screw snapped

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

The head came off. The hinges are tiny the screws tiny the wood is clear maple 1/2" thick. It's a butt hinge mounted inside the cabinet for an inset door.

Now I gotta get it out - or epoxy the broken off head in and drill & C-Sink a third hole for a real screw.

The body is snapped off deep enough that there ain't no grabbing it. And the metal is harder than the adjacent wood and the body small enough that there ain't no drillin it.

That leaves 2 choices:
#1) I cut the wood out removing the screw and adjacent lumber and patch it with a little bit of maple.
#2) I I drill the extra hole in the hinge plate and make it look weird.

Maybe I'll do #1. Yah that's it. I'll drill on either side of it and wriggle it out and jam some stock in the mess after cleaning it up a tad. then off to the sander.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Cliff - try a bit of JB Weld. Stick that head onto the screw with that stuff.

[John Bartley]

Maybe if there's enough material you could drill around the outside of the broken screw with a plug cutter bit, then chip it out with a small sharp chisel and glue a maple plug into the hole before installing a new screw into the plug right where the broken screw used to be...?

just a thought

cheers

[Lee Schierer]

Get a Dremel tool with a small cut off wheel and cut a slot in the top of the shank. Then heat the screw with a fine tip soldering iron right before you try to turn it out with the slot you cut.

Since the shank may be under the surface of the wood, you may end up with a slight slot in the wood. Align the slot you cut so most of it will be hidden by the hinge. Fill the slot with a thin piece of matching wood and sand it flush.

Now, once you have your screw out rub the threads of the new screw on a lump of beeswax so that some wax clings in the threads. Don't use soap or paraffin as they don't work as well and soap may stain. Some advocate using toilet seal wax, but most seem to contain solvents to make them pliable, so I don't recommend them. Screw in the new screw carefully. The effort to get it in will be greatly reduced by the wax but you can still break it if the pilot hole is undersized or worse not deep enough.

[Chris Padilla]

Assuming it was a brass screw that broke, use a steel screw of the same size to chase/cut the new threads in the wood AND THEN put your brass ones in.

[Peter Quinn]

They make hollow screw fixers for this, like a mini-hole saw without a center. You can drill around the screw, pop it out, plug it with a maple dowel , you'll never know it was there.

[Peter Quinn]

Check these out:

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=108-962&search=Screw%20Extractor

Might do it for ya.

[Brad Townsend]

Check these out:

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=108-962&search=Screw%20Extractor

Might do it for ya.

Yeah, I had the same thing happen about a week ago. Those are just what I needed. The price is right too. Thanks!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Hmm I think I rather like those screw extractors - may order a set.
My screw is about the a #4 it's tiny. Lee's trick about slotting it and cooking it might be the shizz. But, my screw is so small that I rather suspect that the little Dremel slotting wheel will consume so much of the root diameter of the screw that it'll not be strong to turn out with a jewelers screwdriver.

I may order the extractors though.

I like the idea of pre-chasing the threads. I haven't got a steel screw that is similar. And only 7 more screws to drive out of 48.

[Jason Roehl]

Someone posted here or on BP long ago about making your own screw extractors like those linked to above. Take some steel tubing (brake line from your local auto parts/supply store), and file some teeth into one end. Basically, you'd be making your own small hole saw. Cut around the screw, pop the screw out, then fill the hole with a dowel or plug to repair it and try again.

[David DeCristoforo]

As many have already pointed out, the "mini hole saw" is worth many times it's weight in whatever you value most. But the most important point in this thread (IMMHO) is from Chris Padilla. Brass screws are extremely soft and will break off in even moderately hard wood at "the drop of a hat". And, more often than not, if they don't break, the slots get "boogered" by the time the screws are driven home. "Pre-tapping" by first driving a steel screw and then replacing that with the brass one will save a lot of frustration.

YM

[Doug Shepard]

Those little hole saw gizmos work pretty good but they tend to skate around trying to get them started. I'd drill a hole through some scrap and clamp it over your broken screw hole, then use the tube saw through that at least until you've got it started.

[Steve Leverich]

Skating - I'd recommend either a drill press, or if the piece won't fit a press then something like this

http://www.amazon.com/General-Tool-36-37-Precis/dp/B0000E6TM6

Seen 'em at the orange borg for slightly less than that... Steve

[Josiah Bartlett]

This is more of a technique for bigger screws, but if I have a brass threaded insert that breaks I screw a bolt into and then heat the end of the bolt with a torch. The bolt conducts the heat into the insert, and then the insert burns or at least locally dries the wood and loosens it right up. I discovered this by accident when I was using an insert threaded into a block of wood to hold a bolt while I was making it into a stud with an angle grinder. (What can I say, the hardware store closes early on Sundays.)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Take some steel tubing (brake line from your local auto parts/supply store), and file some teeth into one end.

Between you and Doug, who identified that there is no easy starting those things without a guide I do believe you guys nailed that one cold.

Ya see folks, I got my money's worth right there.

[Chris Barnett]

Wonder if a small plug cutting bit would do the job to remove the screw, then use it again to make a plug for insertion in the hole.