Easiest way to remove stripped screw?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Easiest way to remove stripped screw?

cowface

27 posts

Geek

#201501 21-Aug-2016 19:49

Just used a bit too much muscle on the screw and now its a nice round hole haha.

We had a screw extractor set but aren't having too much luck so was just wondering if any one had any other ideas.

Jase2985

13459 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1615239 21-Aug-2016 19:51

chizzle or punch in it to get it to rotate enough to get some pliers or vice grips on it

DjShadow

4085 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#1615245 21-Aug-2016 20:03

Drill it out

timmmay

20579 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1615286 21-Aug-2016 20:46

Burn whatever's hold it in place.

PSlover14

203 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#1615291 21-Aug-2016 20:55

Personally I have both drilled out and hit a screwdriver on the head with a hammer in order to "remove" stripped screws. The drilled out one seemed to work more efficiently and do less damage to the thing with the screw in it, the hammer method was a extreme last resort because I was just removing components off a dead laptop MB that were screwed in.

PSlover14

203 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#1615293 21-Aug-2016 20:56

What I would also try is if you have a screwdriver bit set thing (like a 50 in 1 thing off trademe) try and use a large Torx bit or a large square bit to possibly get it to turn

mdf

3513 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1615305 21-Aug-2016 21:16

Size screw? Screw material? Hole material?

Screw extractors work really well against most things, but not hardened steel. Most of the other techniques are variants on what others have said, basically some sort of force in order to get traction. The other thing you can try is heating it up (e.g. a soldering iron). Works great if its in a metal hole, but *extreme* care required if its something you can't dump in a bucket of water (like, your house). May also ruin your paint finish.

elpenguino

3421 posts

Uber Geek

#1615307 21-Aug-2016 21:17

hacksaw a slot in the head.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

gzt

17120 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1615316 21-Aug-2016 21:21

mdf:
Size screw? Screw material? Hole material?

Screw extractors work really well against most things, but not hardened steel. Most of the other techniques are variants on what others have said, basically some sort of force in order to get traction. The other thing you can try is heating it up (e.g. a soldering iron). Works great if its in a metal hole, but *extreme* care required if its something you can't dump in a bucket of water (like, your house). May also ruin your paint finish.

Coincidentally, the drilling and reverse technique generates a bit of heat.

frankv

5680 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1615350 21-Aug-2016 21:44

Fat rubber band between screwdriver bit and screw... may give you enough grip to get it to move?

gzt

17120 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1615363 21-Aug-2016 21:50

frankv:
Fat rubber band between screwdriver bit and screw... may give you enough grip to get it to move?

Never heard that one before. Awesome!

webwat

2036 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1617095 24-Aug-2016 23:20

If pliers don't work, I normally give up and squeeze another screw in next to it! Don'[t have this problem much because I mostly use square or "multidrive" screws these days, and try another screw if it looks like might be starting to burr too much.

Time to find a new industry!