Stripped screw in toy

Heatwave · August 2015

I'm so embarrassed about asking for help in this, but trying to fix the problem myself hasn't been successful at all.

Basically I accidentally stripped the screw at the back of an action figure's head while trying to remove it, and am having trouble getting it out.

Ideally I'd like to get the screw out without damaging the toy's head, because I may want to reuse it again.

I've heard drilling the screw head off if effective, but my effort in doing so has only made it into a shallow bowl. I'm no handy man and have no idea what the size of the drill bit is, but it looks like one of these and is small enough to fit in the hole of the toy. Could I be using the wrong drill, or is the electric drill not powerful enough (it doesn't seem to be moving very fast).

I've also heard you can apparently super glue the head of the screw to something and twist it out, but would that really work? I was under the impression that superglue only worked for things like plastic and wood, not metal like what the screw is made out of?

Anyway, some advice would be much appreciated before I attempt something potentially dumb like gluing the drill bit to the screw. Thanks in advance

Enc · August 2015

Ive done the super glue thing, but it's pretty hit or miss based on how tight the screw is in there. can you get some tiny pliers in there?

Heatwave · August 2015

No the hole is pretty deep with no room to grab around the screw

Morkath · August 2015

If you do end up putting glue on a bit in the drill to the screw to try to unscrew it, don't use the drill bit, use a phillips head bit, it will give better contact points for the glue to hold onto drill side.
Make sure you get actual super glue, not model glue (the kind that melts plastic to form the bond).

Before you go that route though, try putting a rubber band on top of it if you can, then try unscrewing it with a phillips.

Since you cratered the head already you may be out of luck and need to try a screw extractor.

firewaterword · August 2015

You can use an epoxy - something like Loctite or JB weld - to attach the stripped screw to another bit of metal. You can probably get a tube for $4-7 at a hardware store.

mts · August 2015

just get one of those screw removers, they come in really small sizes

Daenris · August 2015

Lay a rubber band on the screw head, between the screw and your screwdriver. Sometimes it allows enough extra grip to get the screw out.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-remove-a-stripped-screw-1-107582

Edit: Already suggested. That's what I get for not reading closely enough.

BouwsT · August 2015

Heatwave wrote: »

I'm so embarrassed about asking for help in this, but trying to fix the problem myself hasn't been successful at all.

Basically I accidentally stripped the screw at the back of an action figure's head while trying to remove it, and am having trouble getting it out.

Lots of great advice here, just wanted to say that you shouldn't be embarrassed, stripping a screw is super common. Depending on how badly stripped, the glue thing might work, otherwise the extractors are just handy tools to have in general because of how common this kind of thing is.

Heatwave · August 2015

I already tired using a rubber band but it didn't work because the screw driver kept puncturing straight through it.

I'll try searching for some epoxy in the garage. I think I have some cheap runny liquid superglue that I could also try. Or does it have to be thicker?

I'll also look into getting a screw extractor when I have time to go to a hardware store. Might take a while to that though.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

EDIT: I just measured the hole the screw's in. It's about 3mm. Does that mean I should get a 2 mm extractor set for the screw?

DevoutlyApathetic · August 2015

Assuming that's the shaft of the screw and not the head then yes, a 2 mm extractor would work. (As would a 5/64 if you're in America land.)

If it's the head then...uh, good luck. The shaft won't be 2mm and you'll just be clearing out the threads in the part. I don't remember seeing extractors smaller than that and you are down to really tiny tools that should really be used in a drill press because it would be very easy to tip a little and shatter your bit.

mts · August 2015

they definitely do have extrators that small. I bought one to take out a stripped screw in my laptop that was about that size. it should be fine since a screw that small is not going to be very long and it likely only needs to break the glue that is holding the screw in place and then he shouldn't need much force

Heatwave · August 2015

Bought a screw extractor set and the drill seemed to work, but for some reason the extractor wouldn't screw in. I think it might have been because I accidentally changed the drill setting to anti clockwise once.

After I did that though I drilled even deeper to try and compensate but either the extractor is not going in because I'm not putting enough pressure, or the hole in the stripped screw is a bit too big making it a loose.

I tried hammering the extractor in lightly but that didn't work either, plus I didn't want to risk cracking the plastic.

In the end I tried some epoxy on a thin nail and sticking that into the newly screwed hole in the screw, and I'm going to let that set for the next couple days. I'm worried I've mucked this up though because I kept moving the nail while trying to keep it up straight. I gave up after a couple minutes though and just let it lean on the side of the screw shaft.

If this doesn't work should I try drilling again? Maybe I should try aiming for the rest of the screw head to completely remove it? I don't know, this whole thing is annoying.

Foomy · August 2015

If you can't get it out then your next option is to pick a drill bit just slightly smaller than the shaft of the screw and drill it out completely.

Then after that you can either just use glue when reassembling the toy, or try to tap a hole for a slightly bigger screw.

Aridhol · August 2015

I would drill the hole completely out, very slightly larger than the original and re-tap it. I know you said you tried drilling, what kind of drillbit did you use, what material?

Donovan Puppyfucker · August 2015

That "put a rubber band in a stripped Philips screw head" dealio?

Doesn't make any real difference. It actually just gets in the way of the driver tip fitting all the way into what's left of the screw head. It's very popular all over the internet as a "life hack", but it's complete bunk.

