How to Fix a Loose Wood Screw with Steel Wool

When a wood screw gets loose, it can be hard to fix. You can replace a stripped screw, but when the screw hole has lost its grip, what do you do?

There's an easy way to repair the hole in a piece of wood where you want to sink a screw. All you need is a bit of steel wool, and maybe a nail or a small screwdriver to pack it into place.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Steel Wool
• A nail sinker or small philips screwdriver. (Or just a nail.)

1. Inspect the damage. Remove the wood screw, see if it is stripped. If so, replace the screw. Then look at the wood itself. If the wood has split, you will have to glue or clamp it. But if the screw hole just seems to be decayed and threaded out, you can repair it.

2. Fill the screw hole with steel wool. Just tear off a small amount of steel wool and poke it into place with a nail, small screwdriver or a nail setter. Fill the hole completely, but you don't need pack it too tight.

3. Put the screw back in. The steel wool will mold itself to fit the shape of the hole and the wood screw. It will pack itself into the nooks and crannies of the screw hole, and fill the space firmly between that and the screw.
   
   And voila, you have a nice, firm hold with your wood screw.

[kittycooks]

on 5/12/2009 Nice idea, I usually have some steel wool around. Thanks for sharing.