    8 months later
    #25 6 years ago

    So I was cleaning my Stargate, I noticed a screw that wasn't holding at all. At first I thought the hole was stripped, but upon further investigation I realized the original hole had been drilled too big and didn't even have a thread!

    IMG_9249 (resized).JPGIMG_9249 (resized).JPG

    So should I just use the toothpick technique to fill the hole, or should I do something else since this hasn't been stripped?

    IMG_9250 (resized).JPGIMG_9250 (resized).JPG

    (Also, is that toothpick big enough?)

    #26 6 years ago
    Quoted from mystman12:

    So I was cleaning my Stargate, I noticed a screw that wasn't holding at all. At first I thought the hole was stripped, but upon further investigation I realized the original hole had been drilled too big and didn't even have a thread!

    So should I just use the toothpick technique to fill the hole, or should I do something else since this hasn't been stripped?

    (Also, is that toothpick big enough?)

    I just posted a response a few days ago in another thread about dealing with stripped holes:

    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/standup-target-reinforcement-bracket#post-3776564

    #27 6 years ago
    Quoted from mystman12:

    So I was cleaning my Stargate, I noticed a screw that wasn't holding at all. At first I thought the hole was stripped, but upon further investigation I realized the original hole had been drilled too big and didn't even have a thread!

    So should I just use the toothpick technique to fill the hole, or should I do something else since this hasn't been stripped?

    (Also, is that toothpick big enough?)

    That toothpick is not big enough.

    Use a wood shish-k-bob skewer (50 for $1 at the dollar store), dip the tip in wood glue, hammer into hole, snip off excess with diag cutters, install your screw (you don't have to wait until the glue is dry).

    #28 6 years ago

    Or use multiple toothpicks

    #29 6 years ago
    Quoted from mystman12:

    So I was cleaning my Stargate, I noticed a screw that wasn't holding at all. At first I thought the hole was stripped, but upon further investigation I realized the original hole had been drilled too big and didn't even have a thread!

    So should I just use the toothpick technique to fill the hole, or should I do something else since this hasn't been stripped?

    (Also, is that toothpick big enough?)

    On this particular one, I'd flatten the toothpick and soften the wood fibers using pliers or a vise, so (1) you can pack up more fibers and (2) the screw can more easily get in.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/best-way-to-repair-a-stripped-screw-hole?hl=chris_silver and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.