You know what I’m talking about - the single screw that, over time, manages to work itself loose until the handle spins around in circles, and eventually the screw unscrews itself from the handle (A LOT!) and you end up putting something like, say, an insulin syringe (sans needle, of course) through the screw holes because you’re tired of dicking around with the stupid handles every other week because they keep falling off.
Not that I’m bitter or anything.
To make matters even worse, the handles were manufactured with a small nipple (that’s the opposite of a divot, yes?), presumably to prevent the inevitable spinnage. Nice theory, but in practice the nipples (in the years prior to me inheriting this dresser) have routered in a nifty little screw set on the face of the drawer, through the veneer and into the underlying hardwood.
I’ve used Loctite in the past and from experience know that it will definitely bind the screw to the handle, but in this case (because of the routering effect) it won’t prevent the spinning - not that big of a deal, but there is some relatively intricate inlay near to the hole that I’m afraid will eventually get damaged if I can’t stop the spin.
I presume there’s some sort of epoxy I could use to fill in the divot? Perhaps some sort of epoxy that would simultaneously bind in the screw/handle while it’s filling in the divot? Some kind of material that won’t eat away at the wood that can be applied in such a way to protect the inlay on the veneer? Or…something?
I think I know what you mean. Are you saying that at the bottom of the handle, where it meets the wood, there is a small bump? Is it on the part that you can’t see or on the ‘shaft.’ That is to say, if you take the handle and stand it up on a table, is the bump on the bottom or on the side? Either way, I think what I would do is use Loctite, but when I put the handle back on, I would really crank it down so the little bump actually pulls into the wood, creating a divot for itself. This, I think, with the Loctite, would keep it from spinning. Oh, if the bumps are on the side, (so they are visible), make sure all of them are pointed the same way when you do this. You’ll kick yourself down the road if one is up, and one is left etc… If the bump is on the bottom, you may consider sanding it off.
The other option for you to think about would just be to put new hadles on the drawer.
I think my reading comprehension is still asleep this morning, because I can make neither heads nor tails of what you are trying to explain. Pics would be helpful.
A classic trick however is to get a toothpick, or shim (any item of wood that is really soft,) jam it in there and crank down on the screw.
Don’t crank on the screw. You’ll compress the wood and damage it more or ruin the drawer pull.
You have to repair the groove in the wood first.
Different repair materials can be used. I think you be happiest with wood putty in the closest matching color, because you can then fill in the groove that you currently see along with the groove under the drawer pull.
One reason the pull rotates, could be that the screw is too long and it cant be threaded in far enough to be tight. With a drawer pull removed, screw in the screw all the way into the pull. Compare the thickness of the drawer front to the span from the drawer pull to screw head. The drawer face thickness should be thicker than the handle assembly space.
You should replace the screws, and now know what length to get, so go buy new proper length screws. Purchase a external teeth lock washer to put under the screw head too. The lock washer is very important. http://img.apparatus-instrument.com/se/b8/eb/b8eb25f92e4f45df5d5a9d0132adaba3.jpg
After the filler is set properly, reinstall the drawer pull using the loctite if you must, but the lock washer will likely eliminate it’s need to be used, as well as help prevent rotation of the pull in the future.
The too long of a screw is normally the reason I see when I fix a pull that rotates. The next most likely problem is that the Threaded post for the Drawer pull goes all the way through the wood. The screw head can set tightly on the post and never tighten the drawer pull against the drawer face. For this problem find a washer that has a hole that the pull post fits inside of. Put the washer on the screw and then when you tighten down the screw make sure the washer hole allows the post to slip into it. I hope you can understand what I’m trying to explain.
You can use the washer method for when the screw is slightly to long too.
If putty won’t do the trick use construction adhesive. PL200/PL400. One is stiffer than the other when dry, I think 400 gets rock hard. Not sure. You can ask the sales clerk at the store. You might want something with a little pliability (PL200) so the screw and handle have something to grip when you tighten them.
