screw extractors

[joseph]

Interested in what different tools/techniques people use for removing stubborn screws where the head has become buggered.

[George]

Do you mean when the screwhead is sunk into the wood? and you would like to save the wood rather than damage it? :-)

I drill the head off then prise the wood away which then leaves the screw stub which can be screwed out with pliers or mole grips.

[Chris Hodges]

I've used stud extractors with limited success on machine screws, but they're not up to much on the smaller sizes. They're essentially a left hand threaded hardened self tapper. A left hand drill bit if you can get hold of one often works better.

[Newshound]

In wood or metal? In metal, above 6 mm or so a small cold chisel will sometimes work. If a shade larger, experienced welders sometimes tack a bit of steel on. The thermal shock probably helps to loosen rust. In wood, a mole wrench.

[Andy Dingley]

Not breaking the heads first. If it's likely to be awkward, use techniques beforehand to free it, don't just hope and then compalin after you've broken it.

If it's a broken screw, then use an expensive Facom-brand parallel splined pin extractor (from Halfords, to special order) and the appropriate magic-sized drillbit. These work, in a way that the cheap tapered ones simply don't.

[meow2222]

[Alan]

In addition

If a screw head has been painted, heating the screw driver blade/tip with a blow torch allows it to quickly burn through the paint.

On cross head screws filing or grinding off the end of the screw driver (the pointed bit) allows the driver to catch on the grooves that left on the outside of the cross.

[meow2222]

I've added the hot tip trick, but whats the purpose of the pointless screwdriver? I cant think of a situation where the hollow was damaged but the outer part of the screwhead not.

NT

[cerberus]

Where the head has worn down slightly & the outer channels aren't as deep as they once were?

Don.

[John Rumm]

Does that not also destroy the temper of the screwdriver?

[meow2222]

I presume it would knacker it in short order. Maybe someone with metallurgical skills will know for sure. At 4 for =A31 to make a job quick, not a problem, long as you dont use decent bits.

NT

[Dave]

Even when using a quality screw driver, you have to consider that it can be thrown away, just to get a difficult job done.

I always looked at my DIY time as costing X No of £s per hour. If I got a job that could take me many hours to do, the tool got sacrificed.

Dave

[meow2222]

Quite. Cheap tools in situations like this give easy gains you cant get with decent ones. Its worth chucking a pack of =A31 tools to save 10 minutes, but generally not decent kit.

NT