Sorry, what was I thinking?

I’ve got a stuck screw. The top of it has sheared off and the thread bit is stuck in the ???

Just looking on the internet I need a Screw Extractor.

Will that be all? I don’t have one, just drill bits and drills.

Never heard of such a thing…

Also, how do I remove nails where I can’t get the head into the hammer claw, would a screw extractor work on this as well?

Am pleased to advise that I have attached the aviary wire firmly to the back door sliding screen door (no screen) and the dogs can’t pull it off any more. Am currently fixing little things like outdoor chair arms, step-ladder frames…the nails are to be drawn out of a table that Dad made…I tell you I am a fan of screws now, you can unscrew them with a power drill (if only I can remember reverse)…then the table will be put back together again…

Dinetta said:

Sorry, what was I thinking?

I’ve got a stuck screw. The top of it has sheared off and the thread bit is stuck in the ???

Just looking on the internet I need a Screw Extractor.

Will that be all? I don’t have one, just drill bits and drills.

Never heard of such a thing…

Also, how do I remove nails where I can’t get the head into the hammer claw, would a screw extractor work on this as well?

Am pleased to advise that I have attached the aviary wire firmly to the back door sliding screen door (no screen) and the dogs can’t pull it off any more. Am currently fixing little things like outdoor chair arms, step-ladder frames…the nails are to be drawn out of a table that Dad made…I tell you I am a fan of screws now, you can unscrew them with a power drill (if only I can remember reverse)…then the table will be put back together again…

Screw extractors are a tool that you may find useful if you have a lot of screws to extract.

Tell me about the screw. Tell me about what it is screwed into. A single screw needing extraction does not necessarily require buying a tool that you may never need to use at all, let alone again.

One of the best screw extractors that will be used again and again is a can of WD-40.
The other is a screw driver.
Having a drill and drill bits is also useful.

As to stuck nails with no heads, a hammer is the most used extractor. No, not the nail pulling end. The bit that has hammer written all over it. Yes, in many cases a nail can be knocked out backwards with a hammer. You may need another nail, preferably a blunt one. If you cannot get to the other side, a pair of pliers may pull it like a tooth. This is, if you can gain enough purchase on the nail with the pliers. Again a squirt of WD-40 may assist in any such endeavour. Often the claw end of the hammer will still work even without a head on the nail. The action gained by using the cam effect of a claw hammer can also be gained by using a pair of end nippers. Grab and roll the nippers over the rounded end and the cam effect comes into play providing the leverage required.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Sorry, what was I thinking?

I’ve got a stuck screw. The top of it has sheared off and the thread bit is stuck in the ???

Just looking on the internet I need a Screw Extractor.

Will that be all? I don’t have one, just drill bits and drills.

Never heard of such a thing…

Also, how do I remove nails where I can’t get the head into the hammer claw, would a screw extractor work on this as well?

Am pleased to advise that I have attached the aviary wire firmly to the back door sliding screen door (no screen) and the dogs can’t pull it off any more. Am currently fixing little things like outdoor chair arms, step-ladder frames…the nails are to be drawn out of a table that Dad made…I tell you I am a fan of screws now, you can unscrew them with a power drill (if only I can remember reverse)…then the table will be put back together again…

Screw extractors are a tool that you may find useful if you have a lot of screws to extract.

Tell me about the screw. Tell me about what it is screwed into. A single screw needing extraction does not necessarily require buying a tool that you may never need to use at all, let alone again.

One of the best screw extractors that will be used again and again is a can of WD-40.
The other is a screw driver.
Having a drill and drill bits is also useful.

As to stuck nails with no heads, a hammer is the most used extractor. No, not the nail pulling end. The bit that has hammer written all over it. Yes, in many cases a nail can be knocked out backwards with a hammer. You may need another nail, preferably a blunt one. If you cannot get to the other side, a pair of pliers may pull it like a tooth. This is, if you can gain enough purchase on the nail with the pliers. Again a squirt of WD-40 may assist in any such endeavour. Often the claw end of the hammer will still work even without a head on the nail. The action gained by using the cam effect of a claw hammer can also be gained by using a pair of end nippers. Grab and roll the nippers over the rounded end and the cam effect comes into play providing the leverage required.

me too. Photo of said screw would be good.

Is it a timber screw in a bit of timber?

painmaster said:

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Sorry, what was I thinking?

I’ve got a stuck screw. The top of it has sheared off and the thread bit is stuck in the ???

Just looking on the internet I need a Screw Extractor.

