6/9
Repair a Broken Drawer Box
Don’t put up with a broken corner joint on a drawer; this is one kitchen cabinet repair you don’t want to put off. Fix it before the whole drawer comes apart. Remove the drawer and then remove the drawer front from the drawer box if possible. Most fronts are fastened by a couple of screws inside the box. Remove nails, staples or screws from the loose joint and scrape away old glue with a utility knife.
Predrill 1/16-in. holes for nails, apply wood glue to the joint and nail it together with 1-1/2 in. finish nails. Wood glue will make a strong repair if there’s wood-to-wood contact at the joint. If the wood at the joint is coated, use epoxy instead of wood glue.
7/9
Glue Loose Knobs
Any handle or knob that comes loose once is likely to come loose again. Put a permanent stop to this problem with a tiny drop of thread adhesive like Thread Lok. Don’t worry; if you want to replace your hardware sometime in the future, the knobs will still come off with a screwdriver.
8/9
Two Ways to Fill Stripped Screw Holes
If a screw turns but doesn’t tighten, the screw hole is stripped. Here’s a quick remedy: Remove the screw and hardware. Dip toothpicks in glue, jam as many as you can into the hole and break them off. Either flat or round toothpicks will work. Immediately wipe away glue drips with a damp cloth. You don’t have to wait for the glue to dry or drill new screw holes; just go ahead and reinstall the hardware by driving screws right into the toothpicks.
Cabinets made from particleboard work great in utility and laundry rooms, and they’re fairly inexpensive. But particleboard has a major weakness—it doesn’t hold screw threads very well. So if you swing the door open too fast, the force can rip the hinge screw right out of the cabinet wall. Don’t worry; the fix is easy and cheap. You’ll need a bottle of wood glue, a 1/2-in. drill bit and a package of 1/2-in.-diameter hardwood plugs.
Start by removing the hinge screws on the cabinet and flipping the hinge out of your way. If the accident pulled out a large chunk of the particleboard, glue it back into place and let the glue set up before proceeding with the rest of the repair. Drill out the stripped screw hole to accept the plug. Next, fill the hole with wood glue and install the plug. After the glue dries, drill a pilot hole and install the new screw—you’re all set.
