Screws with no grip!

blackie_jones

hello, I'm a newbie on here, I'm trying to unscrew some hinges from my kitchen cabinet , but the grips on the screws for the screwdriver/drill are virtually obliterated and resemble a large circle instead of a cross. Has anyone any ideas how I can get these screws out?


regards

AtlanticWBConst.

I have one of these kits and have used it with good results:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...0P?vName=Tools


Here's some more information: http://www.epinions.com/content_120395959940


For future reference: http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-a-Stripped-Screw

__________________
- Build Well -

davefoc

I would have to defer to Atlantic's greater skill, but I found that tool useless.

The problem with kitchen cabinet screws is that the top of the screw is often filled with paint. I thought I could just use the tools Atlantic linked to to just get a good bite through the paint and thereby avoid the tedious job of getting the paint out with a utility knife. That did not work at all for me. The tool is very hard and sharp and will almost instantly remove the philips indentation if it slips at all, which it does for me unless I have removed the paint from the screw heads. But if I remove the paint from the screw heads I don't need the tool.

My own amateur approach to this problem is to dig out the paint with a utility knife and cut the paint around the screw head, and then use a hand screw driver to at least get the screw started before using a powered screwdriver to remove it the rest of the way. Other solutions can be faster, until a head is stripped and then a lot more effort is required to get the screw out than was saved by whatever powered method I was using.

ETA: I just read Atlantic's link. The only thing I'd mention is that the tools that Atlantic linked to didn't work with any manual screwdriver I had. If there was an extraction device that could be used with a manual screwdriver I could see how that might be of value.

justdon

Are you for darn sure they ARE phillips heads to start with and NOT torx or square head drives???

davefoc

Close to certain. There are some philips like heads that might fool me, but it seems very unlikely, (to me at least), that standard cabinet hinges that have been made for years (probably before I was born and that was a very long time ago) would use anything besides standard philips head screws. Although I believe they are #1 philips and that might cause a problem for somebody that was trying to remove them with a #2 philips head driver.

ETA: I've thought about justdon's question a bit more. What I work with mostly is old fashioned cabinet hinges. His question might have been more directed at the opening poster and the possibility that european style hinges are being used or at least some kind of hinge that might use something besides philips head screws for attachment. I don't know about those but it is certainly possible they exist.

sendres

The square bit thats refer'd to is a robinson. Up here, it's more common than the Philips and I get it on about half my hardware. AND SUPERIOR. Okay just a little plug for a Canadian invention over its US counter part. But for removing striped screws, not just filled with paint, but where someone couldn't keep pressure on the drill or inline with the screw and are heavy on trigger, spinning the bit on srew with out actually turning it, Allantic's suggestion works quite well. Just needs to be used right. On low speed and with a light trigger finger. Though I have not seen a hand operated one and I'm not sure well that would work, as I think you would need to keep constant pressure keep the bite.