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How to remove slotted wood screws?

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December 10, 2017, 06:46 PM
arcwelder
How to remove slotted wood screws?
Unscrew the other side of the hinge.

Clamp the bent side flat through a sacrificial block, or pount flat with punch or block.

With needle nose vice grip, grab head and remove.

Or, center punch the heads, then drill with 3/32 until they pop.


Arc.
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December 10, 2017, 06:53 PM
Captain Morgan
If they are brass you could just break the head off and get the remaining screw out with vise grips. This is a last resort.
I would dremel a slot first of course.
I would replace the screws with square drive type from McFeelys.



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December 10, 2017, 07:42 PM
maladat
With a hammer and a small punch or sturdy small slotted screwdriver you could probably tap the edges of the screws and spread the slot back open.

For that matter, a small enough chisel (not a good one, obviously!) could probably be used as a screwdriver with the existing narrow slot.

If the head of the screw sticks up at all above the surface of the hinge, Vampliers screw extraction pliers are like magic. They make a small size that works for little bitty screws.

https://www.vampiretools.com/p...w-extraction-pliers/

(They're actually made by Engineer Tools in Japan.)
December 10, 2017, 07:53 PM
konata88
Thanks guys!!!

The screws are kind of recessed and flush. I don’t have a dremel to cut a slot. I have the oscillating dremel that I used for grout removal but don’t have the rotating type.

I think drilling off the head and then plier out the body may work.

I hope I can find a similar hinge if I can’t flatten it out. Just worried about the custom inset.




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December 10, 2017, 08:50 PM
Some Shot
You need some tiny tools.

A tiny cold chisel (slightly narrower than the screw head) set right where the slot should be, and hit it until it opens. It will open.
December 10, 2017, 08:51 PM
220-9er
Left handed drill bit with a reversible drill might take the head off and get the threaded part out.
Make sure you get it centered well.


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December 10, 2017, 09:00 PM
H&K-Guy
Tiny, tiny charges of Tannerite?

H&K-Guy
December 10, 2017, 09:05 PM
P220 Smudge
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Thanks guys!!!

The screws are kind of recessed and flush. I don’t have a dremel to cut a slot. I have the oscillating dremel that I used for grout removal but don’t have the rotating type.

I think drilling off the head and then plier out the body may work.

I hope I can find a similar hinge if I can’t flatten it out. Just worried about the custom inset.


I have a fair amount of experienced removing stripped and malformed brass wood screws with the snip and twist method outlined via my last job, oddly enough, and I highly recommend trying Arc's method first. It relieves all the stress from the screws you're trying to remove and makes the most physical sense, as I think it through, retaining the original structure to get good rotation is gonna help you. Man's good with his hands, I advise his approach.


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December 10, 2017, 09:09 PM
darthfuster
Now that we have pics, I would grind a slotted bit thin enough to fit and see if they will turn out. I suspect the screw are bent enough that they will not. In that case, go with Arc's method.



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December 10, 2017, 09:53 PM
ontmark
Use a pointed center punch.
Punch the middle of the slot. This should open the slot up a bit.
Use a small punch to tap the slot outwards to open it up.
Spray a little penetrating oil or liquid dish soap on the screws and let it soak in.
Use a good tip on an Impact Driver and tap on it to back the screws out.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman...-HgdgCFYi5ZAod_TYK9Q



Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it! - John Steinbeck
December 10, 2017, 10:33 PM
41
Looks like someone sprung the door too far and bent the hinges.

I would get a C-clamp and block of wood on the underside and something metal over the hinge part to the bent wing and try to bend the wing back. Then the screws would have enough clearance to back out.


41
December 10, 2017, 10:49 PM
konata88
I was sensing that Arc’s recommendation was good. And a couple of votes in support.

Sadly, I’m having some difficulty visualizing what to do.




"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy
"A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book
December 11, 2017, 10:50 AM
Nickelsig229
Just get a drill bit smaller then the head of the screw, drill the center of the screw till the head pops off but no further. It looks like less then an 1/8 of an inch. Do that on both screws, then remove the hinge and door.

That will leave you with two screw threads still in the wood, grab a vise grip or needle nose pliers grip the screw threads and back them out like your unscrewing it.




First In Last Out
December 11, 2017, 10:57 AM
ArtieS
quote:
Originally posted by olfuzzy:
Another option is to use a drill bit the same size as the head of the screw. Once you have drilled off the head you should be able to pull the hinge off leaving enough screw shaft to get hold of with vise grips.

I'd probably take this route, then fully remove the hinge, then tap it flat with a hammer to remove the kink in it (replace if the metal is cracked).

If the wood underneath is all bodged up so that new screws won't bite, drill the holes out, fit and glue hardwood wooden plugs in the holes, then re-drill the screw holes and replace with new screws.



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December 11, 2017, 03:37 PM
FRANKT
I think I'd grab my feeler gauges and determine the width of those slots. I'd then, if I didn't have it already, order the proper screwdriver bit from Brownell's almost unlimited selection of gunsmithing bits, some of which are much thinner blades than normal. You should be able to match the blade thickness as well as blade width for those screws.

Good luck with this one.


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December 11, 2017, 03:51 PM
46and2
straighten/flatten and reuse the hinges.