OT--Help for the mechanically ignorant--cordless drills

[Jaybee]

My order of operations for rounded out screw heads is

1) vice grips

if that doesn't work

2) file slot for flat head

if that doesn't work

3) EZ out or similar. maybe drill a pilot hole first with a tiny bit if not getting bite initially.

OP, good quality 18, 19 20V cordless drills are pretty inexpensive these days. Especially on holiday sales. You could follow my dad's advice and "never do a new job without getting a tool out of the deal*".



*This could also be why he had to build a larger workshop a couple years back, which necessitated.... more tools.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by sfscott

I was taking apart an AV rack to remove gear, and one screw was over-torqued by the person who assembled it, so the Philips head on the screw quickly striped out with a turn of a screw driver.

At the suggestion of the guy at the hardware store, I bought a kit that had a drill bit and a reverse thread bit. Idea was to drill into the screw head, then but reverse bit on and use the left-twist direction of the drill to pull out the screw.

I don't do much in the way of home repair and am not good at it, so I only have a 9-volt Dewalt cordless drill. Tried using that to drill the hole, and the drill couldn't even turn the bit on the screw head. Played with different torque settings but same result. Yes, battery is fully charged. Also tried a chisel and a hammer to try to pry a little bit of the screw out. No dice.

Thinking I need to buy/rent a more powerful drill to try to create the hole and be able to use the extraction bit. Is this the right approach? If so, how powerful a drill should I be looking for. Is there a better method to extract the screw? I have to get it out to remove a piece of equipment.

Your battery or drill is done. You need a NEW cordless drill. My Ridgid been going strong for three years, used often.

[Tandem Rider]

Cordless is handy but you need to use it often to make it worthwhile. I keep a Milwaukee 12v lithium ion impact in my toolbag and us it daily. Impacts are better than drills for screws and bolts. I have it's partner, a 12v drill, in the truck, it's surprisingly strong, but they are luxuries. They are not, however, a substitute for a corded drill. Visit the local used tool store and pick up a contractor grade corded drill, it will always work.

[likebikes]

can you post a picture of the stripped screw?

[cderalow]

Spend $90 and get yourself a cordless ¼” drive impact driver.

Never strip a screw again.

For occasional use, a ryobi 18V would work fine. Mines been going for 8 years strong.


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[oliver1850]

Originally Posted by Steve in SLO

You could always cut a groove across the existing Phillips head and use a straight blade screwdriver to turn it out. A Dremel, or even a file works well.

This is what we used to do on the skid plates and rub blocks on the bottom of CART cars. They were all attached with 10-32 flat head screws (1/8" hex drive) and there woudn't be much left of the heads to put a wrench to after a race. We would cut a slot in the head of each screw with a 1/8" thick cut off wheel (known in our shop as a "death wheel") and use a screwdriver to remove the screws.

Hacksaw will work fine if there's room to move it.

[Matt92037]

Every home should have a kit like the one below. As one other person touched upon drill are not made to drive screws, impact drivers are. I cannot remember how many screws I stripped building decks and fences driving screw with a drill.

Really hard to strip anything with an impact driver. It’s a transformative tool for sure.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-1...00RB/207051121

[cderalow]

Originally Posted by Matt92037

Every home should have a kit like the one below. As one other person touched upon drill are not made to drive screws, impact drivers are. I cannot remember how many screws I stripped building decks and fences driving screw with a drill.

Really hard to strip anything with an impact driver. It’s a transformative tool for sure.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-1...00RB/207051121

While Makita makes nice tools (I own quite a few), they're a bit overkill for homeowner use. The Ryobi 18V stuff is frequently top rated by consumer reports etc as a best value and costs half as much.

If i were using my tools every day, i'd be all over the makita stuff, but as the occasional homeowner use, your money is better spent.

The bosch stuff is fairly decent as well, and the milwaukee m12 stuff is surprisingly powerful.

[Tony T]

I have a 20V DeWalt. Great drill.
Get a quality set of drill bits and a Screwdriving Set (I have this and this)

[mtechnica]

Dewalt, Milwaukee, or makita brushless 18-20v end of discussion. If you can get a set with an impact then that’s great because they are good for driving screws.

Only problem with running a cordless drill with an ez out or any kind of reverse bit is that it will spin the chuck loose. If you need to run the drill in reverse you have to get a drill that has a chuck that’s tightened with a key, which is probably a drill with a cord or an air powered drill.