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No No NO, your doing it all wrong...

2 inch #8 wood screw for face plates , that sucker will be nice and tight
Had to replace a single socket in a tiled kitchen where they'd done this :angry:

Lugs both bent and holes way to big for rethreading - No way to replace the back box without removing tiles.

Used one of these things - Fix a broken screw thread in your metal back box. Raise, tilt or lower a socket faceplate - https://backboxsaver.com - which did work, though only after a lot of fiddling and swearing and it was still only being held firm properly by one of the screws....
 
We’re all laughing at this, but really? You screw back until it’s tight. A quarter turn to get the slot horizontal or vertical is the difference between the plate moving or not.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a customer found a loose socket when using it, and gave the screw a quarter or so turn to tighten it, and calling you all sorts for leaving it loose.

using any mechanical means to screw back a faceplate screw is a recipe for cracking the plastic.
 
A bodge I've used, on a couple of occasions, to deal with a stripped or missing lug, is to drill a 6mm hole in the back of the box, directly behind the lug, then to use a masonry drill to drill out the mortar for a red or yellow plug, then to fit the plate with a very long #6 woodscrew.
 
But what a price! £5.99 for one ?
Yep - expensive for what they are (presumably because they are made in low volume). And not perfect by any means - could only get one to stay in place in a single socket, though probably would more successful in a double socket where there is more space to get a finger in at one end while the other is connected....

Worth the cost for that job to avoid the hassle of getting a new back box in there though!
 
They look strangely like the captive screw threads you can pick up for pennies to put onto car parts to hold panels etc, but without insulation? bit of heat shrink would cure that.
 
They look strangely like the captive screw threads you can pick up for pennies to put onto car parts to hold panels etc, but without insulation? bit of heat shrink would cure that.
They do work, but aren't ideal.

They fit to the existing lug either with the little bit of sleeving, which isn't really strong enough to hold it in place while getting the screw lined up - at least not once your first attempt fails... or tiny sticky pads which don't stick to anything and are useless....

I guess a 3.5mm nut would effectively do the same thing if you could hold it behind the lug with a finger while getting the screw in - with a single box that's hard to do on both sides...
 
They look strangely like the captive screw threads you can pick up for pennies to put onto car parts to hold panels etc, but without insulation? bit of heat shrink would cure that.

Spire clips. Yes, they are pretty much the same but obviously they have a 3.5 thread rather than a hole for a self tapper.
 
A bodge I've used, on a couple of occasions, to deal with a stripped or missing lug, is to drill a 6mm hole in the back of the box, directly behind the lug, then to use a masonry drill to drill out the mortar for a red or yellow plug, then to fit the plate with a very long #6 woodscrew.
Similar to this idea, but I've found a long 3.5mm socket screw will go nicely into a red plug.
 
Similar to this idea, but I've found a long 3.5mm socket screw will go nicely into a red plug.
i've used the pin extensions in the same way, into a red rawlplug, lined up with where the damaged lug was, then fitted a normal 3,5mm.
 

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