Greg asks:
<< I have been drilling out the old very badly damaged screw
holes and replacing the material with dowel stock. Is there a better
method? I prefer putting in new material for the screw to "bite" but
I seem to have some difficulty in accuratley locating the drill bit
as I begin.>>
Greetings,
I find it best to first drill the hole just large enough to fit a lightly
glued dowel in, which is then drilled out with a 1/2" Fortster bit. The dowel
serves only to make the drill go in straight.
This leaves a very acurrate hole in which to place plugs cut from
pinblock stock. The use of dowels presents the screw with endgrain, which
the screw thread immediately chop into short fibers that have very little
holding power. The plugs, cut with a tenon maker, provide a permanent repair.
This technique is my standard repair on torn-out lid hinges, though for
those, a 3/8" plug of Falconwood is more than sufficient.
Regards,
Ed Foote
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