I have a drywall screw where the head broke off the shank. The screw is holding two cabinets together and I need to separate the cabinets. Due to the tight opening I have to pull the one cabinet forward to remove it from its location. But the broken screw shank prevents me from putting it forward.
The cabinet is junk now (it’s been damaged which is why I”M replacing it). How do I remove the screw? Drill it somehow? I can’t get a sawzall blade between the two cabinets, they’re that tight, nor would I want to lest I damage the finish of the good cabinet.
Replies
Drill a hole AROUND IT.
They make special tools to do this, but get a piece of thinwall steel tubing (brake line). Then file a couple of teeth in the end.
Use that to drill around the screw. Then some vise grips.
Another would be to take a dremel, cutoff tool, or router and cut a big hole around the screw.
If you want to do minimal damage you could take a dremel with a cutoff blade and slice down about 45 degrees and cut off the shaft of the screw.
Edited 7/9/2004 12:08 pm ET by Bill Hartmann
Bill thanks, great idea.
I'm thinking a small plug cutting bit in a drill and drilling around the shank. It might be tough to start this type of bit. Other option might be drilling some small pilot holes around the drywall screw shank and tapping it out. Although many use them, drywall screw material doesn't have the shear strength of screws made specifically for hanging cabinets especially when going into hardwood face frames.
Been there. If the cabinet's a dunner, then I usually just take the pilot drill out of a small holesaw and cut out a plug with the screw in it. In a pinch, I've even used a plug-cutter because we didn't have the right allen key to get the pilot out of a hole-saw.
If we're trying to save the cabinet, then we use one of those portable drill-stands to make sure we cut a cleaner hole with a very small holesaw and then use a fostner to cut a slightly larger hole with clean entry and exit ready for a plug. Screw-extrators can work on DW screws BTW, but they're a pain because the screws are so thin.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
Since this cabinet is junk, just cut thed face frame parrallel to the screw shank and leave that block in place while you remove the cabinet, then unscrew it.
Or
use a chisle to remove enough meat around the screw to get a vice grip on it
Or
Mkae a plunger cut right through the face frame and the screw in the edge of this cabineet saving a heavy hair away from the salvagable one.
Now you know why they are called Piffinscrews
;)
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Ok, cool, more great ideas. Thanks
OK Pyrotechie,
Repeat after me.....
THIS IS WHY I SHOULD NEVER USE DRYWALL SCREWS ON CABINETS!!!
Louder! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!
NOW WRITE IT OUT 50,000 TIMES!!
And when your done go to your room.Mr T
Happiness is a cold wet nose
Life is is never to busy to stop and pet the Doggies!!
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F
I counted and your not finished yet!
looks to me like 764..what'd you get?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Dammit, I didnt think you actualy counted so I went and did it, suckered again.
BTW, I think your count was right, or at least close, got dizzy.
mighta missed a line..so give or take 8..
close enough..
lol
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
95(?) rows of 8
one row of 4
how'd he do that? lots a copy paste or ya think he actually typed it all? Using DW screws on face frames ( without a pilot hole no less) make me think he typed it all...shoulda told him a solid whack on ONE rail top while blocking the bottom of the other would break the screw in the middle..or a pipe clamp to shear them past each other , woulda done it too..
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
If he typed all of that than he's got more time on his hands than the two of us combined.
11.5 "it out's" to a line...
Gotta havw a recount.... Get those folks from Florida to do it for ya...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
796...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Edited 7/10/2004 12:56 am ET by IMERC
748.
Jon Blakemore
We say somebody has way too much time on their hands and then we find play time...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Edited 7/11/2004 4:13 pm ET by IMERC
Agreed.
PS. Your post (not including tagline and spaces) has 63 characters.
Edit: 66 if you count the ellipsis
Jon Blakemore
Edited 7/11/2004 4:44 pm ET by Jon Blakemore
nope..61 an 3 dots.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Now we have thirty [30] posts on how to remove a single drywall screw. There is so much advice not to use drywall screws to suspend cabinets, but here we have a single [partial] drywall screw holding up an entire cabinet all by itself.
This just proves that us pro Piffin screw folks have a point.
Leichtung used to sell a super small hole saw for just this purpose but I don't know if they still exist. The smallest holesaw I have found is 9/16".
