# cabinet door hinge screws



## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

a very very long time ago, Norm of new?/old? Yankee Workshop mentioned a liquid one could squirt in the screw holes of those pesky cabinetry doors - it would "swell up the wood" so the screws would stay tight....

well, I've got a kitchen full of waggily doors.

any tips on what this stuff is/was and/or is it still available - or other 'solutions' to the issue?


----------



## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

TomCT2 said:


> a very very long time ago, Norm of new?/old? Yankee Workshop mentioned a liquid one could squirt in the screw holes of those pesky cabinetry doors - it would "swell up the wood" so the screws would stay tight....
> 
> well, I've got a kitchen full of waggily doors.
> 
> any tips on what this stuff is/was and/or is it still available - or other 'solutions' to the issue?


We re-did our kitchen in 2000. Used the original job built plywood boxes, new doors and euro hinges.

Had a lot of issues with the small screws that came with the hinges, and "waggily" doors. Bought bigger, longer screws and it resolved it mostly. Some of the issue is user related, not sure why people slam cabinet doors, and drawers, makes me cringe every time I hear it...

I've mentioned several times how much work I put into all of that, and how it makes me cringe, doesn't seem to stick though. Think I went with 8x1, or 8x3/4, will have to look.


----------



## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

Titebond glue and toothpicks.


----------



## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Super glue in screw holes does a fantastic job as well. Dab of it on the screw, screw the screw into the hole


----------



## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

I've done the wood glue and toothpick method. Bamboo toothpicks or a carved bit of a cheap chopstick has far longer fiber, they work well.

I had 3 kinds of hinges in my kitchen cupboard doors. Some really didn't close, sometimes hinge pins would drop out. Old and worn out.
So, I decided to replace all 44 of them. Great reassurance from the hardware store that my replacements would be a matching fit.
Not quite.
The patterns of screw holes almost matched. The hinge bodies were thicker than any of the old ones.
By the time I was done, I had trimmed the dado(?) by 1/4" in 2 edges of every one of the 22 doors.
I had drilled 5 new holes for each of the 44 hinges. Along the way, I discovered that the hinges overclose, so I had to jam shims into each one to plot the frame hole positions with the doors shimmed up for clearance as well. Only to find that the doors now closed with a bang so bought felt bumpers for everywhere.
I'm faintly disappointed that the fix is invisible.


----------



## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

If you're into doing a major fix ... you can drill out the old screw holes to snug fit dowels. 
Glue those in and you've basically got virgin wood to set new screw holes into.


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Longer screws might also be an option. I've had to use 1 1/4" to 1 5/8" drywall screws on cabinet doors that have been repaired so many times it's not feasible to do it again.


----------



## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

I finally called a couple places and they put me onto the "swell it up" stuff:

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/b7454000/

Rockler also has it. brand names differ.
http://www.rockler.com/wonderlok-em-loose-joint-repair

the cabinets are a "hard" wood; longer screws are not an option. screws going into the frames are fine - it's the screws on the doors proper that loosen. the holes don't seem to be notably rounded out - but I haven't checked a lot of them....

the screws used have a very aggressive ie "high" thread pitch - which may explain why they are so prone to loosening up.

I'm thinking to try the Titebond approach - goo-in-the-hole-on-a-skewer and reset the screws before moving onto more desperate measures.


----------



## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

This is cool = whole bunch of different possible fixes.
I kinda bodged the job, hoping only that the dang things didn't fall apart the next day.
Well, it's been about 6 months. Clearly, new holes trump the repairs.
Hindsight?
Do one, any method. Basically, see if it works.


----------



## STAR (Jan 1, 2008)

Robson Valley said:


> This is cool = whole bunch of different possible fixes.
> I kinda bodged the job, hoping only that the dang things didn't fall apart the next day.
> Well, it's been about 6 months. Clearly, new holes trump the repairs.
> Hindsight?
> Do one, any method. Basically, see if it works.


Whenever I see Robson post or reply to a thread I always take a particular interest.

Not that I am stalking him, but more that I always respect the thought that he puts into his subject. And I am in Oz.

Pete


----------



## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Hey Pete. I quit that other site when I found that they had deleted all old pictures.


----------

