Wood repair on bow locker - Moderated Discussion Areas

  ContinuousWave
  Whaler
  Moderated Discussion Areas
  ContinuousWave: Whaler Repairs/Mods
  Wood repair on bow locker

search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author Topic:   Wood repair on bow locker

chad posted 06-08-2002 11:12 PM ET (US)
The wooden bow locker cover on my Montauk will not hold the hinge screws. What are yall's suggestions for repair. Longer screws, wooden plugs, marine tex?
Thanks
Tom W Clark posted 06-09-2002 01:28 AM ET (US)
chad,
The thing to do is drill the stripped screw holes out with a 1/4" bit and glue in a 1/4" plug of teak. Chisel the plug(s) flush and reinstall the hinges.
This is the best way and it's also the easiest. If the damaged hole(s) are larger than 1/4" then go to a 3/8" hole. Cut your own plugs from a scrap of teak and a hardware store plug cutter or buy preformed plugs at West Marine or some other chandlery.
For glue I would use 5 minute epoxy because I have it around and it provides nearly instant gratification as well as having really good gap filling properties if the damaged holes are a little odd in their shape. Polyurethane glues like Gorilla Glue or ProBond will also work well.
I would try to align the grain of the plug(s) with the grain of the hatch but the hinges will mostly cover the plugs so it's not super important to be perfect in this regard.
If you are going to refinish the hatch while you’re doing this repair, you can just sand the plugs and glue down when you sand the hatch to bare wood. Otherwise a sharp chisel is best to flush the plug out without loosing the finish or weathered look of the teak.
Another alternative you could use in lieu of, or in addition to, plugging the holes, would be to use machine screws with nuts on the underside. You might have to mortise them into the underside of the hatch if the fasteners fall where the lip in the hull is. If the stripped holes are already too large then you will have to plug them and redrill for the machine screws.
Marine Tex is a bad idea as it is not like wood in its physical properties and it will not look good if a bit shows around the hardware. Longer screws probably will go through the hatch and even if they don't they will only be gripping with the amount of extra length they provide, like 1/4”. That’s not enough.
Tom W Clark posted 06-09-2002 01:28 AM ET (US)
chad,
The thing to do is drill the stripped screw holes out with a 1/4" bit and glue in a plug of teak in the screw holes. Chisel it flush and reinstall the hinges.
This is the best way and it's also the easiest. If the damaged hole(s) are larger than 1/4" then go to a 3/8" hole. Cut your own plugs from a scrap of teak and a hardware store plug cutter or buy preformed plugs at West Marine or some other chandlery.
For glue I would use 5 minute epoxy because I have it around and it provides nearly instant gratification as well as having really good gap filling properties if the damaged holes are a little odd in their shape. Polyurethane glues like Gorilla Glue or ProBond will also work well.
I would try to align the grain of the plug(s) with the grain of the hatch but the hinges will mostly cover the plugs so it's not super important to be perfect in this regard.
If you are going to refinish the hatch while you’re doing this repair, you can just sand the plugs and glue down when you sand the hatch to bare wood. Otherwise a sharp chisel is best to flush the plug out without loosing the finish or weathered look of the teak.
Another alternative you could use in lieu of or in addition to plugging the holes, would be to use machine screws with nuts on the underside. You might have to mortise them into the underside of the hatch if the fasteners fall where the lip in the hull is. If the stripped holes are already too large then you will have to plug them and redrill for the machine screws.
Marine Tex is a bad idea as it is not like wood in its physical properties and it will not look good if a bit shows around the hardware. Longer screws probably will go through he hatch and even if they don't they will only be gripping with the amount of extra length they provide, like 1/4”. That’s not enough.
Ed Z posted 06-09-2002 04:26 AM ET (US)
chad,
I have great success with using thin CA (cyanoacralate) glue... You can get this in just about any Hobby shop in 1 or 2 oz bottles... Remove the hinge and add the CA to the holes and let it wick into the wood and just keep adding glue as it wicks... Let it sit for about 5 minutes and give it a shot (ussually a spray) of CA accelerator into the holes... Again let it set for a couple minutes and then replace the screws... You may have to ream (re-drill) the holes to size if it closed down to much... I have used this method on all the screws I have ever removed on my boat... The CA will plastisize the wood and make it much stronger than it ever was (I have broken SS screws without stripping the holes out)... This works very well on the fiberglass as well as wood too... If you are using it on the hull be sure to get the "foam safe" type of CA as to other will melt the foam...
Ed Z posted 06-09-2002 04:39 AM ET (US)
I forgot to mention that you must be sure the CA that has wicked into the wood is dry (especially if you don't use the accelerater stuff) before you put the screws back in or you will never be able to remove them again... I found out the hard way once and ended up breaking the screws before they would let loose... Now days there is some stuff called "Debonder" available but I as yet have not tried it...

