Loose screws

Tim Watts put finger to keyboard:

Thanks Tim (and others with similar suggetsions). There's a lot of UPVC repair screws but little definitive on metal frames. I'll suggest to my friend that she goes to one of these handyman places that sells hardware by the kilo and has knowledgeable men in brown coats, and ask for 'Some of these, but a tadge bigger'. I can always drill out the holes slightly if necessary.

Ronnie Barker died some time ago

This is a place where a bloody good injection of car body filler /liquid metal followed by a redrill often works

I wouldn't use it to hold a cylinder head on. but its kept many a kitchen cabinet going long past its sell by date, and a few other places where metal has failed too.

I'd be most surprised if that worked where a self tapper had failed into steel.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Would you be surprised if a Rawlplug might also work?

No. Plastic bushes into steel to take a self tapper are common on car bodywork. The plastic expands and grips the steel. Car body filler would simply crack and fall out.

The Natural Philosopher put finger to keyboard:

The man in the brown coat came up with some similar screws but with a different thread pitch, some identical screws (three of the eight have gone missing due to falling out) and some metallic putty that bonds to other metal and sets in air in about 15 minutes. The trick is to place the putty in the holes, screw the screws in then unscrew them and let it set. Worth a try.