Refastening LOOSE HINGES You’ve had it! A catch keeps falling off or a hinge keeps loosening because the screws won’t hold. You’ve tried to re-screw them but, when you’re not looking, they fallout again. If the screws were hold-in correctly, the thread on the screw should have cut into the sides of the pilot hole, thereby locking itself in. However, if the screws become overstressed, perhaps because someone has put leverage on the door or the catch is sticking, the timber around the screw thread gives way and the thread has nothing to hold to. Fixing it is easy. Here’s how.
TOOLS AND MATERIALS
A trimming knife, hammer, nail punch, and a screwdriver will dote trick. You will also need some wooden matches and Plague.PROCEDURE FOR HINGES |
- Open the door until it is at right angles to the frame. Then, using some thin books, scraps of timber, or coasters, pack the bottom of the door off the floor. Now when you take out the offending screws, the door will remain level and in its correct position.
- With your screwdriver Pressed hard into the slot, unscrew the loose screws. If the slots are filled with paint, scratch it out with a nail file or pointed knife. Fold the leaf of the hinge back so you can clearly see the holes.
- Cut the phosphorus off several matches with a knife. Dispose of it in a safe place because it’s poisonous. Depend-in on the whole size, take two or three matches and dip them in the glue, making sure it covers distance equal to the length of the screws.
- Hammer the matches tightly into the screw holes. Lethem dry (say two hours).
- With your chisel or a knife, cut the matches off until they’re flush with the surface.
- Using your nail punch and hammer, make pilot holes for the screws in the centre of the plugged holes (otherwise the hinge won’t crow back in the same Place). Drive the punch in at least half the length of the screw.
- Carefully rescreen the hinge/ back into position, making sure you tighten the screws fully. If you can get the slots all point-in in a vertical direction, then it will look very tradesperson-like.
- Take out the packing and close the door. While you’re at it, check the clearance margins around the door. If they’re uneven you can make them righty either taking a little more out of the hinge recess with a sharp chisel or by packing behind the hinge with a strip of cardboard.
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