Screw heads have snapped off

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Screw heads have snapped off

1 | 2 | 3

gordy7
2010 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 505

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3287242 28-Sep-2024 08:49

eracode:

Gordy7:

Remove the bracket.

Grind off the protuding screw shanks flush with wall.

Reposition bracket and pre-drill a new set of holes.

Lube the holes with CRC or similar. (soap applied to screws was the old way)

Get some decent screws.

Don't over torque the screws... In fact use a manual screwdriver to keep a feel for screw insertion.

Edit: Reads like the OP was fitting 2 brackets... in which case relocate both brackets.

This would be a good way to go - but only if you can’t get the broken screws out reasonably quickly and easily. A lot more work in the grinding approach and it may not be necessary.

Looks like the broken screws may have seized in something really tough in the wall... so removing the broken shanks may be really difficult.

Gordy

My first ever AM radio network connection was with a 1MHz AM crystal(OA91) radio receiver.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
9461 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6343

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3287243 28-Sep-2024 08:56

Gordy7:

Looks like the broken screws may have seized in something really tough in the wall... so removing the broken shanks may be really difficult.

Maybe - but they’re guesses. What harm in trying to remove them first? Could be that the pilot holes were too small and/or the screws were overpowered by the driving method - who knows? We don’t know what the wall material is and we don’t know for sure that the screws were crap.

If that was my problem I’d definitely try and get the screws out first - he’ll know within a minute whether it’s going to work.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

WWHB

57 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 48

#3287299 28-Sep-2024 14:25

I know the op said that they had pre drilled and I commented pre drill the holes. I see this happen regularly with zinc and stainless steel screws on native timber even with pre drilled holes. The pre drill either isn’t big enough or the screws are junk.

Saor Alba

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3287308 28-Sep-2024 16:27

If you don't mind spending a bit of money, get Engineer Neji-Saurus pliers. They have the serrations sideways and in a concave shape, there's nothing like them for getting screws out.

mattwnz

20562 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4822

#3287309 28-Sep-2024 16:29

You can just see that they are not a good quality screw and they don't look like they are stainless.

k1w1k1d

1751 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1357

#3287310 28-Sep-2024 16:47

The problem with non-locking pliers is that you have to grip and twist at the same time.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
9461 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6343

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3287311 28-Sep-2024 16:57

neb:

If you don't mind spending a bit of money, get Engineer Neji-Saurus pliers. They have the serrations sideways and in a concave shape, there's nothing like them for getting screws out.

Do you think they would be better than vice grips? - which also have serrations sideways in a concave shape - and give a locking grip that’s likely stronger than hand pressure on a pair of pliers. I have pliers like that and in this case I would prefer the grips because they would be easier to use.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3287332 28-Sep-2024 19:17

eracode:
neb: If you don't mind spending a bit of money, get Engineer Neji-Saurus pliers. They have the serrations sideways and in a concave shape, there's nothing like them for getting screws out.
Do you think they would be better than vice grips? - which also have serrations sideways in a concave shape - and give a locking grip that’s likely stronger than hand pressure on a pair of pliers. I have pliers like that and in this case I would prefer the grips because they would be easier to use.

Ah, ambiguous terminology, this is what the front of Neji-Saurus pliers look like:

There's nothing else like them. I've found vice-grips to be pretty rubbish, they're fine for clamping pipes but I wouldn't even consider them for screw extraction.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
9461 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6343

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3287408 28-Sep-2024 22:18

@Lizard1977 Please tell us how you have decided to approach this.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

MartinGZ

376 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 128

Subscriber

#3287525 29-Sep-2024 12:19

A trick I was shown a couple of years ago by a builder, screws broken off in wall studs (pine).

Get suitable sized drill and drill into the wood adjacent to the screw, with the drill bit in hard contact with the side of the screw. This just winds the screw out as the rotation of the drill bit makes the screw go counter-clockwise. You may need to hold the drill to stop it going too deep. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it would work.

Lizard1977

2137 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 632

ID Verified

#3288043 30-Sep-2024 10:58

Thanks for all the responses.

I ended up just getting a standard pair of pliers and using a bit of brute muscle. It took a while and my hand was killing me at the end, but I got all three screws out. Found some suitable replacements and managed to get the bracket mounted.

I think I possibly used a slightly too small drill-bit to pre-drill. But the next size up I had I thought would be too wide.

It wasn't going into concrete - just standard kitchen cabinetry. I'm guessing it was MDF? That's why I didn't think it would be so tough to screw into.

I was using a Ryobi Drill Driver. I was being careful with the torque, and didn't just blast them in. I think what happened was that there was some unexpected tension in the MDF and the screws got stuck. The force translated to the shank of the screw and it just snapped.

But it's all good now. Both brackets are well secured and the heater looked nice and solid.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

richms

29252 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10361

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3288047 30-Sep-2024 11:08

No, all that happened was the screws were crap. Nothing you did caused this.

For future reference, any screws supplied with those cheap nasty plastic concrete anchors in a small plastic bag with things you buy should be thrown out.

Richard rich.ms

Bung

6769 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2951

Subscriber

#3288055 30-Sep-2024 11:22

Unless you are buying engineering bolts with the tensile strength marked on the heads how would you know if any replacement screws were any better? Usually the head strips out because the wrong choice of Philips or Posidrive driver is used.

I wonder if the pilot holes on one side were not deep enough. It seems odd that one side went in with no trouble and all on the other side failed.

richms

29252 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10361

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3288074 30-Sep-2024 11:45

Nothing I have bought from either the overpriced packs at bunnings/mitre10 or the big bags from tradie republic or whatever they used to be called have done this unless I have done something stupid like use the impact wrench with an adapter on them because I was too lazy to go into the house to get the impact driver.

Richard rich.ms

Bung

6769 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2951

Subscriber

#3288113 30-Sep-2024 12:49

AFAIK the packs of screws in Bun10 are made of the same chinesium as included screws. I've checked a sample of Fortress Fasteners screws and they all lead back to manufacturers in China. My father was an old school carpenter from the days before cordless tools when a Yankee spiral screwdriver was high tech. What he did to avoid screws jamming was to rub them on a bar of soap that he kept wet in a jar.

1 | 2 | 3