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Friday, April 03, 2020
How to Use a Screw Extractor | Remove Damaged Screws Like a Pro!
www.protoolreviews.com: Rounded-out screws got you down? We’ll show you how to use a screw extractor to remove damaged screws. Do it right, and you can back a busted screw out of its hiding place in less than a minute. Of course, you need the right tool.
13 comments:
Margaret Shumate
said...
This seems like a lot of work to back out a screw. I guess it makes sense if you're working with something that has a nice finish and you are trying to be very careful about not messing it up, or if theres a screw not only stuck but also sunk into a hole, but for most of these problems, screws will start to move before they get to all the way stripped, and it seems like a pair of vice grips works just fine. And in a theatrical setting, if a screw is stuck AND sunk down into the material, the right solution is probably to ignore it. I guess if you're working as a full time carpenter, it might make sense to carry a couple of these around for that one in a thousand scenario where you really need it, and it might make sense for a shop to have one set lying around. But for most instances, this doesn't seem to be worth it in theater.
A screw extractor set is definitely one of those tools that may sit at the bottom of your tool box or bag collecting dust for a while, but when you need it, you need it now. A stripped screw is one of the situations that could bring a project to a screeching halt. While I have only ever used one of these once, it was super easy to use and took very little time. For the most part, it seemed easier and faster than sitting there with a set a vice grips spinning and spinning it out by hand. On top of that, for the most part, you don't want to leave a stripped screw sitting in your material, thus making these an important set of tools to have in your arsenal. While I do not have a set of these at the moment, it is definitely something I have thought about getting multiple times.
I could not tell you how many screws I have stripped and gotten stuck in a project. I seem to always mess it up and want to fix where I put my screw, but alas, it is stuck in there. Sometimes, I have found using a rubberband in there to create some friction helps, but I had no idea there was a tool and process specifically made for this exact situation. The article mentioned that this tool is relatively inexpensive too, so I think, especially for a learning environment such as a university, this could be something to invest in. If a university wouldn’’t necessarily want to purchase multiple, or any, of these, it could be something that people have on a personal scale. This article did mention that the process for using such a tool is somewhat time consuming because you don’t want to be in a rush and mess something up, which could very well be a hindrance. I think if it’s not a major issue, leaving the screw in isn’t the worst idea, but if you need to get it out, this is a tool that could be very useful.
I think this might be the first-ever comment I have written about a tool on here. But before reading this article, I didn’t even know screw extractors were a thing, I always thought if the screw gets stripped it was like the end of the world. But also I don’t know a lot about screws. But I think this tool sounds really cool. I am not sure how useful this tool would be for people who are professionals and don’t really strip screws. But I can see this being used in an educational setting a lot. If there was less pressure on me to not strip a screw when I was in high school then maybe I would’ve helped with build more often, but I was convinced that if I stripped a screw the set would be unfixable and it would all have been my fault. However there are a lot of materials needed to use a screw extractor it seems from this article, and I am not sure if they are that expensive, so I also don’t know how practical they would be for everyone to get and use.
I've come across dozens of stripped screws at CMU alone, and many more in other scene shops. It happens, especially since we often don't get the absolute highest quality screws on the market. Nevertheless, I think it is important to recognize how to deal with them properly in different scenarios. First, I don't think many people know or care to know how to properly line up their screwgun with the screw, invariably stripping it without giving it a fighting chance. I also think people often ignore these screws since they think it will do no harm, but a few weeks ago I was at the warehouse moving platforms and got stabbed by a screw that someone gave up trying to get out of the wood. It can be frustrating for sure, but I don't think we can afford to ignore these screws during strikes and build if it happens. One quick trick I learned a while back was to use a rubber band. Place a wide band on the tip of the bit in your drill and then put it into the stripped screw. Honestly, this has almost always worked for me. If it is far beyond saving, screw extractors like these can be a godsend. The key takeaway here in this article is to remember that the extractor is reverse threaded. nIt would be nice to have lying around, though their unique design and small form factor implies there is a 90% chance they will be lost within 1 call.
This article caught my eye because I have seen this tool before. This promotional writing makes the use of this tool sound easy, which is not that surprising. Stripped screws are a standard problem in theatrical settings because we tend to use and abuse what we have, not to mention that in highschool everything I built was with screws. We purchased one of these kits as an experiment to see if it would do the job of removing those gosh-darn stripped screws. We got a kit very similar to this and followed all the instructions to the letter, but to no avail. Unfortunately we were not very impressed with that product so I’ve always been dubious. All that meant was falling back on the tried and true method of using vice grips, a hammer, and various swear words to complete the job. I’d be interested to try this specific product to see if it works any better.
