I know everyone likes to do things the way they like to do things, so this thread is not intended to be a tutorial on how you should do anything, rather, it is one way to do one job in a way that has worked extremely well for many years.

You always hear "use toothpicks" or "use skewers". I suppose both will work but I have found toothpick wood either too soft or too brittle, depending. Anyway I'm not trying to start a debate on which is better. This is just how I do it, and documenting the process might help a few beginners.

The first step to repairing a stripped screw or post hole, is finding a stripped hole. There's one now...

01 stripped post hole.JPG

I guess I'll need some stuff to plug that thing up.

001 what you'll need.JPG

The hole had another one behind it that didn't look too good, so I pulled the post from the other side to see what was what. Turns out the other hole is for conservative/liberal adjustment. I'm leaving it conservative.

02 unstripped hole.JPG

The hole is slightly smaller than my skewer, but that's OK, I don't use them whole anyway.

03 slightly smaller than my skewer.JPG

Cut a length of skewer slightly shorter than the playfield thickness. We don't want it protruding up out of the hole.

04 cut length.JPG

Once you have your measurement, CAREFULLY score around the skewer.

05 score around the skewer.JPG

Flex the scored end back and forth in the directions of the compass. This will prevent strips from peeling down the skewer.

06 break at score line.JPG

Now use the blade to CAREFULLY split the plug down the middle, then split those halves down the middle and maybe cut another length and split that one several times.

07 split down the middle.JPG

More to come...

Test fit the plugs in the hole. Not sticking up above the playfield surface? Good to go!

08 test-fit length.JPG

The pieces are easily removed with the blade tip.

09 remove plug with razor tip.JPG

Now dip the plugs in some tite bond...

10 dip in tite-bond.JPG

And insert them into the hole. One at a time until the last one barely goes in and needs a little tap to get it all the way in. Don't worry if it breaks over, just snip it off low as you can.

11 insert plug into hole.JPG

If any plugs are sticking up higher than the playfield surface, snip them off as low as you can. If you don't they will hang up your cleaning and polishing rags every time.

13 cut plugs off.JPG

If necessary, give the plugs a little tap on the head to make sure they're fully seated in the hole. Be gentle, it only takes a very light tap and you can even use the butt of your screwdriver handle.

14 tap with hammer.JPG

Then you wait overnight for it to cure, then reassemble and you will have a super tight mate between post/screw and playfield.

FIXED!

15 plugged and curing.JPG