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ruined a phillips screw, any inspired solution?

Not strictly audio but related and a real mess. I wanted to open up the cabinet of a cdp to change a tube inside which involved removing 6 small phillips screws with a recessed head,... and of course, there is always one that pretends to be sword Excalibur. Sadly, after I had attacked it with every imaginable screwdriver, I noticed that I had literally milled out the head. So I now have an unbudgeable screw with a perfectly round cavity on the head sitting on a rather sensitive piece of gear (the plate I have to remove holds most of the electronic circuitry, the cd drive and the tube, go figure). Anyone faced a similar conundrum and solved it?
Thanks for not laughing 8^(
karelfd
4est
507 posts
 
Something along the lines of the Sears extractor are reverse threaded drill bits. The counter clockwise cutting force is applied. If the hole gets deep enough, use typical extractors. A lot depends on the type of metal, size of the screw and the type of head. I can see how the Sears tool would work great in general, but I have reverse threaded dills down to 1/16". Places like McMaster Carr have them.
jsd52756
420 posts
 
As long as everyone is chimming in;
*Replace any other screws with new ones. Chances are they are jacked up as well.
*Clean out the holes with compresed air before reinstalling the screws.
*Don't over tighten the screws when you put them back in. That's what started this whole mess in the 1st place.
Good luck, John
4est
507 posts
 
I stand corrected, I was looking at the 3 piece set in one of the links. That 7 piece one looks really handy.
driver's avatar
driver
750 posts
 
What I would do is the easiest thing first. I would take a pair of diagonal cutters & see if I could squeeze into the sides of the screw while turning. I've done this on audio gear but learned this trick working on vehicles.
sid42
301 posts
 
What you're looking for is called an "EZ Out", available at any hardware store. You drill a small hole in the center of the screw, insert the ez out and screw it out in reverse.
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