Help with three super tight screws above a server cabinet

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#2862942 7-Feb-2022 11:51

Right angle screwdriver adapters have the same 1/4" hex drive that the screwdriver bits have. It will absolutely go in a drill, but the way impact drivers work means that they do have an advantage loosening tight screws vs a drill. I've popped a few screw heads using a drill with too high a torque setting.

afe66

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#2862948 7-Feb-2022 12:20

I admire you dedication to unscrewing efforts. I would have drilled out the screws after one trip to m10!!

eracode

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#2863041 7-Feb-2022 15:08

afe66: I admire you dedication to unscrewing efforts. I would have drilled out the screws after one trip to m10!!

How would he do that with 11cm of space above the cabinet? Surely that’s the whole point/reason for the thread.

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

afe66

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#2863110 7-Feb-2022 18:11

Hey I could be wrong but I was thinking of drilling from below. 🙂

Ge0rge

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#2863117 7-Feb-2022 18:26

afe66: Hey I could be wrong but I was thinking of drilling from below. 🙂

I'd suggest if you've removed enough gear to get the drill in there, you might as well lift it off the wall...

PolicyGuy

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#2863126 7-Feb-2022 18:57

I'm beginning to think they're right.

Plan:

Phase 0 - book outage with S.O., inform dependents that it's going to be Going Cold Turkey On Technology day. Purchase beer, BBQ food.
Phase 1 - take off door, then turn off and remove all equipment from rack.
Phase 2 - with well-muscled assistant(s), remove cabinet from wall,
Phase 3 - drill out screws, remove fans, install replacements,
Phase 4 - with well-muscled assistant(s), replace cabinet onto mountings,
Phase 5 - re-install equipment, turn on, set back to work, put door back on.
Phase 6 - fire up BBQ, reward well-muscled assistant(s) with beer & BBQ.
S.O. & dependents should be invited to participate in this phase, accompanied by age-appropriate beverages.

LostBoyNZ

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#2863192 7-Feb-2022 21:13

Thanks everyone, I've been busy today but I'll check out the replies :)

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Journeyman

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#2863247 8-Feb-2022 00:31

Perhaps one of these tiny drivers:

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/toolpro-sca-ratchet-driver-palm-7-in-1/342008.html

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/sca-sca-thumbwheel-wrench-1-4-drive-3-piece/214363.html

The thumbwheel ones don't ratchet, but their small size may make it possible to apply downward force ith your palm.

eracode

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#2875175 26-Feb-2022 07:41

@LostBoyNZ Interested to know what you ended up doing.

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

MikeAqua

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#2876205 28-Feb-2022 12:30

A simple trick I've used is a suitable driver bit, a ring spanner and an ice-block stick. Slide the ring spanner over the driver bit and pushdown on it and turn with the spanner. The ice block stick goes between your finger and the top of the driver bit, so you can exert enough force without denting your finger.

The other thing I do is get a little blow torch or similar onto the screw heads and then follow up with a blast of cold from a non-flammable aerosol. It's called shock cooling. I've used this method to free stainless bolts from brass inserts on my kayak (galvanic corrosion). 💥 Obviously there are risks with this approach that you need to manage 💥

Another technique is to get a flat head screwdriver, put it into one side of a slot on the screw head at a small angle and tap it with hammer in an anti-clockwise direction. You are tapping on the vertical face of one side of the slot to cause it to rotate in the correct direction. Hard to explain, but will often loosen the screw enough to get it moving. Can destroy the screw head, so a bit of last resort.

I would avoid chipping off the screwheads. You may end up with the shafts still stuck in the hole, but still difficult to move.

Mike

Rickles

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#2876209 28-Feb-2022 12:40

THIS comes to mind 😜

LostBoyNZ

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#2876238 28-Feb-2022 13:02

Apologies for keeping people in suspense! Unfortunately I was kept busy with other projects but a couple of days ago I drilled out the screws from the top of the cabinet with a hole saw, replaced the fans and put the top back on.

It works brilliantly, the dual Noctua NF-F12 industrial fans (which I bought used from the forums here actually) are incredibly quiet compared to the standard fans and everything in the cabinet is of good temps.

Thanks for all the tips everyone! Hopefully no one else gets stuck with the same problem but at least if they do, they'll be no shortage of things for them to try in this thread :)

MikeAqua

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#2876293 28-Feb-2022 14:19

Rickles:

THIS comes to mind 😜

Depends. For example if you have a can of "AirDuster" or similar, it's non-flammable. I have a C02 bottle so I hook up a nozzle to that.

Mike

frankv

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#2876366 28-Feb-2022 15:14

In more or less order that you should try them...

Use a brand-new, good quality screwdriver.

Jiggle the screw clockwise/CCW. If you can start it moving, it'll probably unscrew.

Apply some CRC to the threads. If any gets on the head of the screw (it probably will) clean it off thoroughly.

Try a fat rubber band between the screw and screwdriver... the rubber increases the grip of the screwdriver.

Tap screw head with a hammer. Or use an impact driver.

Use a Dremel or similar to cut a slot in the head of the screw so you can use an ordinary flat-bladed screwdriver.

Weld something to the head of the screw.

Penultimate thing: Get a screw extractor, chuck into your cordless drill, apply lots of weight to keep it and run it in the reverse direction.

Ultimate: Drill the head off the screw. Hopefully once the tension is off, you'll be able to unscrew it with vice grips on the pointy end.

Bung

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#2876390 28-Feb-2022 16:32

LostBoyNZ:
Apologies for keeping people in suspense! Unfortunately I was kept busy with other projects but a couple of days ago I drilled out the screws from the top of the cabinet with a hole saw, replaced the fans and put the top back on.

Was the whole top of the cabinet removable?

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