How do I remove a stripped screw? With a Philips head screw driver an screw?

Question

help! please! I am tryiny to put together this stupid table and the screw I put in wrong, when I was trying to remove it, I stripped it so now I can not take it out? What can I use to remove it without damaging the table or myself? lol!

Answer 1

If the Philips Head Screw is stripped so that the Philips Head Screw driver no longer works - the slots are gone. Then you can use a special tool called an "Ez-Out" which may require a hole drilled into the screw, but will allow the screw to be removed - check with your hardware store.

If the slots on top are okay, but the threads of the screw are stripped so that it just turns, but will not come out, then you will need to somehow get a screw driver tip or knife under the head and provide an outward force on it help it find its way out. Do this while using your Philips Screw Driver to turn it.

You did not say if the table is wood or metal.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

Several things to try or do, one of which revolves around how much of the screw is sticking out...I've stripped a few screws in my day, and have helped others with their stripped screws. IF the screw is sticking out a half-inch or so, you can take an electric (or battery-driven) drill and open the jaws of the chuck wide enough to slip down over the screw, then tighten the chuck's jaws firmly around the screw head; then put the drill in reverse and s-l-o-w-l-y squeeze the trigger to back-out the screw. Another choice is an E-Z Out: it's a 2-step process...1st step is to drill a hole into the screw head appropriate for the size of the screw AND of the EZ Out (EZ Outs usually come in a set with 3 or 4 different sizes), then insert the EZ OUT bit into the drill, put the drill into 'reverse' and slowly squeeze the trigger...the EZ OUT has 'reverse threads' on it that bite into the screw head and its shank. The bigger the screw, the easier this process is. And, as others have said, try using a ViseGrip pliers to lock onto the screw head and twist the screw out. If the table is wood, and the screw is in all the way, you'll have to dig around the screw head, scooping out enough wood to allow the ViseGrips to get a good hold of the screw. There's also yet-another extraction tool available: it looks just like a Phillips screwdriver, but it's points are a little different: it's hardened 'tool-steel' and you take a hammer and gently pound the head of it into where the recess was on your stuck screw; its steel is hard enough to cut into the screw's head so that you can back the screw out. It's kind of a specialty item, maybe not available at all stores...try a WoodWorker-type store or go on-line if you can't find it anywhere else. When all is said and done, this is why you drill a 'pilot hole' into wood before you start putting in the screws. Good Luck.

Answer 3

You will need: Reversible drill Left-hand drill bits (turn counterclockwise while cutting, uncommon but not impossible to find) A hardened "cut" concrete nail whose point is slightly smaller than the drill bit. Cut nails are square or rectangular in cross-section. Select a bit whose diameter is about equal to the width of the Phillips socket. With light pressure and moderate speed, drill out the damaged socket to a depth just deep enough that, lightly tapped, the concrete nail's corners bite into the edge of the drilled hole. NOTE: two things can also happen here: you can actually remove the entire screw with the drill bit. It happens sometimes and if you get so lucky, excellent! Or you might remove enough material that the screw head shears off at the top of the shank. Again, not a bad result - it means that whatever bit of screw is left, is below the surface of the material and maybe that's a good enough result? Once you've got the socket cleaned up, tap the concrete nail into the new hole, and gently ease it counterclockwise with pliers. If you're lucky, it'll turn the mangled screw, too, and back it out of the hole. If so, excellent! Well done. If not, and drilling the hole deeper separates the head from the screw, but you need the entire screw out, choose a smaller left-hand drill and keep going, deep into the shank of the screw. Keep trying with concrete nails or the expensive and not-always-effective "easy outs" designed for just this purpose. So far I've been able to remove every stuck screw I ever set my mind to, and that's saying a lot.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How do I remove a stripped screw? With a Philips head screw driver an screw?
help! please! I am tryiny to put together this stupid table and the screw I put in wrong, when I was trying to remove it, I stripped it so now I can not take it out? What can I use to remove it without damaging the table or myself? lol!

Answer 5

There is a tool you can buy called the broken (or something like that) screw remover... It fits into your drill and removes broken screws... You may be able to get it at home depot or lowes or ACO... maybe even your neighborhood hardware store. Or you could try to unwind and pry it up with a pair of needle nose plyers or vice grips... depending on what it's attached to. It's easy to do and you CAN do it yourself. Good luck!

Answer 6

Either take a pair of Vice grips to hand turn the screw out or find a metal drill bit slightly smaller than the size of the screw (the screw, not the head) and drill it out.

Answer 7

If you are planning to start on your woodworking project, this isn't something you should use, it's something that you would be insane not to. Go here https://tr.im/4BVlT
Truth is, I've been a carpenter for almost 36 years, and I haven't found anything like this for less than 10's of thousands of dollars.

Answer 8

There is a bit called "easy out" at hardware stores.
Please do not try to do it yourself. The correct size is necessary and it has to be done very, very carefully, or you could screw up the pilot hole in the table part.

Maybe you could take the part to a cabinet shop.
Smile sweetly to the carpenter and he may not charge you.......or very little. It will take him 2-5 minutes at most.

Answer 9

if it isnt too deep,use a pair of locking plyers,u can get a drill bit that is made for that ,also comes with special tip to remove screw.

Answer 10

they make a screw extractor and you can by them at the hardware store for a bout 6 dollars