Removing Screws and Fixing Holes
By Craig Smith
Hi again,
I couldn't resist adding my approach to the discussion. (with
appreciation to Arthur).
Removing screws - especially from wood. (Works great on wheel lugs too)
Usually it is rust that makes the screw tight. Rust is also a poor conductor of heat. So- - - clean the head so a little metal shows. Then heat it with a soldering iron (or is it souldering irion) and wait until you smell a LITTLE wood heating up. I use a 140 watt iron and it takes about 20 seconds for a #6-3/4 screw. It will scorch the wood in contact with the screw. The scorch has no strength and you can back out the screw easily. BTW - be SURE to use exactly the correct screw driver -width, thickness and parallel blade angle. I also have a very helpful material called 'screw grabber' which locks the blade in the slot while you turn it so you don't have to push down while you turn. It is a slightly abrasive liquid like honing compound. A little dab in the slot will do - no it's not made by Wildroot. If I used an impact driver, I'd be repairing more than the screw holes, but perhaps I'm dealing with smaller stuff!!!
Filling the holes - you probably don't need to , but...
Drill a hole in the wood and insert a plug made of the same wood. Orient the grain like the wood around it and glue it in after buttering both the plug and the hole with new yellow wood glue - like Titebond II. Use a plug cutter or cut it by hand with the grain parallel to the surface - NOT like a dowel. Drill a tiny hole in the plug to let the glue squirt out as you press it in place. Use a profile drill or a tapered drill to expand the tiny hole if necessary.
Regards,
Craig
PS The son of the man who invented Wildroot Cream Oil is a friend of mine. He personally mixed and bottled the entire production by hand for the first two years in an old factory building in Buffalo. |
(Message sent Wed 2 Oct 1996, 00:55:28 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.) |
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