I don't think I've ever wanted a screw out badly enough that this process would be worth it. I suppose if you already have all the other tools handy it wouldn't be such a hassle but it seems less difficult to just buy a new piece of wood. If you were restoring an antique maybe this is more like something you would need but for what we do for the most part in theatrical scenery it wouldn't be that bad to just grind it off and cover it in wood filler. I didn't actually know that a screw extractor is a thing however it doesn't surprise me at all given how often screws end up stripped. I don't think this is something I would personally own because it requires so many essential accessories but for those that need this, it's nice to have around. I know in high school I would often find stripped screws during strike and we would often throw away the entire piece even if the rest of it was fairly pristine. For companies with smaller budgets that rely heavily on stock and reusing materials I could see this as an invaluable tool.
I think it is really funny that this website is pro tools because that is the name of a digital audio workstation software. I think that I have seen something like this before, if not the actual product that is in this video. It really is the worst being in this situation with no easy way to extract the screw. It is even worse when the screw is small. Sometimes even screws for computers will be stripped and you do not really want to get a screw driver or drill and take that to your computer. Sometimes a rubber band will help a Phillips head or flat head screw driver fill the gap that is occurring from the stripping, which allows for a more easy extraction than without the rubber band. Either way, this seems like it would be a handy tool to have at home or in the shop if you work with wood.
I think this tool is very cool and useful for someone who is constantly building things that have a time crunch on them so they don’t have to worry about being perfect with everything because they have this tool. We just had a project in nanofab where we were to research a new tool that the shop wouldn’t have already owned, and now I wish I had read this article a bit sooner because I would’ve mentioned this tool. I think this tool is a smart invention especially for people who work on furniture or interior design. I didn’t know this kind of tool existed, I thought that at best putting an impact driver in reverse would do the same job but I guess some people would benefit from having this extractor in their tool kit. Although the process of getting the screw out with the extractor is a bit tedious, I bet the results are seamless so it depends on how badly you need a screw out.
I’ll be honest, I had no idea that screw extractors existed. The function of them obviously makes plenty of sense, but I have simply never come across them before. Despite having never heard of them, I can think of many occasions where one would have been helpful. At my high school, performing arts really didn’t get much budget, so we had to reuse most of our set pieces. The thing is, a lot of it was assembled by students who had little experience with tools, and they would often completely strip the screws with an impact driver as they drove them in. Thus, when it comes time to take everything apart, I tend to have to break a bunch of stripped screws. Back to the screw extractor, I was actually surprised to see just how much of a process it is. It seems to be an excessive list, but upon reading the instructions, everything does make sense, and it no longer feels as excessive. It is nice to know about this tool and how to use it, as although in an ideal world, you wouldn’t need it, but the world just isn’t that perfect.
I have never heard of or seen one of these before. I am sure when this tool is needed, it is plenty useful, but I do not think I have ever need a screw removed badly enough to warrant getting one of these. If I strip a screw putting it in, I have been able to throw in another one right next to it and get the job done just as well. If there is anything that needs a screw backed out of it during strike, it was probably going to get scrapped and thrown into the dumpster anyways, so a stripped screw would not have been much of an issue. I think it would be useful in a shop for the good of everyone, but I don't think I would get a set for myself. If a vice grip or a hammer will get the job done, I'll take the little extra time to take it out.
I don’t think I’ve ever considered that a tool like the screw extractor actually existed, but I suppose there’s a tool out there for anything. I think that for the most part, the kinds of work we do in the theatre with large scale set pieces and whatnot, we probably wouldn’t have much of a use for it. I’m not sure if I’ve ever really come across a situation where a screw that I was trying to remove couldn’t be dealt with by either breaking it or pulling it out with a vice grip. The steps for using it also seem a lot more complicated than what we’d want to do and probably take more time than necessary. I think this tool could be much more useful if you were doing work that required certain materials to be salvaged or maybe work that’s finer carpentry. Overall it’s always cool to learn more about the various gadgets that exist out there.
A screw extractor is probably one of those tools that are lost at the bottom of your tool bag. However, when the time comes for this tool to shine, nothing can really compete with one. In a theatrical sense, screws are generally used in scenery that is meant to be unassembled for transportation or installation. With this in mind, a screw head that has been stripped out from a drill bit does not offer much versatility anymore. This is where the screw extractor comes in handy. I really like how pro tools not only explained how a screw extractor works, but it gave you the steps to using it successfully and some tips for screws that are fighting back. Personally, I have never used a dedicated screw extractor, I have found myself locking a pair of vise grips on the head of the screw to turn it out manually. This of course only works if you can get the vise grips on the head of the screw, but for a screw that is sunk past flush, you really have a limited selection of options for removing it.