~Peter
They're called screw extractors and sized by screw numbers...
sears and most all other tool outlets got 'em
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
"This just proves that us pro Piffin screw folks have a point."
counterpoint -
it actually proves the opposite which is what I was getting at way back when i said this shows why...
The head broke off at the shoulder where the faces are fastened together. It's purpose there is to hold the alignment of the faces and any little old pin will do that. but if it were the head of the screws in the back rail holding it up and to the wall, the can could fall down if fully loaded.
AND - while this and probably most of these broken ones I have seen were broken at the shoulder, many of them break any old place along the shank. The point of holding something up when it is this important, is that you want top use fasteners that don't break in the first place.
i've never seen a SR screw break when used to hang SR, but probably 20-30% of the cabs I've removed when hung with SR screws had broken shanks. After using thousands of the GRK structural screws for several years, in all sorts of applications, I have only seen maybe fifty of them break and that in extremely stressed positions of use. i'll take half a percent over twenty percent chances of breakage any day of the month!
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Guys, amazing that yes a single dimwitted screw has generated such a thread. Cool either way, no problem.
Guess what, I solved the problem. I drilled some holes along side the screw shank. Tore up the side a bit but who cares. Got my pliers in there and twisted that sucker out in no time...thanks for the advice....IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!
And a broken one at that...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
67 with 3 dots....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Edited 7/11/2004 4:24 pm ET by IMERC
now it's 63 + dots, quit editing or learn to count you guys..
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Why are you changing your story now?
Jon Blakemore
he corrected a typo..probly do it again..
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Repeat after me.....
THIS IS WHY I SHOULD NEVER USE DRYWALL SCREWS ON CABINETS!!!
But I thought the entire world was held together with drywall screws.....and a couple of rolls of duct tape.
or just do what piffin said first...
Sharp floor chisel inserted between cabinets, one light blow and the screw will split in half.
mike
cut the face frame above and below the screw with a hand saw you don't go to deep.
take the cab off, then unscrew the remaining block.
Drive a cat's paw in there and once you get a purchase on the screw shank, lever it out or haul sideways to snap it in half.
Holesaw without pilot bit is neater. Plug cutter too. But you have to watch your depth carefully if you don't want to score the other cab.
Use a rotary tool with a thin cut-off disc to cut a slot for a common screwdriver in the end of the shank, then try to get it out with a mechanic's impact driver. Nah...forget that one; it'll never work....
Getting really really really mad at the thing and just ripping it out with your bare hands and lots of screaming is very satisfying but makes the neighbors talk....
ARRRRGHGGGG!!!!!!!!!!
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
Just how small of a hole saw are all you kids walking around with?
A cab face frame is 3/4" thick ...
Just where do I find that 1/2" hole saw ... or smaller ....so I can reuse that cab?
OK ... for a demo'd cab .... Pif and CAG have the answer .. for a saver ...
use a 1/4 inch or so drill bit .. and just run it along side the screw ... it'll chew up the bit .. and screw ... a bit .. but it'll work ... sometimes ya gotta drill 2 or 3 more "access" holes ... all around the screw shank ... only the first ones gotta be deep .. that's the "relief cut" ... takes the bing outta the screw ... the others need only be deep enough to get your needle nose pliers in there to grab hold so you can twist.
Plug cutter sounds like it might work ...
but I don't seem to have any teeny tiny hole saws ....
Jeff
Buck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
LeeVally Veritas has what you want.. Screw extractor... No fuss no muss..
Sears has them too.......
http://www.leevalley.com
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Face-frame not mentioned here; but, Milwaukee 49-56-0005 and you can quarter-moon over the back edge of the frame if need-be..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
I have a drywall screw where the head broke off the shank. The screw is holding two cabinets together and I need to separate the cabinets
I bet ya a dollar ... American ... there's a face frame in there ....
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Maybe, maybe not. But I think you'll find European cabinets out-number face-frames by an order of magnitude..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
i got a 14mm (9/16") hole saw a few weeks ago for just this sort of application.
i snapped off a 2 1/4" stainless screw and had to get it out
Rockler sells a do-dad for just this purpose. Look in their screw extractors section.
If I understand you right "its junk" chisel around the screw then use vise grips and back out screw , throw cab away. unless screw is in good cab then anything these guys say sounds good to me.
tyke
just another day in paradise
LOL I shoulda kept reading.
tyke
just another day in paradise