An exterior gate handle had been smashed (vandalized) last year... I replaced it but the screw holes had been mangled a bit--- got both screws to seat but now the bottom one has come loose through daily stress.Talking about the screws on the latchplate. I think I had already gone with a slightly oversized screw.... is there anything they make to help keep a screw in a hole that's stripped? Or any favorite tricks? There's no access to the other side except for taking the whole thing out.

Screws into wood?
Expanding anchors like used in a wall for hanging pictures etc.
Epoxy?

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Ken Sp.
Screws into wood?

Need to know what kind of material we're talkin' about here - are the screws going into wood? metal? carbon fiber? transparent aluminum?

I've glued in a golf tee then drilled the correct hole after the glue dried.

For going into wood, I have shoved several toothpicks in, then put the screw in, and it helped tighten it up.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Sorry, it's a wrought iron gate designed to accept a standard entry handle like this:


I don't know if I could get a useful amount of wood stuffed down into the right place.

this thread is useless without pics!

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Sorry, this type of gate is so standard around Chicago it didn't occur to me that nobody here would have a concept of what I was referring to.
Probably won't be straying far from my bed to get a pic... trying to get over an ear/throat infection without much progress.

Is it the screws holding the brass plates and the door knob to the door---or the screws that hold the striker or striker plate(Not Pictured)

For metal Helicoil
[www.google.com]

I can't really picture it. But maybe a nutsert with a machine screw? Or forget the screws and braze the thing into place? Or if it's a hollow space, put in some expanding foam, let it cure, hollow it out to make a cavity and squirt some JB weld into the space?

Threaded inserts should work here.

Bring the screw to a hardware store and get machine screws of the same length and thread diameter. Get threaded inserts to match the thread and size of the machine screws. The threaded inserts have coarse outside threads to bite into the wood and inside threads to match your machine screws. Screw the threaded inserts into the holes in the wood making sure to get them tight but flush with the surface of the wood. Then you can screw the brass plates and knob through the existing holes in the brass plate into the threaded inserts.

Here are threaded inserts on Rockler's site:
[www.rockler.com]

This .pdf illustrates and explain how to use the inserts:
[go.rockler.com]

Since the gate is wrought iron, the wood insert fix is not suitable. But there are various inserts for fixing holes in metal, the kind to use will depend on how thick the metal the hole is on and whether there is something behind the hole or not.

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JoeH
Since the gate is wrought iron, the wood insert fix is not suitable. But there are various inserts for fixing holes in metal, the kind to use will depend on how thick the metal the hole is on and whether there is something behind the hole or not.

There is nothing behind the hole, and the metal is not particularly thick (1/8"?)

Black,
Is this a "condo/apartment" gate made of 1" box material?
If so, you have stripped out the hole and maybe with a longer screw and drilling a correct size hole in the other side get a proper metal screw to hold the latch. Just that easy.
You need to give the forum some clues as to the material where the latch is located.

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artie67
Black,
Is this a "condo/apartment" gate made of 1" box material?
If so, you have stripped out the hole and maybe with a longer screw and drilling a correct size hole in the other side get a proper metal screw to hold the latch. Just that easy.
You need to give the forum some clues as to the material where the latch is located.

I tried to explain that the hole had already been mangled when the handle was smashed off before.
I don't quite understand what it is that I have not given adequate cues about.
Here's the best I can do for an image right now- from Google Street View ca. 2011...the handle in the image is the one that was smashed off.

Loctite. Available at hardware stores, home centers etc. Different formulas available depending on how much holding power you need. Add a drop onto the screw threads before screwing assembly together.


[www.amazon.com]

Locktite was the first thing I thought of.

If the screw will tighten, then Locktite will keep it from vibrating loose.

Generally, the Locktite Blue would be used where you need to remove the screws at some later date. Locktite Red is used when you want the screw permanently locked. Since the hole is a little mangled, Red might be the way to go, but there's the chance the screws won't loosen when you need to replace the lock.

I'd start with that Blue.

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And hope is a lousy defense.

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I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

To repair stripped out metal threads use a thread insert like helicoil.

[www.google.com]

Loctite won't work if the hole itself is too big. If the hole was undamaged and screw was getting loose from daily stress, then sure it would help lock the threads but if the hole and threads themselves are damaged there's little loctite could do.

Without getting a good look at it and how much damage there is, I'd think you'd need something more like JB Weld.