Will that be all? I don’t have one, just drill bits and drills.

Never heard of such a thing…

Also, how do I remove nails where I can’t get the head into the hammer claw, would a screw extractor work on this as well?

Am pleased to advise that I have attached the aviary wire firmly to the back door sliding screen door (no screen) and the dogs can’t pull it off any more. Am currently fixing little things like outdoor chair arms, step-ladder frames…the nails are to be drawn out of a table that Dad made…I tell you I am a fan of screws now, you can unscrew them with a power drill (if only I can remember reverse)…then the table will be put back together again…

Screw extractors are a tool that you may find useful if you have a lot of screws to extract.

Tell me about the screw. Tell me about what it is screwed into. A single screw needing extraction does not necessarily require buying a tool that you may never need to use at all, let alone again.

One of the best screw extractors that will be used again and again is a can of WD-40.
The other is a screw driver.
Having a drill and drill bits is also useful.

As to stuck nails with no heads, a hammer is the most used extractor. No, not the nail pulling end. The bit that has hammer written all over it. Yes, in many cases a nail can be knocked out backwards with a hammer. You may need another nail, preferably a blunt one. If you cannot get to the other side, a pair of pliers may pull it like a tooth. This is, if you can gain enough purchase on the nail with the pliers. Again a squirt of WD-40 may assist in any such endeavour. Often the claw end of the hammer will still work even without a head on the nail. The action gained by using the cam effect of a claw hammer can also be gained by using a pair of end nippers. Grab and roll the nippers over the rounded end and the cam effect comes into play providing the leverage required.

me too. Photo of said screw would be good.

Is it a timber screw in a bit of timber?

I just belt the nail right in, becomes a tiny knot in the wood. Screws, yeah, more of a problem. I’d drill it out.

OK, said screw is HEADLESS…head has been sheared off…

It is inside a piece of hard plastic (outdoor chair arm rest, the chair is metal frame with hard plastic seats and armrests)

The nail is driven into the piece of wood, no exit. It holds two pieces of wood together, the floor of the table (this is a table with a top and a floor) to the legs. The floor needs to come out for repairs. The floor is an inch thick piece of pine, the likes of which are hard to come by these days…

Dinetta said:

OK, said screw is HEADLESS…head has been sheared off…

It is inside a piece of hard plastic (outdoor chair arm rest, the chair is metal frame with hard plastic seats and armrests)

The nail is driven into the piece of wood, no exit. It holds two pieces of wood together, the floor of the table (this is a table with a top and a floor) to the legs. The floor needs to come out for repairs. The floor is an inch thick piece of pine, the likes of which are hard to come by these days…

The first thing to keep in mind about screws is that they were always intended to be able to be unscrewed. this is still achievable with or without the head. Yes it is trickier without the head but essentially it can still be unscrewed. The good thing is that it is screwed into plastic rather than metal which can corrode and cause the screw to stick fast. Similarly with wood, the wood can swell or shrink and cause similar problems including corrosion which cause the screw to stick fast. In plastic the plastic itself can make the screw tight but it is more easily moved,
approach the problem by first attempting to turn the screw gently by applying sideways pressure in the circular motion anti-clockwise of course. If the screw won’t move with gentle pressure a firmer approach needs to be taken but always work with the idea that you are teasing the screw rather than forcing it. Usually when the head breaks off and because of the helical nature of the screw thread there will exist a small lip to push against, because the nature of a break means that nothing is flush. A drop of WD-40 or even sewing machine oil will assist the motion even more so if you allow the lubrication to soak in well before working on it. You may need a sharp tool so perhaps run some emery paper across the screwdriver blade to make it sharper. The best tool is one with a point but take care as one slip and it is possible to cut yourself. If the screw is proud enough and you are patient enough a nail file or small file can be used to file a slot in the screw to make things easier.

If you can trust yourself with a drill then a drill can be drilled in a short distance preferably slow enough to get the drill to stick, then reverse the drill and it should simply unscrew the screw. However, screws are normally hardened and the drill bit may slip all over the place causing damage everywhere other than where you want it to. This can be solved with a centre pop punch and a hammer. the mark made by the punch gives the drill a place to start. While we are on hammers, yes light taps with a hammer can loosen the screw.

