Gate lock

General Discussion FSM Ready Room
1

I have an old gate on the backyard fence. A few days ago, the gate was accidently hit and the screws came out & stripped the hole. I cannot just drill a bigger hole. Is it possible to get a dowel slightly smaller than the hole, insert it with some wood glue, saw and sand the end flush and simply screw the screws into the dowel? How long will it need to cure? Will the dowel just spin in the hole? Should I drill a small hole in the dowel? Some people suggested toothpicks instread. Would that work? Any adviice is greatly appreciated.

Jim

2

Either one of those ideas will work. I used to work for a door and window company and we would fix striped hinge holes using wood glue and any wood we found lying around. You don’t need to wait to screw in the screw either, in fact, if you insert the screw right away the glue and filler wood will set as threads. Just don’t expect it to hold any real weight for 24 to 48 hours after.

3

What about a plastic anchor and screw

4

Thank you both for the advice. Using plastic anchors was going to be my next idea is the dowel didn’t work.

5

Wooden matchsticks work well.

6

Aha;

Believe it or not , so do bamboo skewers ! T.B.

7

Another dowel method is to use a dowel substantially larger than the existing hole. Use a drill to drill a hole matching the larger dowel. Then, glue the dowel in the hole.

You do want to put the new screw in the center of the dowel, so I would suggest a pilot hole drilled as close to the center of the dowel as possible.

8

How about JB Weld Quick Set. Fill the hole with JB W and put in the screws and it cures in about 10 minutes. It is like steel after 24 hours.

9

Just realized I never updated how it went. I used a two-part epoxy and a few toothpicks. Went better than I thought it would. That thing is stronger than steel now. Thank you for all the great advice.

10

Good deal! Like I said before, I used the toothpick method, or any wood for that matter, to fix all kind of striped holes when I was a contractor.

11

I even used a toothpick on the screw a cable cover plate that was warped. My favorite new technique

12

I keep some golftees around for such emergencies. Some wood glue, tap it in, flush cut and insert screw. Bob Gregory Ruining one model kit at a time.

13

Hi;

Since I couldn’t afford greens fees anymore and sold my clubs , I found that that’s a good use for tees . T.B.