[ithacaartist]

I bought a tap, too, for the very same reason. they don't cost all that much and you can easily find one online. Very handy to have as a remedy for this situation...

My technique for chasing the threads out is the same as Ron's, but with the tap. It's better to approach the misaligned material with the tap already established in threads that are where they're supposed to be. Since the business end of the tap is larger diameter than the shank, I was able to first screw it through the hole on the other side, which allowed approaching the messed up one from inside the frame.