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01-02-2019, 08:49 PM | #1 |
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broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Probably written about before, but I have two upper window garnish wood screws maybe #8 or #10 broken off in the only spot I can put the metal vertical chrome garnish on. These screws look broken off flush with the really hard oak a long time ago.
Do I try to drill a hole in the middle of the metal screw and try to tap, or do I give up and drill around big broken screw hole and then epoxy wood filler and start over? Thanks for advice from personal experience. LOL. Kim
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68B frame# late May1930, fixed seat, Briggs build plate# & most parts, indicate July, or early Aug. 1930. |
01-02-2019, 09:17 PM | #2 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Try this
Use a old electric soldering iron the kind with a big copper heat sink, get it good and hot, put a dab of solder on it to transfer heat and hold it on the end of the broken screw until it burns the wood enough to loosen the screw. |
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01-02-2019, 09:57 PM | #3 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
I'd remove remaining screw parts any way you can-screw extractor etc,fill whole with a good glue epoxy and redrill for proper screw size. Chisel around screw or use dremmel tool then vise grips. what ever works to remove. Never Give Up!!!! Especially on a little screw.
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01-02-2019, 10:40 PM | #4 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Using a small drill bit work your way around the screw(s), grab it with a long nose pliers or such. Once the screw is out drill out the remaining hole to size and glue in a piece of oak dowel to fill the hole. Probably will give a better anchor point for the new screw than filling with epoxy.
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01-02-2019, 10:50 PM | #5 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
This happened to me on a cabinet knob once. A friend of mine, who does woodworking, had a small tool similar to a miniature hole saw, and he said they were made for this very purpose. It cut a small core out of the wood, with the broken screw at the center, and extracted the whole piece. He then had a correct size dowel that he glued into the hole.
After the glue dried, he drilled a pilot hole for the new screw, and the knob covered the plugged area. I don't know what they are called, but it worked like a charm. If there is a store that sells wood working supplies near you, possibly they could help. Crosscuts idea is along the same line, and may be faster than looking for this odd tool.
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01-02-2019, 11:20 PM | #6 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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01-02-2019, 11:35 PM | #7 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
What Stew said... for one or two applications you may be able to get away using a length of thin wall metal tubing, maybe even a piece of hydraulic brake line.
Being a "wood boat" guy, I know all about broken screws in hard white oak. Joe B |
01-03-2019, 12:00 AM | #8 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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01-03-2019, 01:36 AM | #9 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
I agree with the advice from the above post about lubrication of the screws. My father an old school carpenter/ cabinet maker would use a household wax candle. Worked for me when I built the wood in my Murray fordor.
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01-03-2019, 03:33 AM | #10 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
If you go the route of gluing a plug into the wood, DO NOT use PVA. It will cause the new screw to rust out in no time.
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01-03-2019, 04:27 AM | #11 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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01-03-2019, 05:44 AM | #12 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Quote:
My comment is based on experience. It's something to do with the drying/curing process of PVA (acetic??)
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01-03-2019, 07:25 AM | #13 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Here is the Harbor Freight link for "plug Cutters". Great addition to the tool box. Just use them like a drill and cut around the broken screw. Be sure to go deeper than the screw (?).Then with a small chisel or screwdriver snap out the plug complete with the screw and glue in the proper size dowel. Works every time, Chap
https://www.harborfreight.com/catalo...&q=plug+cutter |
01-03-2019, 08:53 AM | #14 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
A HF plug cutter is what you need. May I suggest that you practice on the workbench with the tool and a hand drill. These cutters are best used in a drill press. The cutter does not have a pilot and will tend to walk if not held perpendicular to the work piece. Take a scrap 1/2" thick piece of wood and cut a thru hole to use as a guide. This guide can be clamped in place. As someone has stated, the plug can be cut with the next larger cutter. Gorilla Glue for the plug, pilot hole, and bees wax for lubrication and you are good to go. Good luck.
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01-03-2019, 09:33 AM | #15 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Bar soap works great for lubing wood screws and wont stain.