13 comments:
This seems like a lot of work to back out a screw. I guess it makes sense if you're working with something that has a nice finish and you are trying to be very careful about not messing it up, or if theres a screw not only stuck but also sunk into a hole, but for most of these problems, screws will start to move before they get to all the way stripped, and it seems like a pair of vice grips works just fine. And in a theatrical setting, if a screw is stuck AND sunk down into the material, the right solution is probably to ignore it. I guess if you're working as a full time carpenter, it might make sense to carry a couple of these around for that one in a thousand scenario where you really need it, and it might make sense for a shop to have one set lying around. But for most instances, this doesn't seem to be worth it in theater.
A screw extractor set is definitely one of those tools that may sit at the bottom of your tool box or bag collecting dust for a while, but when you need it, you need it now. A stripped screw is one of the situations that could bring a project to a screeching halt. While I have only ever used one of these once, it was super easy to use and took very little time. For the most part, it seemed easier and faster than sitting there with a set a vice grips spinning and spinning it out by hand. On top of that, for the most part, you don't want to leave a stripped screw sitting in your material, thus making these an important set of tools to have in your arsenal. While I do not have a set of these at the moment, it is definitely something I have thought about getting multiple times.
I could not tell you how many screws I have stripped and gotten stuck in a project. I seem to always mess it up and want to fix where I put my screw, but alas, it is stuck in there. Sometimes, I have found using a rubberband in there to create some friction helps, but I had no idea there was a tool and process specifically made for this exact situation. The article mentioned that this tool is relatively inexpensive too, so I think, especially for a learning environment such as a university, this could be something to invest in. If a university wouldn’’t necessarily want to purchase multiple, or any, of these, it could be something that people have on a personal scale. This article did mention that the process for using such a tool is somewhat time consuming because you don’t want to be in a rush and mess something up, which could very well be a hindrance. I think if it’s not a major issue, leaving the screw in isn’t the worst idea, but if you need to get it out, this is a tool that could be very useful.
I think this might be the first-ever comment I have written about a tool on here. But before reading this article, I didn’t even know screw extractors were a thing, I always thought if the screw gets stripped it was like the end of the world. But also I don’t know a lot about screws. But I think this tool sounds really cool. I am not sure how useful this tool would be for people who are professionals and don’t really strip screws. But I can see this being used in an educational setting a lot. If there was less pressure on me to not strip a screw when I was in high school then maybe I would’ve helped with build more often, but I was convinced that if I stripped a screw the set would be unfixable and it would all have been my fault. However there are a lot of materials needed to use a screw extractor it seems from this article, and I am not sure if they are that expensive, so I also don’t know how practical they would be for everyone to get and use.
I've come across dozens of stripped screws at CMU alone, and many more in other scene shops. It happens, especially since we often don't get the absolute highest quality screws on the market. Nevertheless, I think it is important to recognize how to deal with them properly in different scenarios. First, I don't think many people know or care to know how to properly line up their screwgun with the screw, invariably stripping it without giving it a fighting chance. I also think people often ignore these screws since they think it will do no harm, but a few weeks ago I was at the warehouse moving platforms and got stabbed by a screw that someone gave up trying to get out of the wood. It can be frustrating for sure, but I don't think we can afford to ignore these screws during strikes and build if it happens. One quick trick I learned a while back was to use a rubber band. Place a wide band on the tip of the bit in your drill and then put it into the stripped screw. Honestly, this has almost always worked for me. If it is far beyond saving, screw extractors like these can be a godsend. The key takeaway here in this article is to remember that the extractor is reverse threaded. nIt would be nice to have lying around, though their unique design and small form factor implies there is a 90% chance they will be lost within 1 call.
This article caught my eye because I have seen this tool before. This promotional writing makes the use of this tool sound easy, which is not that surprising. Stripped screws are a standard problem in theatrical settings because we tend to use and abuse what we have, not to mention that in highschool everything I built was with screws. We purchased one of these kits as an experiment to see if it would do the job of removing those gosh-darn stripped screws. We got a kit very similar to this and followed all the instructions to the letter, but to no avail. Unfortunately we were not very impressed with that product so I’ve always been dubious. All that meant was falling back on the tried and true method of using vice grips, a hammer, and various swear words to complete the job. I’d be interested to try this specific product to see if it works any better.
