How Do You Remove A Stripped Screw?
Sometimes the head of a screw becomes worn and becomes difficult to remove due to slippage between the screw head and the screwdriver bit. This how-to discusses how to get these difficult-to-remove screws out of whatever it is that they’ve gotten stuck in. • Avoid making the problem worse. If the tool you are using is slipping, stop using it immediately. Further slippage will only continue to wear down the screw head and make it harder to remove. Definitely be sure you are going in the correct direction for removal, which is usually–but not always–counterclockwise (“righty tighty, lefty loosy”). Pressing down hard as you are unscrewing will help prevent slippage. • Use a manual screwdriver rather than a power drill. You will be able to put more pressure on the back of the screwdriver (to increase friction) and to go more slowly. Not all drills are strong enough to exert as much torque as you need to remove a recalcitrant screw. Some chuckless drills will actually lose their grip on t
