RayV wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In article . com, "RayV" wrote:
The hinges on my kitchen cabinets screw into the inside edge of the
maple frame. Each hinge is only screwed to the frame with one screw.
The hinges are similar to these:
http://www.amazon.com/Concealed-Fram.../dp/B000KPZC80
Every once in a while I need to tighten up the screws as they work
loose. So I was thinking of putting something on the screws to keep
them from loosening up. Anybody ever try something that works? I was
thinking a little silicone in the screw hole would hold them and still
be removeable.
Silicone is a reasonably good lubricant, so I wouldn't expect it to hold the
screws tighter. I believe I'd first try screws that are longer, thicker, or
both.
Sorry about the earlier blank posts.
For whatever reason the screws are not 'standard' wood screws. They
have a very harsh thread pattern more like particle board or MDF
screws. They are also only about 5/8 long. Longer screws are probably
the best idea plus it will give me an excuse to order something from
McFeeley's.
BTW by silicone I meant silicone caulk. If it holds well enough to
make a car jack necessary to remove a sink I figured it should hold a
screw.
Silicone is a royal PITA. On some surfaces it sticks like nothing else.
e.g. electrical grade silicone used to secure the circuit board to the
neck of a TV or monitor tube typically cannot be removed from the glass
neck even with a razor blade. You can get the bulk of it off but the
last traces just will not come loose. OTOH we have all experienced
peeling silicone in the bathroom or kitchen, and its extremely difficult
to get a new bead to stick well.
My war stories with it all involve boats, and after many fastenings
backing out, sealing fillets peeling etc. I vowed *NEVER* to use it
again if there was any alternative. It only sticks properly to
perfectly clean surfaces and when it cures it contaminates any surface
that it doesnt stick to and in fact when its cured a fresh application
wont even stick to it. When it has failed to bond, it definately acts
as a lubricant and helps screws back out.
Many years ago, a professional boat-builder taught me to never put a
screw in dry. (Boats are a bit different to cabinet work as there is
always movement and changing humidity to contend with) He favoured
dipping the screws in varnish. I've had no trouble with screws working
loose unless they were seriously overloaded but have seen many screws
that were put in dry work loose.
If you are overloading the wood and the fibres are getting crushed, wood
hardener on the screws might help if varnish isn't enough but if you
have a real problem and cant go to longer screws, West Systems have a
lot of helpfull info at
http://www.westsystem.com/webpages/userinfo/manual/#bondingfastenersandhardware
The same technique can be used with most other brands of Epoxy but you
*MUST* follow the specific brand's mixing instructions, not the WEST ones.
If you ever want to get the screws out, they should be clean and shiny
(no rusty or chewed up ones) and you need to scrape a trace of candle
wax onto them then flow it evenly over the whole thread by applying
enough heat to melt the wax before inserting them into the hole with the
wet emoxy. Easy enough to do one at a time with a lighter flame or you
can wax a batch of screws in the bottom of a tin with a small lump of
wax and a hot air gun or other heat source. Waxing the screws
apparently weakens the fastening by about 10%. Even if you dont wax
them they can be got out by heating the head of the screw for about half
a minute with a 100W soldering gun immediately before trying to unscrew
them.
--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & 32K emails -- NUL:
'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Early 60's, Uffa Fox designed,
All varnished hot moulded wooden racing dinghy.