Sheered screw

Joey the lips

Hi Folks.

I have a wooden front door, the type with the 6 point lock rubbish.

One of the screws has sheered off and of course the end of the screw is in the wood. I know this is prob simple to remove if you know as I am sure it has happened before

Of course I dont know the first thing. Can someone please please advise with my grateful thanks.

who the fug

Get a screw extractor set

Martron

Joey i have had one of these.

http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/ScrewRemover450LJ.jpg

woodies do them .

i think they are only really effective when the head is rounded but it might do the job.

Alun

who the fug wrote: »

Get a screw extractor set

They work well, but can be a bit of a PITA for smaller screws though. If the head has shorn off, you'll have to drill a hole down the shaft of the screw to take the extractor, and for small screws that can be quite difficult.

To avoid the problem in the future, make sure you drill a suitably sized pilot hole first. Also if it's brass screws you're using, which can be prone to shearing off easily, screw an identically sized steel screw in first and then remove.

Here's a set with the appropriate sized drills included if you don't have them to hand ...

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminster-Cobalt-Drill-and-Easy-Out-Set-462398.htm

Joey the lips

Alun wrote: »

They work well, but can be a bit of a PITA for smaller screws though. If the head has shorn off, you'll have to drill a hole down the shaft of the screw to take the extractor, and for small screws that can be quite difficult.

To avoid the problem in the future, make sure you drill a suitably sized pilot hole first. Also if it's brass screws you're using, which can be prone to shearing off easily, screw an identically sized steel screw in first and then remove.

Here's a set with the appropriate sized drills included if you don't have them to hand ...

http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axminster-Cobalt-Drill-and-Easy-Out-Set-462398.htm

This sounds like the one. Do they deliver to ireland( please dont say no we dont do liver :rolleyes:)


ps: dont answer that. I see they do. I will be out and about today I will try and see what the woodies ones are like. The screw is small little baxtard so its going to be awkard. Will also have to pick up a zinc screw as well as brass sheers easier I am told

cnocbui

This probably wont be of much help, if you haven't got the tool, but I'll mention it anyway.

If you have a Dremel Moto tool or one of the numerous variants, they usually have small abrasive or diamond cut off discs that will easily cut a fine slot in the shaft of a sheared screw, allowing you to get the tip of a screwdriver into it to unscrew it.

I have never in my life managed to get a screw extractor to work, particularly on small screws or bolts., they have always snapped off, leaving a super hard, near impossible to remove, piece of steel in the end of the bolt/screw. The most over-rated and useless tool on the planet, IME.

Rubbing candle wax onto the threads of a screw prevents shearing, though a pilot hole is better practice.

Alun

Joey the lips wrote: »

This sounds like the one. Do they deliver to ireland( please dont say no we dont do liver :rolleyes:)

Yes, they do, I order stuff for my woodturning from them all the time. Until very recently (literally a few weeks ago) they even had special rates for Ireland, but I've just looked on the website and that appears to have stopped for some reason, and the minimum charge is £5.95 for anywhere in the EU, so it might be worth ordering some more stuff while you're at it ... plenty of interesting stuff to choose from

But be warned, if it's a small screw, it's going to be really difficult, and as cnocbui said, you could end up making the situation worse if the screw extractor breaks off in the hole. They're made from quite hard and brittle steel, and impossible to remove if they do break.

If it's a small-ish soft brass screw, and especially if it's sheared off quite deeply in the hole, you could just try drilling the hole thing out with quite a large drill and plugging with a same-sized piece of dowel and starting again.

Sleipnir

Do you need to use the hole for another screw?

If not, and you're planning on re-painting, I would knock in it a bit using hammer and and punch, fill it with woodfiller, sand and paint.

Joey the lips

i need to re use the hole its the lock mechanish receiver. kids slamming the door against the receiver no doubt. i get the feeling this is going to be a bitch. its a small steel screw so i wont be drilling it,

i might buy a small bit and look at drilling a new hole in the receiver somewhere no doubt this will be interesting as wel