Woodworking Tips: How To Repair Broken Wood Screws

Electric drills and screws are generally in a love-hate relationship when it comes to screw-drilling into softwood without preparing it beforehand

. However, let's get real here. Things happen and just the slightest wrong angel with your drill and you are looking at a screw with a stripped head. Drilling a screw into decking or even drywall can mean a broken screw. The best way to cope when dealing with such difficult wood material, is to drill a pilot hole first. Then you can drill your screw home safe and sound.

Solutions to screw accidents:

Some times screws break above the wood. In such cases you can use pliers to get them out. If you have a broken screw that is buried in the wood then the easiest fix may be to just leave it in place and putty the hole over. Of course, there are a few solutions in case you absolutely have to extract the broken screw, and can't go on with your work without doing so.

There is a tool designed just for this situation which is called a screw extractor that is available in stores where you find your woodworking tools and accessories. Usually it is made of metal and is a tube with teeth at the end. The idea of this tool is to take a plug out of the wood and then a wood dowel can be inserted into the hole it makes and glued in place so it is permanent. After that, you can easily drill a new screw in the exact same place.

If you would rather not use the special tool you can dig around the broken screw until you can grasp the end with pliers and use them to back the screw out of the wood. Then it is a matter of cleaning out the hole so you can insert a dowel or wood scrap and glue it in place. When this is set you can put in a new screw.

To cover up the hole that you've made while removing the screw fragment, you can make a plug from the very same wood you're currently working with, so there won't be any texture difference. Screw accidents often occur when attaching hinges. Epoxy resin is generally used in such cases to join the head with the other piece of the screw buried in the wood. Don't try the screw repair method, since you will only manage to split the wood and you don't really need more than one screw to hold a hinge. Besides the new screw might twist if pressured too much, and then you're in for a new set of troubles.

How you can avoid breaking screws:

A pilot hole is a must when you work with hard wood. If you're attaching a hinge that needs brass screws, it is best that you use steel screws first. Then you can remove them and put the brass ones instead. When experiencing a stubborn screw, try using some soap or wax to help it ease into the wood with less resistance.

by: Edward Sylve.

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