03-12-2012, 07:04 PM
Best practice would be to reframe the door but that's not a small job. So, eh.
Longer screws are preferred because it makes it that much harder for somebody to kick your door in. #10 screws will have a larger head and likely won't sit flush in the countersink. If they sit 1/16" proud, you may have trouble closing the door. Besides, the difference in diameter is not that great, certainly not enough to make a solid fastening in stripped hole.
Don't fret about saving wood for next time.
Get a dowel that fits tightly in the screw holes. Maybe score a couple grooves in it if you're feeling industrious (they're for glue squeeze out). Go ahead and cut off two inches. Apply some yellow glue and stick it in the screw hole so it's flush. When it's dry, you can drill a pilot hole, then screw into it and it'll be about as sound as it ever was.
If your dowel is a little over sized, it's better to sand it down a little with some 60 grit than to enlarge the hole with the appropriate bit, but you can do it either way. A tighter fit is a better fit, really -- if you have to taper an end and then force it in, that's fine, as long as you don't have to pound it so hard that all the glue is wiped out of the joint. It's best if you can drill and screw into the dowel without it spinning while the glue is still setting. Remember, the screw itself is a spiral wedge, and will expand the plug to fit tightly in the old hole.
That sort of repair in wood is typically stronger than the wood itself -- well mated face grain surfaces with yellow glue is super strong. Put a properly glued joint in a hydraulic press and the wood will break, not the glue joint.
On the other hand, if your dowel is a little too small, mask the area well and use a two-part 30-minute epoxy because it will fill the gap. Wait several hours before messing with it. But again, tighter is better. I've rehung many, many doors, and installed countless doorknobs and locksets and deadbolts, and almost always I plug up the old holes to make a stronger fastening, be it for a door hinge or a strike plate.
I wouldn't recommend Gorilla Glue. Some would.
On a side note, I can't imagine not having tooth picks and bamboo skewers and a whole range of dowels for these kinds of repairs. On tiny projects, you usually don't even need glue or a new pilot hole. Stick in a toothpick, break it off, and now the screw will grab just fine. On small projects (the hinge on a kitchen cabinet door comes to mind), you usually need either glue or a pilot hole, but not both. Imagine the stripped hole -- it has jagged furrows instead of smooth walls. You pop in a dowel that barely fits. When you drill into the dowel, most of the wood fibers in the dowel will stay intact, because the grain runs along the length of the dowel. They can stretch and bend and will wedge into those furrows and make a tight fit. It's almost like they jacket the screw.
This is also how you can move a hole a smidge to one side. Plug the old one, make it solid and flush, drill a new pilot hole. Moving a 1/4" hole 1/8" to the side is nearly impossible otherwise.
I hope that makes sense!
Longer screws are preferred because it makes it that much harder for somebody to kick your door in. #10 screws will have a larger head and likely won't sit flush in the countersink. If they sit 1/16" proud, you may have trouble closing the door. Besides, the difference in diameter is not that great, certainly not enough to make a solid fastening in stripped hole.
Don't fret about saving wood for next time.
Get a dowel that fits tightly in the screw holes. Maybe score a couple grooves in it if you're feeling industrious (they're for glue squeeze out). Go ahead and cut off two inches. Apply some yellow glue and stick it in the screw hole so it's flush. When it's dry, you can drill a pilot hole, then screw into it and it'll be about as sound as it ever was.
If your dowel is a little over sized, it's better to sand it down a little with some 60 grit than to enlarge the hole with the appropriate bit, but you can do it either way. A tighter fit is a better fit, really -- if you have to taper an end and then force it in, that's fine, as long as you don't have to pound it so hard that all the glue is wiped out of the joint. It's best if you can drill and screw into the dowel without it spinning while the glue is still setting. Remember, the screw itself is a spiral wedge, and will expand the plug to fit tightly in the old hole.
That sort of repair in wood is typically stronger than the wood itself -- well mated face grain surfaces with yellow glue is super strong. Put a properly glued joint in a hydraulic press and the wood will break, not the glue joint.
On the other hand, if your dowel is a little too small, mask the area well and use a two-part 30-minute epoxy because it will fill the gap. Wait several hours before messing with it. But again, tighter is better. I've rehung many, many doors, and installed countless doorknobs and locksets and deadbolts, and almost always I plug up the old holes to make a stronger fastening, be it for a door hinge or a strike plate.
I wouldn't recommend Gorilla Glue. Some would.
On a side note, I can't imagine not having tooth picks and bamboo skewers and a whole range of dowels for these kinds of repairs. On tiny projects, you usually don't even need glue or a new pilot hole. Stick in a toothpick, break it off, and now the screw will grab just fine. On small projects (the hinge on a kitchen cabinet door comes to mind), you usually need either glue or a pilot hole, but not both. Imagine the stripped hole -- it has jagged furrows instead of smooth walls. You pop in a dowel that barely fits. When you drill into the dowel, most of the wood fibers in the dowel will stay intact, because the grain runs along the length of the dowel. They can stretch and bend and will wedge into those furrows and make a tight fit. It's almost like they jacket the screw.
This is also how you can move a hole a smidge to one side. Plug the old one, make it solid and flush, drill a new pilot hole. Moving a 1/4" hole 1/8" to the side is nearly impossible otherwise.
I hope that makes sense!