The hole is loose enough that the screw can easily be pushed in to seat completely by hand, and then comes loose and prevents the gate from being closed. So just glop the JB weld in there, tighten, and hope for the best?

Quote
Black
The hole is loose enough that the screw can easily be pushed in to seat completely by hand, and then comes loose and prevents the gate from being closed. So just glop the JB weld in there, tighten, and hope for the best?

Squirt some foam first, let it cure, then stick a nail in the screw hole until it hits the other side of the the tube stock, then wiggle it around to make a cavity that is bigger than the diameter of the screw, and extends the full depth of the tube stock. Mix up some JB Weld and put it in a syringe. Squirt it into the hole, cover with tape, let cure. Drill a generous pilot hole into the JBW plug.

If you don't want to wait for the JBWeld to cure, cover it with tape, attach lathplate using good screw. Coat the other screw with soap or wax, then drive it into the wet JBW. Tape that screw in place and don't let the gate get jostled while the JBW cures around the threads of the screw.

You could use some other sort of 2-part epoxy, even Bondo, but you'd want to make sure the plug was bigger, is all. You're just turning what is essentially a sheet metal surface into a solid surface.

I guess you could use JBWeld or Threadlock to just glue the piece onto the tubestock. You've already got the one screw to keep it more or less in place. Of the two, I'd use threadlock, and I'd start with the blue, see if it held. Threadlock works well for gluing tightfitting metal pieces, obviously. It has to be a tight, oxygen-free mating for the glue to cure. When it cures, it's very strong but the bond can be broken with a sharp blow along the shear.

If the material is 1/8" thick, something like this might be suitable for a permanent repair:

[www.rivetsinstock.com]

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JoeH
If the material is 1/8" thick, something like this might be suitable for a permanent repair:

[www.rivetsinstock.com]

Thanks, exactly what I was looking to know if in existence.... can't find much on that exact system but here's a similar one:
[www.youtube.com]
Unfortunately it looks like the tool costs at least $45 and another $15+ for a set of inserts. Not really worth the expense for a need that pops up once every few years.

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Mike Johnson

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Black
The hole is loose enough that the screw can easily be pushed in to seat completely by hand, and then comes loose and prevents the gate from being closed. So just glop the JB weld in there, tighten, and hope for the best?

Squirt some foam first, let it cure, then stick a nail in the screw hole until it hits the other side of the the tube stock, then wiggle it around to make a cavity that is bigger than the diameter of the screw, and extends the full depth of the tube stock. Mix up some JB Weld and put it in a syringe. Squirt it into the hole, cover with tape, let cure. Drill a generous pilot hole into the JBW plug.

If you don't want to wait for the JBWeld to cure, cover it with tape, attach lathplate using good screw. Coat the other screw with soap or wax, then drive it into the wet JBW. Tape that screw in place and don't let the gate get jostled while the JBW cures around the threads of the screw.

You could use some other sort of 2-part epoxy, even Bondo, but you'd want to make sure the plug was bigger, is all. You're just turning what is essentially a sheet metal surface into a solid surface.

I guess you could use JBWeld or Threadlock to just glue the piece onto the tubestock. You've already got the one screw to keep it more or less in place. Of the two, I'd use threadlock, and I'd start with the blue, see if it held. Threadlock works well for gluing tightfitting metal pieces, obviously. It has to be a tight, oxygen-free mating for the glue to cure. When it cures, it's very strong but the bond can be broken with a sharp blow along the shear.

Got it, thanks. Will take a look at what's available next time in a hardware store.

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Black

Quote
JoeH
If the material is 1/8" thick, something like this might be suitable for a permanent repair:

[www.rivetsinstock.com]

Thanks, exactly what I was looking to know if in existence.... can't find much on that exact system but here's a similar one:
[www.youtube.com]
Unfortunately it looks like the tool costs at least $45 and another $15+ for a set of inserts. Not really worth the expense for a need that pops up once every few years.

One of the rental locations I used in the past would rent out tools like this and sell you inserts either by the package or individually. You might be able to find something in your area where you don't have to buy, or purchase a bag of inserts and they will lend the tool for a day.

Thanks again to all.... I managed to find some screws in my collection that were either a hair thicker or had a hair denser thread than the 'stock' screws, and everything seats well now. I tried some that I couldn't advance past a certain point so I'm thinking tapping out the holes very slightly larger would have been the next step if necessary.