Dinetta said:

The nail is driven into the piece of wood, no exit. It holds two pieces of wood together, the floor of the table (this is a table with a top and a floor) to the legs. The floor needs to come out for repairs. The floor is an inch thick piece of pine, the likes of which are hard to come by these days…

Nails are a different kettle of fish. They are not meant to come out, so no amount of teasing will assist. More brute force needs to be applied but not without an iota of intelligent thought. Have a look at it. If the head is protruding then it may be graspable with nippers or pliers, preferably vice grips. If not then a little digging into the wood around the nail will help. The whole table may need to be pulled apart before you can get a purchase on the particular nail..

roughbarked said:

The first thing to keep in mind about screws is that they were always intended to be able to be unscrewed. this is still achievable with or without the head. Yes it is trickier without the head but essentially it can still be unscrewed. The good thing is that it is screwed into plastic rather than metal which can corrode and cause the screw to stick fast. Similarly with wood, the wood can swell or shrink and cause similar problems including corrosion which cause the screw to stick fast. In plastic the plastic itself can make the screw tight but it is more easily moved,
approach the problem by first attempting to turn the screw gently by applying sideways pressure in the circular motion anti-clockwise of course. If the screw won’t move with gentle pressure a firmer approach needs to be taken but always work with the idea that you are teasing the screw rather than forcing it. Usually when the head breaks off and because of the helical nature of the screw thread there will exist a small lip to push against, because the nature of a break means that nothing is flush. A drop of WD-40 or even sewing machine oil will assist the motion even more so if you allow the lubrication to soak in well before working on it. You may need a sharp tool so perhaps run some emery paper across the screwdriver blade to make it sharper. The best tool is one with a point but take care as one slip and it is possible to cut yourself. If the screw is proud enough and you are patient enough a nail file or small file can be used to file a slot in the screw to make things easier.

If you can trust yourself with a drill then a drill can be drilled in a short distance preferably slow enough to get the drill to stick, then reverse the drill and it should simply unscrew the screw. However, screws are normally hardened and the drill bit may slip all over the place causing damage everywhere other than where you want it to. This can be solved with a centre pop punch and a hammer. the mark made by the punch gives the drill a place to start. While we are on hammers, yes light taps with a hammer can loosen the screw.

Got a great picture in my mind there, and all good info…thanks for the response RoughBarked…

roughbarked said:

Nails are a different kettle of fish. They are not meant to come out, so no amount of teasing will assist. More brute force needs to be applied but not without an iota of intelligent thought. Have a look at it. If the head is protruding then it may be graspable with nippers or pliers, preferably vice grips. If not then a little digging into the wood around the nail will help. The whole table may need to be pulled apart before you can get a purchase on the particular nail..

Never thought of pulling the table apart and that’s a very good point…as my late father sometimes said, sometimes to solve a puzzle you have to go backwards…

Had another look at the wooden table and the top has been screwed on in recent years. Once I work out which is reverse in the big drill, I’ll take those out. Have WD-40…how did we live with out it…have some experience with “slippery” surfaces as had to drill into the aluminium frame of the sliding screen door. This has aviary mesh to keep the dogs in and chooks out, the insect screen is useless in an old Queenslander and I have clever dogs who have worked out how to slide the door…in an aside, I also learnt, during this exercise, how the slidey things work at the top of this screen door, and now (thanks to WD-40 again) it slides better than ever…

Could I please have a volunteer to accept photographs from me, taken with my Nokia Lumia 520 (so they won’t be very good but I could try)?

Then they can be put up into this thread….

Photobucket?

buffy said:

Photobucket?

I have photobucket but hate it. Haven’t used it in ….8 years?

I do not take many photographs, say 6 per year if that…

Dinetta said:

buffy said:

Photobucket?

I have photobucket but hate it. Haven’t used it in ….8 years?

I do not take many photographs, say 6 per year if that…

dropbox?

They did change it around 2 years ago, but it’s pretty easy. Once you have the ‘account” (I just use the free one) you just log in, click on the upload button, select the photo you want to upload from your computer and wait for it to upload. When you want to link to here, you click on the little cogwheel in the top right corner of your picture, select the ‘share links’ then ‘HTML thumb’. When it says ‘copied’, come back here and paste that into your post.

I did have to enable the thumbnails again recently. If you find there are no thumbnails options in your share links, you need to go into your account stuff and change it to allow them. I could try to remember how to do that if you want.

Is your account still active?

The information about your account is accessed through the little picture of a head in the top right corner of the Photobucket page when you are logged in.

Dinetta said:

Could I please have a volunteer to accept photographs from me, taken with my Nokia Lumia 520 (so they won’t be very good but I could try)?

