"antique nickel" screws?

if you only problem is the new screws not filling the holes left by the previous screws, just fill the holes with some wood glue and dowels or toothpicks. if you just want longer screws for strength, then happy hunting for antique nickel. Instead of using regular zinc plated screws, maybe cosider stainless steel, a lot more expensive but maybe a little closer in look.

good luck

I agree, fill the existing holes with toothpicks and wood glue (the white or yellow stuff) and use the supplied screws into the newly-filled holes. Toothpicks are made from hardwood and will hold better in most cases than the original wood. Coat each toothpick in glue and use one to put more glue in the hole. If you use the tapered variety, alternate large and small ends forcing as many in the holes as possible and break them off flush.

If you feel the supplied screws are not large enough to provide the needed support, there's a good chance the hinges aren't either.

John

Toothpicks will hold better than the original wood? I had no idea. We were very worried about the supplied screws, they are simply #6, 3/4" or something like that. Seems pretty small for a solid wood door (original doors from the house built in 1950). I thought that these screws were for the new hollow doors which are much lighter.

You guys really think toothpicks, glue and the puny screws will hold? I wasn't too worried about the hinges as our replacements are by the same company, same size, etc. as the originals which have held up the doors since 1950 (or maybe the previous owner simply kept adding bigger screws as the doors started to fall off :-)

I've never seen hollow cupboard doors - in fact, the new "cheap" doors are often made from MDF which is actually heavier than solid wood and does not hold a screw as well.

Assuming these hinges are intended for use on cupboard doors and unless you have a wife or kids that like to hang on the doors, the supplied screws should be fine (and the toothpick & glue fix is a fairly SOP).

As a worst case, if you did have problems at some point in the future, you can still switch to a larger screw.

John

"John W" often made from MDF which is actually heavier than solid wood and does not

Cupboard doors? Has my news server failed again to download messages?

Reading between the lines again?

If blue is talking about interior doors (and not cupboard doors), it would seem odd that hinges intended for that purpose would come with 3/4" long screws. Screws of that length (and the hinges they come with) are generally intended for cupboard doors since they need to be short enough to not go through the door...

Or, perhaps he got the wrong hinges?

John W

I was indeed talking about interior doors, and those I am pretty sure often come hollow now a days. Oh, and I do have kids and a spouse who will surely hang on the bathroom door, bedroom door, etc. :-)

I am sure I bought the right h> I've never seen hollow cupboard doors - in fact, the new "cheap" doors are

Ok - starting to make more sense now (except as to why the supplied screws are so short?).

As I said previously though, worst case scenerio is you may need to replace a few screws at some point in the future. Filling the old holes with toothpicks and glue is a good idea even if you you go with larger screws since it is quite likely even the larger screws wouldn't work in some of the holes.

Since these are just door hinges though, they are generally less-visable than cupboard hinges so a mis-match would not be as noticeble so you could go with plain-old zinc plated screws. You'd need #8 bugle-headed (I assume) so that the heads fit in the hinges properly. If you wanted, you could replace just 2 screws per hinge with longer ones (one on the frame side and one on the door side).

John W

Had a similar issue with a new exterior door. I drilled out the old screw holes and filled them with 3/8" dowels, the 1-1/2" long, splined kind made for joinery. A decent hardware store should have them. I then drilled new pilot holes for the screws.

I don't think I would do that -- you're drilling into end-grain. I would break off a matchstick or two in the old screw holes and use the new screws.

Best regards, Bob

the mcmaster-carr catalog (#104) pg2487 under heading wood screws, shows #6-10 phillips head, nickel plated brass screws up to 2 1/2" from $9-16 US per100 unless where noted some packs are 50