Best way to get stubborn screws out of my front door?

[Robert Irwin]

Got some elderly-person-handrails on my new-old house banged into the front door and several places inside which seem to have been driven in by some sort of massively powered leccy screwdriver. No amount of leaning on screwdriver, different lenghts, girths of screwdriver seem to shift the buggers. If worst comes to worst the wall ones can be forced out somehow, even if it involves drilling straight through the metal, then just plaster over the mess. The big prob is a handle with large screws in the wood just beside the front door, where I want to minimise damage.. It just won't budge. Bought really hefty quality screwdrivers - it just won't move. Don't want to try any more with force as its just going to trash the screwheads. They're posi drive type heads.

Ideas?

[Harry Bloomfield]

Robert Irwin wrote on Tuesday (13/01/2004) :

Apply some penetrating oil and allow it to soak in. Try applying some heat by inserting an old screw driver and applying heat to the shank. Try tightening the screws a little first, before unscrewing. Try an impact screw driver, or even give an ordinary screwdriver a good thumb on the head whilst trying to turn it.

[Bob Eager]

1) Screwdriver with a hex section on blade, plus a spanner? 2) Impact screwdriver?

[stefek.zaba]

Seconded - I've had final success using these two methods in sequence on screws I'd given up on. For both manouvers (the initial slight clockwise twist, and the final backing out move) keep *lots* of pressure on the driver to stop it twisting out of the damn Pozi head; if you round it off you'll have a simply horrible time getting the screw out.

I've also resorted to putting a pair of molegrips onto the head once a stubborngitscrew is a little way out, to allow one-handed further removal with no more contradictions between keeping the driver pressed inwards to stop it slipping, while actually wanting the screw to come outwards...

Good luck - Stefek

[Chris Oates]

Stefek...you are a gem

I'm sure you didn't mean that to sound funny but it's priceless

Chris

[David Hearn]

I can recommend this route! I had a weird fitting on an old radiator I needed to change the tails on but I couldn't get it to budge. It had 2 protrusions inside the fitting which went inside the radiator. On advice from Dad, I bought as large a slotted screwdriver as I could find (10mm tip but wider slightly further back) with a hex nut fitting on the handle. I heated the radiator fitting/end as much as I could and then stuck this screwdriver in. The widest part of it jammed up against the 2 lugs and with a spanner on the handle I could get it to move slowly and I got the fitting off.

Highly recommended these hex fittings - never had use of them before (or really thought about why they were there) but very useful.

D

[MrCheerful]

Air hammer impact screwdriver kit by snap-on, incredible budging power.

MrCheerful

[Peter Parry]

Impact screwdriver from your local car repair emporium and a good sized lump hammer. The shock they produce is far less damaging to the screw head than sustained force. If you have an electric soldering iron you can also try holding that on the screw head for 10 minutes. Try tightening for a couple of blows and then un tightening.

[stuart noble]

In general, a brace and bit (if you can find a pozidriv bit). The combination of pressure with a quick flick of the handle works wonders. I used to use it to shift 100 year old 4" x 14 screws that nothing else would touch. IME long screws of the modern variety often can't be driven home fully more than once with a cordless, which suggests the heads wear just enough to prevent a decent fit.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Impact driver. Or drill em out.

[Michael Mcneil]

I couln't see where you recommended this at:

that where they got the name Knockya from?

[stefek.zaba]

keep 'em guessing, it's the only way...

[Peter Parry]

Nah - that's cos you use them as the lump hammer.

[Dave Plowman]

You'll have fun and games trying to drill the average pozidriv wood screw

- they're made of hardened steel.

[Robert Irwin]

Aha! - the quality screwdriver I mentioned earlier has the hex bit at the top, and showing my cmplete DIY ignorance had failed to work out what it was for. If that don't work I'll try the impact screwdriver idea.

Cheers guys

Robert

[Jerry Built]

Impact drivers are great for this sort of thing - practice on something non-critical first! Push the driver down hard before hitting it, too!

J.B.