I don't think I've ever wanted a screw out badly enough that this process would be worth it. I suppose if you already have all the other tools handy it wouldn't be such a hassle but it seems less difficult to just buy a new piece of wood. If you were restoring an antique maybe this is more like something you would need but for what we do for the most part in theatrical scenery it wouldn't be that bad to just grind it off and cover it in wood filler. I didn't actually know that a screw extractor is a thing however it doesn't surprise me at all given how often screws end up stripped. I don't think this is something I would personally own because it requires so many essential accessories but for those that need this, it's nice to have around. I know in high school I would often find stripped screws during strike and we would often throw away the entire piece even if the rest of it was fairly pristine. For companies with smaller budgets that rely heavily on stock and reusing materials I could see this as an invaluable tool.
I think it is really funny that this website is pro tools because that is the name of a digital audio workstation software. I think that I have seen something like this before, if not the actual product that is in this video. It really is the worst being in this situation with no easy way to extract the screw. It is even worse when the screw is small. Sometimes even screws for computers will be stripped and you do not really want to get a screw driver or drill and take that to your computer. Sometimes a rubber band will help a Phillips head or flat head screw driver fill the gap that is occurring from the stripping, which allows for a more easy extraction than without the rubber band. Either way, this seems like it would be a handy tool to have at home or in the shop if you work with wood.
I think this tool is very cool and useful for someone who is constantly building things that have a time crunch on them so they don’t have to worry about being perfect with everything because they have this tool. We just had a project in nanofab where we were to research a new tool that the shop wouldn’t have already owned, and now I wish I had read this article a bit sooner because I would’ve mentioned this tool. I think this tool is a smart invention especially for people who work on furniture or interior design. I didn’t know this kind of tool existed, I thought that at best putting an impact driver in reverse would do the same job but I guess some people would benefit from having this extractor in their tool kit. Although the process of getting the screw out with the extractor is a bit tedious, I bet the results are seamless so it depends on how badly you need a screw out.
I’ll be honest, I had no idea that screw extractors existed. The function of them obviously makes plenty of sense, but I have simply never come across them before. Despite having never heard of them, I can think of many occasions where one would have been helpful. At my high school, performing arts really didn’t get much budget, so we had to reuse most of our set pieces. The thing is, a lot of it was assembled by students who had little experience with tools, and they would often completely strip the screws with an impact driver as they drove them in. Thus, when it comes time to take everything apart, I tend to have to break a bunch of stripped screws. Back to the screw extractor, I was actually surprised to see just how much of a process it is. It seems to be an excessive list, but upon reading the instructions, everything does make sense, and it no longer feels as excessive. It is nice to know about this tool and how to use it, as although in an ideal world, you wouldn’t need it, but the world just isn’t that perfect.
I have never heard of or seen one of these before. I am sure when this tool is needed, it is plenty useful, but I do not think I have ever need a screw removed badly enough to warrant getting one of these. If I strip a screw putting it in, I have been able to throw in another one right next to it and get the job done just as well. If there is anything that needs a screw backed out of it during strike, it was probably going to get scrapped and thrown into the dumpster anyways, so a stripped screw would not have been much of an issue. I think it would be useful in a shop for the good of everyone, but I don't think I would get a set for myself. If a vice grip or a hammer will get the job done, I'll take the little extra time to take it out.
I don’t think I’ve ever considered that a tool like the screw extractor actually existed, but I suppose there’s a tool out there for anything. I think that for the most part, the kinds of work we do in the theatre with large scale set pieces and whatnot, we probably wouldn’t have much of a use for it. I’m not sure if I’ve ever really come across a situation where a screw that I was trying to remove couldn’t be dealt with by either breaking it or pulling it out with a vice grip. The steps for using it also seem a lot more complicated than what we’d want to do and probably take more time than necessary. I think this tool could be much more useful if you were doing work that required certain materials to be salvaged or maybe work that’s finer carpentry. Overall it’s always cool to learn more about the various gadgets that exist out there.
A screw extractor is probably one of those tools that are lost at the bottom of your tool bag. However, when the time comes for this tool to shine, nothing can really compete with one. In a theatrical sense, screws are generally used in scenery that is meant to be unassembled for transportation or installation. With this in mind, a screw head that has been stripped out from a drill bit does not offer much versatility anymore. This is where the screw extractor comes in handy. I really like how pro tools not only explained how a screw extractor works, but it gave you the steps to using it successfully and some tips for screws that are fighting back. Personally, I have never used a dedicated screw extractor, I have found myself locking a pair of vise grips on the head of the screw to turn it out manually. This of course only works if you can get the vise grips on the head of the screw, but for a screw that is sunk past flush, you really have a limited selection of options for removing it.
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