screw extractors

[Lonsdale73]

I need to remove some screws with rounded out pozi heads so looking for some advice on screw extractors and how to use them properly. I've see sets by Sealey, Draper and a host of other companies that all look identical but vary enormously in price - is there a known brand or type I should look for? Screwfix offer what appears to be the same set as Draper et al but unbranded with Marmite reviews which brings to the second part of my post - does how they're used matter as much as brand or material quality? Am I right in thinking they screw in anti-clockwise and once they have gripped the offending screw, continued turning unscrews / extracts the defective original?

 

[Jacob]

I've tried using these many times over the years with zero success. Less than zero success - they make it more difficult - as you turn therm they expand the sides of the screw to make a tighter fit, until they break out and make it even harder to remove.
Simpler to dig out your screws a bit - try to file a slot for a screwdriver, or flats for a pair of pliers, etc.

 

[Markvk]

Can you post a link to the item that your thinking of buying?

From personal experience sealey stuff is good. They sell extensively to the garage trade and so it has to be good, so far ive had no bad experience with that brand.

I dont think that their product is designed to remove wood screws however ( well mine isnt) its used for bolts ( which some engineers call screws) .....

it involves drilling a hole down the shaft of the screw/ bolt and turning the extractor into the new hole to remove the bolt. Mine are threaded so that doing it up actually undoes the old bolt.

They are very brittle and easily snapped bolts should be well lubricated or heated up if required, it should be remembered that the head is rounded for a reason....

 

[Lonsdale73]

Can you post a link to the item that your thinking of buying?

From personal experience sealey stuff is good. They sell extensively to the garage trade and so it has to be good, so far ive had no bad experience with that brand.

I dont think that their product is designed to remove wood screws however ( well mine isnt) its used for bolts ( which some engineers call screws) .....

it involves drilling a hole down the shaft of the screw/ bolt and turning the extractor into the new hole to remove the bolt. Mine are threaded so that doing it up actually undoes the old bolt.

They are very brittle and easily snapped bolts should be well lubricated or heated up if required, it should be remembered that the head is rounded for a reason....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-AK...569006?hash=item280e5b7e6e:g:kP4AAOSw1S9We8Cb

This Sealey set looks identical to several other variants, even down to the shape and in some instances the colour of the storage case.

Yes, rounded through a combination of possibly low grade screws and overzealous screwing!

 

[Jacob]

I don't think the quality of the tool will make much difference - basically they don't work 90% of the time. Even if you can get your pilot hole spot on central and turn the extractor without snapping it, it will most likely simply ream out the hole. You might be lucky though!

PS I said 90% of the time but in fact I don't think I've ever got one to work.

 

[bugbear]

I need to remove some screws with rounded out pozi heads so looking for some advice on screw extractors and how to use them properly. I've see sets by Sealey, Draper and a host of other companies that all look identical but vary enormously in price - is there a known brand or type I should look for? Screwfix offer what appears to be the same set as Draper et al but unbranded with Marmite reviews which brings to the second part of my post - does how they're used matter as much as brand or material quality? Am I right in thinking they screw in anti-clockwise and once they have gripped the offending screw, continued turning unscrews / extracts the defective original?

I don't really see how they could work for a wood screw below about size #10 or bigger.

The hole must be small enough to go down the shaft of the screw, which means a tiny drill and screw extractor or a BIG screw.

If the head is showing, filing flats on the edges, or (easier) cutting a slot with a junior hacksaw would be my first trial; I would use a screwdriver bit in a brace to ensure plenty of torque, and more important, that the bit is well pressed into the slot.

If that fails...

Whilst researching the removal of tiny screws recently, I found these tools;

http://toolmonger.com/2008/02/13/yet-an ... rew-blues/

BugBear

 

[KevM]

I've got a pair of Japanese 'Engineer' brand PZ-58 screw removing pliers that have worked well for me, If you can get a purchase on the head. I bought mine from Amazon.

 

[shed9]

To add, I have a few of the extractor sets which are used for bolts. As others have said, success is limited with these tools.

What material is the screw in? Are these machine screws or wood screws?

 

[Markvk]

Can you post a link to the item that your thinking of buying?

From personal experience sealey stuff is good. They sell extensively to the garage trade and so it has to be good, so far ive had no bad experience with that brand.

I dont think that their product is designed to remove wood screws however ( well mine isnt) its used for bolts ( which some engineers call screws) .....

it involves drilling a hole down the shaft of the screw/ bolt and turning the extractor into the new hole to remove the bolt. Mine are threaded so that doing it up actually undoes the old bolt.

They are very brittle and easily snapped bolts should be well lubricated or heated up if required, it should be remembered that the head is rounded for a reason....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-AK...569006?hash=item280e5b7e6e:g:kP4AAOSw1S9We8Cb

This Sealey set looks identical to several other variants, even down to the shape and in some instances the colour of the storage case.

thought this might be the case. These arnt suitable for removal of most woodscrews because theres not enough matirmatirial in most woodscrews to allow a suitable hole to be drilled down the middle.

