Repair A Stripped Screw Hole In Seconds
Installing screws into softwoods like pine and spruce can quickly strip out the wood, especially if you’re using a cordless drill or impact driver, leaving you with a dilemma. Many people might reach for a wood putty or attempt to drive in a larger screw. While the wood putty fix works, it’s messy and time consuming. Using a larger screw may not always work if you’re attaching hinges, which require a specific screw size, or if the screw heads are visible and you don’t want an awkward looking oversized screw.
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As Instagram influencer naildittavi demonstrates in his video, it doesn't have to be a dilemma at all if you know this quick fix that requires just a plain wooden toothpick.
As he demonstrates in his video, simply insert the tooth pick into the stripped out hole. While holding the toothpick in place, drive the screw into the hole then break off the excess toothpick. The threads of the screw will grip the wood toothpick, allowing it to tighten.
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Why does it work? The toothpick fills the hole with new fibrous material that the screw can grip. You can make this fix even stronger by dipping the toothpick in some wood glue first. The glue bonds the toothpick to the hole, creating an even stronger fix.