Cranked a hinge screw too hard and split the frame today

I was hanging a set of shaker doors around 2pm and used a bit too much muscle on the top hinge screw. Heard that awful crack and saw a hairline split run down the stile about 3 inches. Ended up filling it with epoxy and clamping it overnight, but I'm gonna have to touch up the finish tomorrow. Anybody got a trick for keeping this from happening with cheap pre-finished stock?

2 comments

2 Comments

gibson.robert19d agoMost Upvoted

I mean I've had this happen too many times with those cheap pre-finished cabinets. What worked for me was drilling a tiny pilot hole first even for the hinge screws, just a 1/16" bit. Also I started using a screwdriver instead of a drill for the final few turns, you can feel when it's getting tight way better that way. The epoxy clamp job should hold fine though, I did that on a door last year and it's still solid.

hernandez.brooke19d ago

Pilot holes are the move, but really this is just like anything else in life where rushing the last 5% is what breaks everything.