Heatwave · August 2015

If the epoxy doesn't end up working would it be possible to attach the extractor to the electric drill and drill anti clockwise.

I also saw a video of a guy putting the extractor in at an angle and hammering it, but he was doing this for a screw inside a piece of wood, so I'm not sure whether the plastic would hold if I kept hammering it like that.

Donovan Puppyfucker · August 2015

I had a set of extractor drills that were twisted the "wrong" way - you put the drill into reverse to drill them into whatever you were trying to extract. They worked really well, often while drilling the thing would start to wind itself out and all my problems would be solved.

DevoutlyApathetic · August 2015

chrishallett83 wrote: »

I had a set of extractor drills that were twisted the "wrong" way - you put the drill into reverse to drill them into whatever you were trying to extract. They worked really well, often while drilling the thing would start to wind itself out and all my problems would be solved.

I'm confused. I really thought all those drills were meant to be left-handed basically for exactly this reason. Getting them sunk enough to use to torque the screw out was sorta a fall back plan if they didn't start coming out on their own when you put the extractor in.

Heatwave · August 2015

Epoxy didn't work at all. Too soft. Maybe I didn't mix it enough/mixed too much.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll try using the extractor piece with the electric drill and set it to anti clockwise. Hopefully I'll be able to get it into the hole enough to twist the screw out

Heatwave · August 2015

The battle between me and the screw was lost. I ended up destroying the head of the screw with a larger drill piece, but in my haste I didn't leave anything left of the top to yank the rest out.

DiL8wet.jpg?1

Would it be possible at all to get the rest out or is it now a lost cause?

dispatch.o · August 2015

If you're going to have to glue anyway and need to repair the spot you chewed up. I suggest using a hacksaw or dremel and cutting a flathead groove in the top of the screw and just unscrewing it. Then file all the chewed up pieces of plastic down. Use hot glue and fill the hole, let it set up and then you can just drive a screw into the now hot-glue filled hole.

Heatwave · August 2015

I'm not sure if there is a dremel tool in the garage, but I'll check on the weekend. In case there isn't, would I be able to just buy a cutting disc attachment and use it with the drill?

Thro · August 2015

Heatwave wrote: »

The battle between me and the screw was lost. I ended up destroying the head of the screw with a larger drill piece, but in my haste I didn't leave anything left of the top to yank the rest out.

Would it be possible at all to get the rest out or is it now a lost cause?

Hey, so this may be a dumb question, but do you really need the bit of screw left out? I mean, do you need to open and close this part on a semi-regular basis? The screw head is gone, so it doesn't stick out visibly. Could you just glue the parts back together to hold it? You already have epoxy. . .

Heatwave · August 2015

Thro wrote: »

Heatwave wrote: »

The battle between me and the screw was lost. I ended up destroying the head of the screw with a larger drill piece, but in my haste I didn't leave anything left of the top to yank the rest out.

Would it be possible at all to get the rest out or is it now a lost cause?

Hey, so this may be a dumb question, but do you really need the bit of screw left out? I mean, do you need to open and close this part on a semi-regular basis? The screw head is gone, so it doesn't stick out visibly. Could you just glue the parts back together to hold it? You already have epoxy. . .

I don't want to glue the parts shut because I want to keep the option of switching it out

Thro · August 2015

Heatwave wrote: »

Thro wrote: »

Heatwave wrote: »

The battle between me and the screw was lost. I ended up destroying the head of the screw with a larger drill piece, but in my haste I didn't leave anything left of the top to yank the rest out.

Would it be possible at all to get the rest out or is it now a lost cause?

Hey, so this may be a dumb question, but do you really need the bit of screw left out? I mean, do you need to open and close this part on a semi-regular basis? The screw head is gone, so it doesn't stick out visibly. Could you just glue the parts back together to hold it? You already have epoxy. . .

I don't want to glue the parts shut because I want to keep the option of switching it out

Ok, that makes sense then. In that case dispatch.o's idea seems pretty good.
You can sorta use a small dremmel like cutting disc in a normal drill, but the slower rpm/higher torque will make detail jobs like this pretty difficult; you run the risk of just knocking the screw sideways instead of cutting into it.

dispatch.o · August 2015

Heatwave wrote: »

I'm not sure if there is a dremel tool in the garage, but I'll check on the weekend. In case there isn't, would I be able to just buy a cutting disc attachment and use it with the drill?

I suppose so as long as its designed for use with a drill. Just be sure its going to leave enough material on both sides of the groove to handle the torque of a screwdriver.

dlinfiniti · August 2015

Heatwave wrote: »

I'm not sure if there is a dremel tool in the garage, but I'll check on the weekend. In case there isn't, would I be able to just buy a cutting disc attachment and use it with the drill?

i dont know what kind of drill you have but in general they aren't really capable of the RPMs you would need for a cutting disc

Heatwave · September 2015

Good news. I got the broken screw out.

Bad news. I deemed myself unfit to use a dremel tool and so decided to cut around the tip of the broken screw and pull it out with some pliers.

Even though there is now a gap in the shaft between the two plastic parts, I think if I were to get another screw that's long enough, it'd still be fine. In the mean time the parts can still hold together fine without a screw, but I probably won't use the head any time soon.

At least i have third party head for the figure, so it won't look odd. It actually looks better than the original.

Thank you all for the advise and I'm sorry this thread didn't have a better ending. Could a mod please lock this thread?

spool32 · September 2015

give us a photo of the repaired figure!

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