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I have a finished oak board, and I'm buying metal legs so it can be used as an end table. The legs will be secured with screws.

If later we want to replace the legs, and the holes end up in the same places, it means most likely the screws won't have a secure hold since the holes have already been used.

What would be a solution to this? Basically, how to reuse holes in wood?

I was thinking if there are something like a fastener for wood, that I can drill, install the plastic/metal anchors and be able to reuse the holes a few times.

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If later we want to replace the legs, and the holes end up in the same places, it means most likely the screws won't have a secure hold since the holes have already been used.

Er, not so much.

There's a persistent myth that screws can't be reinserted into wood, possibly because this may be done most commonly on older pieces (and by homeowners, not woodworkers!) where the holes were already compromised due to wood movement over time causing the holes to be wallowed out slightly and/or the screws being overtightened initially or during reassembly.

With fresh holes and new screws it is careless reinsertion — including failure to have the threads fall into the already formed threading in the hole, and any over-tightening (that can weaken or entirely strip threading) — that leads to problems. If you take care doing this screws can be successfully withdrawn and reinstalled many many times.

You can improve your odds of success with any of the following tips:

  • Be careful both withdrawing and reinserting the screws. Especially don't over-tighten them. Just snug is usually fine, only one half-turn more than this is too much.

  • Switch to machine screws or bolts instead. The finer threading on machine screws, even though it is not intended for wood, gives a much better hold than conventional wood screws, especially in hardwoods. Tips on this in the links below.

  • After withdrawing the screw for the first time the hole cane be strengthened by dribbling in some CA/superglue. Obviously don't reinsert the screws until the superglue has had a chance to set! This is obviously of particular benefit with softer woods, but it's no harm to take the extra step when working with hardwoods as additional security.

I was thinking if there are something like a fastener for wood, that I can drill, install the plastic/metal anchors and be able to reuse the holes a few times.

There are threaded inserts for precisely this purpose; note they are designed to work with machine screws.

But they're largely unnecessary if some or all of the above tips are used.

See these previous Answers for additional info:
How do I align threaded inserts
Threaded wood insert for Beech Hardwood
Embedded nut for using machine screws?

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    Agree completely, but would like to add that if a screw hole has been wallowed out by careless use in the past, a fatter screw will often help. Commented Aug 6, 2022 at 15:18
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    @AloysiusDefenestrate, yup, and where the thickness allows going longer in addition to or instead of going fatter is useful. I would personally tend to reinforce/pack out the holes anyway, just to be on the safe side. Alone this can allow for the re-use of the original (or same-size) screws) which is handy for a number of scenarios.
    – Graphus
    Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 17:37
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What would be a solution to this? Basically, how to reuse holes in wood?

Beyond what Graphus already explained about the real possibility that you can, in fact, just use the same holes, some other options are:

  • longer screws: Screws obviously come in different lengths, and if the existing holes aren't too worn but you still want to bite into some fresh wood, you can probably use slightly longer screws. Note that if the screws aren't self-tapping, you may need to drill the pilot hole deeper.

  • larger screws: If the existing holes are too worn to hold well, you can go to a larger size. The home centers near me seem to only stock even-numbered sizes (#6, #8, #10, etc.) for some types of wood screws, but odd sizes are available from good hardware stores if you can find one.

  • repair the holes: If the existing holes are really a mess, you could drill them out and glue in sections of dowel. Go with a dowel that has a significantly larger diameter than the screw you'll be using so that the threads and the glued surface are well away from each other.

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If the screw is no longer gripping in the hole, put some wood glue in the hole, fill it with toothpicks or wooden match sticks (remove the flammable part!) then drive the original screw and allow the glue to set before using it.

I've done this with door hinges (which take quite a bit of stress) and it works great.

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