Mounting Teak Handholds Question

[Ward H]

How deep can I set the machine screw head on a single loop teak handhold?
Put another way, can I drill deep into the handhold so the screw head is below the loop, about 1" above the bottom of the standoff part of the handhold?

I drilled the holes in two handholds and now I'm worrying the standoff portion of the handhold might split when someone puts weight on it.

The line in the photo shows the approximate depth of the screw heads.

I chose the machine screw so I could keep the teak bung at 1/2". I can get longer screws so the head would be closer to the top of the handhold and in the same grain as the loop but I need to order them. And now since I already drilled the handholds I have, I would need new handholds.

Do I start over or go ahead with what I have?

 

[Geoff K]

Ward, go to Boltdepot.com. You can find most any type of screw at any length. Buy a box. There will always be a use for a "special" screw.

Geoff

 

[Ward H]

Thanks Geoff but I guess my question is Did I ruin the hand holds by drilling too deep or will they be ok?

 

[kloudie1]

Too deep.. you'd like to have that area between the stand-off and the handle in compression. The head should seat about 1/4 to 3/8 below the outer surface so the bolt squeezes the "handle" to the stand-off. ya might be able to salvage by doing an oversized conical hole, filling with epoxy, then drilling through the epoxy for the mount bolt. The large end of the cone should face out so that it can't slip out of the handle as the wood shrinks/moves.. Might be cheaper to buy new?

 

[justsomeguy]

I would think you could glue in some plugs, then redrill to a lesser depth. Teak is an oily wood, so some acetone swabbing just before glue-up will help.

Of course, this would require some scrap teak, a plug cutter of the proper diameter...a drill press would be nice, but not necessary.

Woodworking errors are pretty easily fixed.

 

[slaume]

Wood is strong and there is a good bit of it all around the hole you drilled. I think you would be very hard pressed to rip them apart. I would bolt them on and not worry about it. The weak point might still be your cabin top, Steve.

 

[woodster]

fill the hole with some oak dowel the size of the hole and use a water proof glue then re drill the hole from the back side the same size as the bolt...then go on the top side and drill your bung hole in the center of the bolt hole and don't go so deep the next time ...oak is OK for filler wood and you will cover it up with a teak bung and trim it flush use a brad point bit for your bung or a counter sink bit that drills the bung hole when you drill Fuller makes a bit like this and you can get them at Jamestown Dis

 

[slaume]

So if you plug these holes with wood and glue them in place are you really any better off? Chances are that given some time and the swelling of a wood dowel that will not have the same grain orientation as the hand rail will eventually see the glue joint fail. Then you are pretty much right back to where you started except that the dowel could rot in there without showing any outward sign. If you do feel the need to fill the holes I would rough up the edges and fill them with epoxy then re-drill to whatever depth you were comfortable with. By roughing up, I mean, get in there and create some small ridges that will lock the epoxy plug in place.

But really, I think you would have a very hard time breaking what you have now, Steve.

 

[Chris Patterson]

Ward, every one of these guys are correct. You didn't kill the rails. Just back up and slow down. Kloudie is right about the depth, but even so, I'm in the opinion that it'll probably be fine the way it is. You gotta do something rather harsh to split teak. Oh yeah, try and drill your sink hole to match the radius on the screw head. And remember; if ya ain't screwing up something now and then, you are not doing much. My failure list looks like a thick magazine..

 

[25yearslater]

I agree with everybody here unless you are 400 pounds and planning a cruise in the Southern Ocean. Teak is some seriously tough wood.

 

[woodster]

Chances are that given some time and the swelling of a wood dowel that will not have the same grain orientation as the hand rail will eventually see the glue joint fail. Then you are pretty much right back to where you started except that the dowel could rot in there without showing any outward sign. If you do feel the need to fill the holes I would rough up the edges and fill them with epoxy then re-drill to whatever depth you were comfortable with. By roughing up, I mean, get in there and create some small ridges that will lock the epoxy plug in place.

But really, I think you would have a very hard time breaking what you have now, Steve.

you can't micro manage grain likeness in a process like this only in book matching can you have any control over the grain...as for the thing rotting if you glue it correctly you will not have any rot inside unless you set the teak pug too loose but how you choose to repair this is up to you it is just a suggested way to solve the problem

 

[Chris Patterson]

Yep per, oak is good wood. They built boats out of it for six thousand years. Unless you own lower Taiwan, teak is kind of a luxury. I use it commonly. Sapele too.

 

[Ward H]

Knew this was the place to ask. Suggestions are split (couldn't resist) between filling and being ok to use as is.
Since I have a bag of the 1/2" teak bungs, I think I will swab with acetone, put glue in the holes, then tap bungs into the holes to fill almost to the top and then re-drill.

Just as an FYI I used a 1/2" forstner bit to drill the holes, then a 1/4" bit centered by the indent caused by the point of the forstner bit, to drill through the handhold.

Chris, yep l'm making my fair share of mistakes but as long as I learn from them and no one gets hurt I'm fine with that. I'm learning new skils and having fun. Boats are a bit different from my previous hobbies so a lot to learn.

Thanks everyone!