Hop to:

Contact Us | RETURN to ContinuousWave Top Page

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Freeware Version 2000
Purchase our Licensed Version- which adds many more features!
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998 - 2000.

Author	Topic: Wood repair on bow locker
chad	posted 06-08-2002 11:12 PM ET (US) The wooden bow locker cover on my Montauk will not hold the hinge screws. What are yall's suggestions for repair. Longer screws, wooden plugs, marine tex? Thanks
Tom W Clark	posted 06-09-2002 01:28 AM ET (US) chad, The thing to do is drill the stripped screw holes out with a 1/4" bit and glue in a 1/4" plug of teak. Chisel the plug(s) flush and reinstall the hinges. This is the best way and it's also the easiest. If the damaged hole(s) are larger than 1/4" then go to a 3/8" hole. Cut your own plugs from a scrap of teak and a hardware store plug cutter or buy preformed plugs at West Marine or some other chandlery. For glue I would use 5 minute epoxy because I have it around and it provides nearly instant gratification as well as having really good gap filling properties if the damaged holes are a little odd in their shape. Polyurethane glues like Gorilla Glue or ProBond will also work well. I would try to align the grain of the plug(s) with the grain of the hatch but the hinges will mostly cover the plugs so it's not super important to be perfect in this regard. If you are going to refinish the hatch while you’re doing this repair, you can just sand the plugs and glue down when you sand the hatch to bare wood. Otherwise a sharp chisel is best to flush the plug out without loosing the finish or weathered look of the teak. Another alternative you could use in lieu of, or in addition to, plugging the holes, would be to use machine screws with nuts on the underside. You might have to mortise them into the underside of the hatch if the fasteners fall where the lip in the hull is. If the stripped holes are already too large then you will have to plug them and redrill for the machine screws. Marine Tex is a bad idea as it is not like wood in its physical properties and it will not look good if a bit shows around the hardware. Longer screws probably will go through the hatch and even if they don't they will only be gripping with the amount of extra length they provide, like 1/4”. That’s not enough.
Tom W Clark	posted 06-09-2002 01:28 AM ET (US) chad, The thing to do is drill the stripped screw holes out with a 1/4" bit and glue in a plug of teak in the screw holes. Chisel it flush and reinstall the hinges. This is the best way and it's also the easiest. If the damaged hole(s) are larger than 1/4" then go to a 3/8" hole. Cut your own plugs from a scrap of teak and a hardware store plug cutter or buy preformed plugs at West Marine or some other chandlery. For glue I would use 5 minute epoxy because I have it around and it provides nearly instant gratification as well as having really good gap filling properties if the damaged holes are a little odd in their shape. Polyurethane glues like Gorilla Glue or ProBond will also work well. I would try to align the grain of the plug(s) with the grain of the hatch but the hinges will mostly cover the plugs so it's not super important to be perfect in this regard. If you are going to refinish the hatch while you’re doing this repair, you can just sand the plugs and glue down when you sand the hatch to bare wood. Otherwise a sharp chisel is best to flush the plug out without loosing the finish or weathered look of the teak. Another alternative you could use in lieu of or in addition to plugging the holes, would be to use machine screws with nuts on the underside. You might have to mortise them into the underside of the hatch if the fasteners fall where the lip in the hull is. If the stripped holes are already too large then you will have to plug them and redrill for the machine screws. Marine Tex is a bad idea as it is not like wood in its physical properties and it will not look good if a bit shows around the hardware. Longer screws probably will go through he hatch and even if they don't they will only be gripping with the amount of extra length they provide, like 1/4”. That’s not enough.
Ed Z	posted 06-09-2002 04:26 AM ET (US) chad, I have great success with using thin CA (cyanoacralate) glue... You can get this in just about any Hobby shop in 1 or 2 oz bottles... Remove the hinge and add the CA to the holes and let it wick into the wood and just keep adding glue as it wicks... Let it sit for about 5 minutes and give it a shot (ussually a spray) of CA accelerator into the holes... Again let it set for a couple minutes and then replace the screws... You may have to ream (re-drill) the holes to size if it closed down to much... I have used this method on all the screws I have ever removed on my boat... The CA will plastisize the wood and make it much stronger than it ever was (I have broken SS screws without stripping the holes out)... This works very well on the fiberglass as well as wood too... If you are using it on the hull be sure to get the "foam safe" type of CA as to other will melt the foam...
Ed Z	posted 06-09-2002 04:39 AM ET (US) I forgot to mention that you must be sure the CA that has wicked into the wood is dry (especially if you don't use the accelerater stuff) before you put the screws back in or you will never be able to remove them again... I found out the hard way once and ended up breaking the screws before they would let loose... Now days there is some stuff called "Debonder" available but I as yet have not tried it...