Another Repair Job . . .
Still in progress.
About 11:30 I headed in to Carthage to the Ace Hardware to get some larger screws for another repair attempt on my lighted door handle.
When the repair place in Prescott removed it last June to replace the wiring leading to the light inside after it damaged by our blowout, they stripped out several of the 5 screws that hold it on. This of course put extra stress on the remaining ones and they started coming loose too.
The ones that are holding the handle on now are #12 Bevel Head Sheet Metal Screws, so I thought I’d try #14’s to see if they would work.
Of course, from the Ace Hardware parking lot I could see the Whataburger, so a stop there to bring back lunch was in order on my way home.
Later, after lunch and I was on the gate, I tried out the larger screws . . . with mixed results. I did have to drill out the holes in the handle slightly for the larger screws, but this was no problem.
But the problem was that only one new screw tightened down. The rest still just spun. So now a little further inspection was in order. Using a flashlight and a right angle probe, it looked like the backing for the handle is a block of wood. This is what the screws fastened into behind the fiberglass siding. And it looks like the wood block has split vertically, which is why the screws aren’t holding.
So at this point I’m in a quandary. I can’t use larger screws because the heads would be too large to recess into the handle. I can’t use see how I can use any type of molly or wing bolt because there’s no room for it to expand, and I think that trying to use some sort of plastic or lead anchor would just cause the wood to split more.
I’m still mulling this over, but one idea I’m thinking about is to squirt as much Plastic Wood into the holes as I can, let it dry thoroughly, then drill a starter hole and try screwing into that.
Or similarly, try to fill the holes with one of those JB Weld Steel products, then drill and tap it, and then use machine bolts instead of sheet metal screws.
In other words, it’s problem still in work.
Anyone have any ideas? Let me know.
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Thought for the Day:
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals. – Sir Winston Churchill
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