Then they can be put up into this thread….

do you have my email?

bluegreen said:

Dinetta said:

Could I please have a volunteer to accept photographs from me, taken with my Nokia Lumia 520 (so they won’t be very good but I could try)?

Then they can be put up into this thread….

do you have my email?

Yes I do BlueGreen…

Well!!

blush

feeling embarassed

I took photographs with my camera (no mean feat for me), then noted that the screw appeared to be snapped under the edges of the plastic ??? that it screws into…so I though OK while I’m waiting I’ll spray with WD_40 (as I still have the little pipes for directional spraying)…sprayed…OH what’s this? poke poke with the little pipe…oh it’s hollow!

Even with my glasses I had thought there was a screw in there…

Sorry to bother everyone but let’s face it thanks to RoughBarked there’s now another brick in the wall of my handyman education…the arm rest is now screwed to the chair and I am very happy that all my chairs iin that setting now have armrests secured…next on the list is those slip-ons for the chair legs so they don’t mark the floor…would you believe the local Mitre10 no longer orders them because people aren’t buying chairs that need them? However I’m to take one in (if I can get it off) and they will measure and see if they have a set in stock…

happy!

Dinetta said:

Well!!

blush

feeling embarassed

happy!

:D

It looks good, BlueGreen…next step is to take back the paint and then re-paint it, parts have got rust so it needs to be sand papered…but that’s a while off yet…

bluegreen said:

Dinetta said:

Well!!

blush

feeling embarassed

happy!

:D

Good outcomes are that.

I was looking forward to the learning curve…

Dinetta said:

I was looking forward to the learning curve…

Plenty of headless screws about to practise on.

Haha!

Dinetta said:

Haha!

:) Have to meet you one day. :) I’m at Newrybar at present and will eventually move somewhere nearby because it is simply the best place on earth I’ve ever sat down for long at.

That’s interesting, it looks like there are two Binna Burras in this world…

I only found out the other day, where the fam camped on its’ way to Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury to indulge in our only family holiday ever, (not work related) in 2005, is near where Veg Gardener is currently working…small world, innit…

I’m a ditz, ask Pain Master (who has met me…)

roughbarked said:

I’m at Newrybar at present and will eventually move somewhere nearby because it is simply the best place on earth I’ve ever sat down for long at.

You certainly sound happy there…Isn’t it strange how one can go to another locale and one feels “at home” straight away…I still wistfully recall Portland/Heywood/Cape Bridgewater (but not Warrnambool…not wistfully, anyhow)…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

I’m at Newrybar at present and will eventually move somewhere nearby because it is simply the best place on earth I’ve ever sat down for long at.

You certainly sound happy there…Isn’t it strange how one can go to another locale and one feels “at home” straight away…I still wistfully recall Portland/Heywood/Cape Bridgewater (but not Warrnambool…not wistfully, anyhow)…

I’m happy anywhere but climate has a lot to do with being comfortable.

roughbarked said:

I’m happy anywhere but climate has a lot to do with being comfortable.

Tru, dat…I recall my sister saying about 26 years ago…she couldn’t handle the summers here any more…she lives in a bayside ‘burb in BrisVegas…wondered why she was so “soft” and now I’m catching on…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

I’m happy anywhere but climate has a lot to do with being comfortable.

Tru, dat…I recall my sister saying about 26 years ago…she couldn’t handle the summers here any more…she lives in a bayside ‘burb in BrisVegas…wondered why she was so “soft” and now I’m catching on…

Bloody wimps .. everyone rants on about humid heat.. wimps. I lived in rice paddy in 48 degrees for weeks on end every summer.. wimps I tell ya. this is paradise.

roughbarked said:

Bloody wimps .. everyone rants on about humid heat.. wimps. I lived in rice paddy in 48 degrees for weeks on end every summer.. wimps I tell ya. this is paradise.

I’m a whimp! Can’t stand heat and humidity!

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

Bloody wimps .. everyone rants on about humid heat.. wimps. I lived in rice paddy in 48 degrees for weeks on end every summer.. wimps I tell ya. this is paradise.

I’m a whimp! Can’t stand heat and humidity!

Not saying I love it or can stand it, it is more that I’m used to working in it.

I’m with Bluegreen, I can’t handle humidity. I’d have returned to Qld if I did. I love it where I am and having raised my family here, this is where I’ll stay forever.
Even if Vic is currently having a tropical moment. It can’t last. Boy the temperate garden has suffered though.

Funny where this ‘thread’ has gone, hehehe.