Plugging existing hinge holes in MDF

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AndyP

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Hi, I am replacing my internal doors and the new hinge holes are about half a hole out.
Any tips for plugging them so I drill new pilot holes?
My first thought is drill bigger and a piece of dowel glued in, the frame is only MDF.
Thanks.
 
My first thought is drill bigger and a piece of dowel glued in, the frame is only MDF.
That is the method I have used. It worked fine. The hinge covered the dowel so the modification was not visible in my case. If appearance bothers you it might be worth considering that.
 
My first thought is drill bigger and a piece of dowel glued in, the frame is only MDF.

If they are half a hole out, it would be better to plug with a material that is as close as possible to the MDF.

If you use a dowel, the new hole will be half beech, half MDF and the drill bit will tend to wander towards the softer material (the MDF).

The other alternative is to make the new material large enought so that the new hole is fully within it.
 
Mitrefast and match sticks is what I use in normal frames. Works a treat
 
Mitrefast and match sticks is what I use in normal frames. Works a treat
I use cooks matches ( large ) soaked in pva and hammer in two or 3 depending on the hole size , let it dry overnight and then slice them off with sharp chisel the next day . Using a hinge drill helps get the hinge hole’s central- good shout on the mitre fast 🤔🤔
 
All the above ideas are solid advice but tbh the matches work for me in most cases , the exception is where multiple hinges have over time been fitted and the screw size’s get bigger and bigger. If that’s the case I’ll drill and use glue and dowels. The hinge drills really help to get the pilot hole central but just do 1 top and bottom so if you have to alter the position of the hinge it’s easier to do …

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All the above ideas are solid advice but tbh the matches work for me in most cases , the exception is where multiple hinges have over time been fitted and the screw size’s get bigger and bigger. If that’s the case I’ll drill and use glue and dowels. The hinge drills really help to get the pilot hole central but just do 1 top and bottom so if you have to alter the position of the hinge it’s easier to do …
SALE
View attachment 186114Collect tomorrow
Hinge Drill Set 3 Pieces (6163V)
£9.80£15
https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...uZfPvfaHAxXdWUEAHWu2IvoQzzkoAHoECAUQIg&adurl=
Screwfix.com
Thanks, I think I'll give the drills a try. I've got a dozen doors in total.
 
Thanks, I think I'll give the drills a try. I've got a dozen doors in total.
The entire house then - good luck - a good tip so you keep track of everything is to mark the doors on both side eg lounge door-lounge side // hallway side etc then having identified which side is the lock block ( if fitted ) mark this area with masking tape same for your hinge cut outs most importantly mark the top of your doors . This way you won’t get confused and inadvertently cut the top where you intended to cut the bottom -same when planing the leading edge etc . It’s so easy to get it wrong especially with 12 doors .. good luck and enjoy 😊
 
Even easier to do one door at a time and not take them all off and stack them in a pile.
Agree it’s easier but also very time consuming.. when doing multiple doors My preference is to cut , plane all doors to fit as a batch , then mark out hinge positions on all accordingly to wether they are left or right handed . Hence my previous post on marking the inside / outside + top of door as it gives me an instant visual reference before I make a critical mistake. Even doing 1 at a time can be prone to mistakes as you slice the bottom of the door only to realise you have accidentally cut the top instead. Just my opinion but when you are hanging doors that cost under £40 if you made a critical mistake it’s no great financial loss but doors costing a £200 + is a completely different story..
 
I'm doing them in batches of 3. I've made a plywood jig so I use the palm router for the hinge rebates in the door. I just adjust the frame ones with chisel. The night before I plug the holes in the frame.
My biggest problem is carrying the things, they are 20 plus kg and I'm getting over a frozen shoulder. 😭
 
Honest advice 🤔 get some help or you could end up in a lot of pain. It’s not too bad if they don’t need much trimming but I’ve never been that lucky. Several times up and down a flight of stairs is more than enough- last time I did exactly this I’d twisted my back but luckily the customer offered to do the leg work as he was desperate to get the work done .. it still took its toll and the 29 deg temp didn’t help ..good luck 🍀
 
Advice taken on board, I have got some help with the carrying and eight of the doors are upstairs 😭.
The damage was done doing the same job at my daughter's house on my own and ignoring the pain. I can't believe it has taken about 9 months for my shoulder to get anywhere near right.
Anyway first couple are on, the centring drill bits are a revelation, don't know why I've not tried them before. Thanks for the tip. 👍
 
Maybe it's just me but I never do the carrying doors in and out and up and down stairs thing when fitting them, I generally do all the planing inside the house right next to the opening where the door is going. Using a decent electric planer and extractor there is no dust or shavings plus I like to keep trying the door in the opening to get a good fit. Other reasons are it's not as hard work, it's quicker plus it's really easy to damage walls/ceilings etc when you are moving doors around a house.
 
Dowels work well although you should have at least 25mm depth for the screws. Those self centering drill bits have an odd imperial size drill- 5/64 from memory so it's worth buying 10 of them as they invariably break in the middle of a job. Measure with a vernier as they have to be a snug fit.
 
Advice taken on board, I have got some help with the carrying and eight of the doors are upstairs 😭.
The damage was done doing the same job at my daughter's house on my own and ignoring the pain. I can't believe it has taken about 9 months for my shoulder to get anywhere near right.
Anyway first couple are on, the centring drill bits are a revelation, don't know why I've not tried them before. Thanks for the tip. 👍
You’re most welcome and yes they are a great help in getting the 1st screw i central . As for your injury months to heal and minutes to undo all that recovery . Don’t forget a few picks of your work 🤗🤗
 
Quite the simplest and most efficient way of doing this is bore out the hole with a 1/2" engineers 3 wing countersink and make plugs with a plug cutter to suit.
Make the plugs out of the best quality ply you have to hand and super glue them in using more than one plug for deeper requirements.
Multiple holes not getting covered by the adjacent plug?
Simply repeat the process in those.
Cheers, Andy
 
Like @toolsntat I tend to use a 1/2" plug, I've come across too many old casings where people have hammered things into the screw hole to fill it which has caused the casing to split (obviously that shouldn't be a problem with the MDF frames discussed in this thread).

Those self centering drill bits have an odd imperial size drill- 5/64 from memory so it's worth buying 10 of them as they invariably break in the middle of a job. Measure with a vernier as they have to be a snug fit.

I use the Trend centering drills and think the one I use most is the middle sized one which is 7/64", the bits are extra long though so standard bits won't fit, I get the proper Trend ones, probably different for other brands.
 
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