[chrismahon]

I apologise to anyone who knows how to do this, but I have become aware recently that some people don't know and as a result have screws fall out because of a stripped thread.


Applies to any plastic or metal component and even hardwood.


Put the original self-tapping screw to the hole and apply a very light forward pressure. Slowly turn the screw anti-clockwise, so as if you are unscrewing it. At a certain point the screw will drop forward and it's at that point the previously cut threads are re-aligned with the screw. Now tighten. There should be noticeably very little resistance to rotation because the thread is not being re-cut.


I recently took a Stihl leaf blower apart at least a dozen times- all the casings are held on with self-tappers. If I hadn't realigned the threads properly it would have ended up as scrap.

[Womble]

Thanks Chris, it's obvious now you say, but I did not know that.

Another good tip is to start off drilling holes 'in reverse', before switching the drill to forwards rotation. That stops tear-out at the start.