When changing the steel hinges on my fourteen French doors to solid brass with stainless steel pins (even painted, the old hinges rust and look terrible), I found that due to the different hole patterns I needed to plug and re-drill most of the existing screw holes. After a couple of doors worth of hand cutting tapered wood pins, I decided to automate: I bought some 5/16 dowel stock and sharpened it in my electric pencil sharpener. I then cut off a section and drove the tapered wood pin into the screw hole with a little glue. After a little dry time and cutting the excess pin off with a chisel, I re-drilled using a Vix bit and the new hinge as a guide. What a time saver! You may want to use a different size dowel depending on your screw size.
forrestb
Replies
The only trouble with dowels is that you are presenting end grain instead of long grain to drill into. Plug cutters are a way around this if it a significant issue (it may not be if the hinge leaf has several screws and only a couple fall on the dowels, for example.)
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32320&cat=1,180,42288
Edited 10/22/2007 5:01 pm ET by Samson
It also helps if at least one screw in each hinge is long enough to go through to the framing. Also more secure that way.
While I agree that end grain is contrary to what was originally drilled into, I think that trying to thin down a cross-grain plug-drilled plug on the size of a #10 screw would result in having nothing left of the plug due to flaking off the cross-grained very thin wood. The end of a tapered cross-grained plug would only chip off. The purpose, as I see it, is to provied support for the newly drilled hole that might be very close to the old hole. Surely, a long-grained plug would provide more support in that case. Remember that often the new hole is only very close to the new hole, not dead center on. If the new hole is dead-center on, then the suggested tooth-picks or match-sticks would be adequate. And the latter is what Tom Silva of ATOH uses when replacing a hinge whose holes are dead-on with the old hinge.
forrestb
Hey, if Tom Silva does it, who am I to question the practice?
The procedure with the plugs would be to make yourself a bunch on the drill press in about a minute; enlarge the old screw hole by redrilling with a brad point bit to the appropriate plug size, and then glue in the plug nice and snug with maybe a mallet tap or two. When the glue is set, a flush cut saw would make quick work of leveling the plugs with the surface of the door or jamb.
Toothpics and match sticks work well too.
J.P.
Since you have already run the grain the way a dowel and toothpicks run. As has been noted, the new screw will be cutting across the grain making that even easier to strip out than it would when crossing the grain.
I have found that after the new pilot hole has been drilled, and the screw has been run in, then removed, that a generous squirt of the thin Cyanoacrylate glue into the hole will penetrate the surrounding wood turning it into a tough plastic-like bushing that is really tough.
I found this even works for things like MDF which are notoriously bad for screw holding.
Note that I said AFTER running the screw in then removing it. If you just shoot it into the pilot hole, you may strip the screw head trying to drive the screw while the threads cut.
I don't guess I need to warn against driving the screw into the hole while the glue is still wet do I ?
Hi forestb,
You're right on. End grain dowel plugs are the way to go, in my experience. Screwing next to or into a cross grain plug will split it apart because of it's short grain. Plus, if the dowel gets damp and swells it will be a benefit. The cross grain plug will swell the wrong direction.
Paul
How about The Plugger¯ by Veritas¯
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=32280&cat=1,180,42240
Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before
That is a very useful tool! We all know that the things that we 'discover' are really ideas that others have found in wood working. While the use of the sharpened dowel is useful for re-drilling in the same hole, I have found my most frequent use is to provide support for a hinge hole that is slightly off-center with the new hole. They prevent collapse of the newly drilled hole. Anyone who has replaced door hinges that have a different pattern is aware of the need to provide such support.
A question: does anyone know why steel hinges and brass hinges have a different hole pattern? Particular to my case are 4 inch hinges. The Baldwin solid brass hinges are close but not quite the same. So many of my new holes are only slightly offset from existing holes.
Thanks to frozen.
forrestb
does anyone know why steel hinges and brass hinges have a different hole pattern?NO. But a great question. I never noticed that they did!
Architectural hinges of the same size will ALL have the exact screw locations per ANSI and SDI specifications. Brass hinges are typically found in residential use in wood frames and can have any screw locations they desire.
When selecting hinges you should make sure that the hole pattern is toward the center of the door edge. As an example, when using a 4 1/2" hinge on a 1 3/8" interior door, the holes will barely miss the door skin, or maybe even pop out the veneer."She wrote a long letter, on a short piece of paper." Traveling Wilburys
I have used dowels many times to 'fix' stripped out screw holes. Yes it is end grain but I have never had a problem doing so. I put the dowel as deep as possible and use a long screw.
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