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October 18, 2008

How to Remove a Screw with a Broken or Stripped Head

The picture above shows the problem. After servicing my lawn mower, including changing the cutting blades, I was putting it all back together when I tightened one of the bolts too much (under the cutting deck) and I snapped the head off. The break is well below the surface and there is no way of trying to grab the bolt with pliers or vice grips to remove the rest of the bolt.

But there is quite a simple and very affordable solution. Buy your self a set of Screw Extractors. They are very similar to a screw but with a reversed thread. 
All you need to do to remove the broken bolt is drill a hole in centre of it (the very first image above actually shows the bolt after already being drilled) and screwing one of the extractors in (shown above), in reverse. As the screw extractor tightens itself into the bolt it will slowly start to spin and come out.
Here is the final image showing my set of screw extractors with the removed bolt and also the broken head that caused the problem in the first place.

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Article by Steve Sagovac / hand tools, Must Have Tool Tip 3 Comments

About Steve Sagovac

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS ARTICLE!
I'm always on the lookout for an interesting question or problem that can be the topic of a new article. So if you have a question or suggestion, let me know in the comments below, or feel free to email here. Thanks for reading! Steve

Comments

  1. Electric Handyman says

    February 21, 2009 at 11:18 am

    This detailed information comes very helpful.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    November 23, 2009 at 4:48 am

    Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
    Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!

    Reply
  3. Hitachi Tools says

    December 21, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    The most important tip is to soak the broken bolt in a rust inhibitor over night though to help loosen it before you try to remove it.

    Some like CRC or WD40.

    Reply

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