Even if you did manage to get a hole down the screw, the matirial left wold not be strong enough to support the extractor and would simply expand and split,

ive removed lots of bolts with this tool but nver tried a woodscrew I normaly cut some matirial away from the wood surrounding the head and try to get some mole grips on it. Butchery I know but im not a carpenter!!

Yes, rounded through a combination of possibly low grade screws and overzealous screwing!

Its as I thought, these arnt designed to remove wood screws they are for bolts AKA screws in the engineering trade.... ive removed lots of bolts with theses but never tried a wood screw... even if you could drill a hole down the middle to get the extractor in, the remaining material wouldn't be strong enough to support the extractor and would just expand and split.

I normally just remove a bit of the wood from around the screw had and get some mole grips on it... Butchery I know, but I'm not a carpenter.... yet!

 

[Homers double]

I have recently purchased a trend pro grabit screw extractor set, one end of the bit sort of counter sinks in to the head, turn the bit around and remove the screw, both processes are done in reverse, it worked brilliantly on 3 screws some one had butchered when installing a new internal door,
I really do hate cheap screws that are made of cheese, most of them self destruct at the sight of a screw driver

 

[Lonsdale73]

Thanks all for the suggestions, the humble hacksaw and flat head screwdriver did the trick, even if I was thinking while hacking 'This will never work!'

 

[deema]

I think Jacob hit the screw on the head, and I equally have had zero success.

The solution I use is somewhat different to what has been suggested so far. I buy cheap plug cutters, and cut around the offending screw using the plug cutter to the depth of the plug cutter. Often this fully encompasses the screw and it comes out simply with the plug. If it's deeper I use a sharpened screw driver or the cheapest 1/8" chisel to dig the majority of the wood plug out around the screw and then get long nosed pliers in. Inevitably the sharp end will hit the screw!

The hole that is left is then very simply filled with a plug. It leaves a very neat surface that you can again screw into and avoids all of the issues you get by having a mangled hole you end up with any other method I've come across.

Very small hole saws work just as well, especially for larger screw heads. I often use a small Hole saw to make the replacement plug if I've used the plug cutter.

I use the cheapest plug cutters simply because inevitable I occasionally hit the screw head if it a very tight fit, plug cutters are very cheap on auction sites, and you won't be using them that often to worry about quality / accept they are disposable items.

 

[sunnybob]

Next time, a much quicker way is to use a dremel type tool with a metal cutting disc to make the slot.
Pin point accuracy.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A Dremel plus cutting disc is quite good for cutting a slot in a broken or stripped screw or bolt with minimal damage.
^^

 

[Jacob]

The difference is that broken off bolt stud is likely to be a loose fit (if it hasn't been butchered) and there will plenty of metal to put a pilot hole into. A woodscrew on the other hand will be a tight fit (most likely the reason it broke/cammed out in the first place) and there is only a little soft metal to get a hole in.

 

[bugbear]

The solution I use is somewhat different to what has been suggested so far.

It's rather similar to the one I suggested!!

I buy cheap plug cutters, and cut around the offending screw using the plug cutter to the depth of the plug cutter. Often this fully encompasses the screw and it comes out simply with the plug. If it's deeper I use a sharpened screw driver or the cheapest 1/8" chisel to dig the majority of the wood plug out around the screw and then get long nosed pliers in. Inevitably the sharp end will hit the screw!

The hole that is left is then very simply filled with a plug. It leaves a very neat surface that you can again screw into and avoids all of the issues you get by having a mangled hole you end up with any other method I've come across.

Very small hole saws work just as well, especially for larger screw heads. I often use a small Hole saw to make the replacement plug if I've used the plug cutter.

I use the cheapest plug cutters simply because inevitable I occasionally hit the screw head if it a very tight fit, plug cutters are very cheap on auction sites, and you won't be using them that often to worry about quality / accept they are disposable items.

Here a link to the other thread, on (tiny!!) small screw removal using a hole saw.

what-metal-is-a-telescopic-aerial-made-of-t96804-15.html

BugBear

 

[Petey83]

i use old torx bits, hammer the bit into the screw head (select closest size obviously) and then just attach to a screwdriver and unscrew... always worked for me.

I have a screw extractor set from Axi and the bits you have to drill a hole for are used for biggish bolts etc. it also has some sort of other things meant for wood screws but they never work hence why i just keep a collection of old torx bits i have picked up in naff tool kits over the years

 

[bugbear]

i use old torx bits, hammer the bit into the screw head (select closest size obviously) and then just attach to a screwdriver and unscrew... always worked for me.

On a loosely related note, I manage to remove a nearly-stripped 3mm hex cap screw from a cycle pedal by hammering (violently!!) a 1/8" hex bit into place.

A "proper" 3mm hex was slightly slack, but 1/8" is 3.175mm, enough of a difference to make a difference.

BugBear

 

[Stu_2]

I've found the Trend grabit extractor set to be pretty good, as far as these things go. Never had much success with other brands, but pleasantly surprised by these.