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01-03-2019, 10:03 AM | #16 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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01-03-2019, 12:13 PM | #17 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Thanks everyone for some great ideas and discussion. I found this site based on comments above.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/screw-extractor-1-4
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68B frame# late May1930, fixed seat, Briggs build plate# & most parts, indicate July, or early Aug. 1930. Last edited by kimeccles; 01-03-2019 at 01:22 PM. |
01-03-2019, 02:51 PM | #18 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Save yourself a lot of trouble and use only steel or stainless steel screws when you can find them. The quality of hardware fasteners today is crap and that is why they break while being screwed in.
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01-04-2019, 07:38 AM | #19 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Quote:
John |
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01-04-2019, 09:28 AM | #20 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
I have always head that stainless steel screws are not as strong as regular steel screws. Is this correct
??? Jack |
01-04-2019, 09:36 AM | #21 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
aermotor, of course pre drilling will lessen the chances of breaking a screw, however, most of the screws themselves are still junk particularly the kind you find in packs at Home Depot and Lowe's. They are made out of Zinc and ??? I've yet to break a steel or stainless steel screw......
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01-04-2019, 09:56 AM | #22 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
I got a chuckle, there was one suggestion for using wax to lubricate the screw and one for beeswax. My stepfather was a cabinet maker and used to bore a 1/2 inch hole in the end of every hammer he owned. Then he would heat a mixture of wax and beeswax, and fill the hole. When driving a screw in hardwood he would just stick the screw in the end of the hammer handle to coat it, then drive it in. Worked great.
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01-04-2019, 12:08 PM | #23 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
I would use a 1/2" plug cutter such as Rockler PN 68976. Then glue in a 1/2" hardwood dowel.Don't use Elmers Glue, use something like Titebond Glue. I would also drill a pilot hole using a taper drill matched to the size of your screw. Do NOT use soap as a lubricant. When I was building my '46 Woodie, I researches thread lube and was advised by many people that soap is hydrophilic and will attract moisture. This will eventually cause premature rust and possibly discolor your trim. The thread lubricant I use, is by Lloyd's and has the odd name of Akempucky Fastener Lubricant. It made the screws go into the rock maple with ease.
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01-04-2019, 12:11 PM | #24 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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01-04-2019, 12:34 PM | #25 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
I just called a friend who has owned a cabinet shop for 30 years. He uses a 1/4" hollow drill. It uses the broken screw as a pilot. It's available from Woodcraft, 1-800-225-1153, Item, 124210. He said it costs less that $20. Glue in a dowel and use the above info and you'll be ok.
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01-04-2019, 10:44 PM | #26 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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Quote:
LOL...I worked 41 years at the telephone company and I wish I had a dime for every screw I drove in with a hammer. We would have to screw clamps every 24" coming down a pole and I learned early on that the screw slots were to remove the screw. Of course a telephone pole has a lot more "meat" than a cabinet frame. If I had used a screwdriver I would have to work 81 years. TerryO |
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01-04-2019, 10:51 PM | #27 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
I broke a screw in a set of oak cabinets, that I built, just a few weeks ago. I used a piece of brake tube a few inches long. I filed teeth on one end with a 3 corner file. I did have to recut the teeth 3 or 4 times as the soft tube wore down quickly. It worked a treat
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01-05-2019, 11:46 AM | #28 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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01-05-2019, 12:53 PM | #29 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Kim,
Those screw extractors are what you want. I used them on several broken screws on our Town Sedan. As I recall, I think they are made to run CCW. They are hardened steel so be careful how tight you tighten the chuck. Woodcraft in Spokane Valley should also have some good dowls. I have been using Door Ease as a lubricant for 50 years, works great and most car folks have it laying around. Also, while at Woodcraft check out the tapered drill bits for screw holes. A bit pricey but well worth the money. Ed Last edited by Ed Wendell; 01-05-2019 at 12:56 PM. Reason: Add info |
01-05-2019, 01:00 PM | #30 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Re #22, I was told that hammers were for driving screws in and screwdrivers for removing them . With the correct size pilot this way does work
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01-05-2019, 03:50 PM | #31 |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
Ed Wendell, and all others,
Thanks very much for the additional advise.
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68B frame# late May1930, fixed seat, Briggs build plate# & most parts, indicate July, or early Aug. 1930. |
01-08-2019, 12:07 AM | #32 | |
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Re: broken screws in oak, drill or give up?
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