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I messed up the screw that fits this tip of this particular type of screwdriver bit (circled in red):

Bit & hand drill set That screw now has almost no edges and is basically oval. I tried lubricating the screw so that I can get it by the neck on the opposite side with a set of pliers but I had no luck there as well.

l0b0
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Vrankela
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  • Possible duplicate: [How to remove screws with stripped heads?](http://diy.stackexchange.com/q/10451/33) – Tester101 Jun 13 '15 at 13:57

4 Answers4

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You may have some luck with a screw extractor. They come in various styles - here are two of them:

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The extractors are designed to screw themselves down into the head of the screw while at the same time applying torque on the screw in the direction that would loosen the screw. Your described screw had a hex socket type hole so the extractor may be ready to try. Sometimes it is necessary to drill a small hole in the screw head to engage the extractor. The first type shown has extractor on one and a suitably sized drill on the other end.

It the extractor fails to remove the screw or if the thing is too far gone already to accept a screw extractor then it would likely be a next step to remove the core of the screw by drilling it out. With care you can drill down the center of the core and use a diameter that is smaller than the outside thread diameter. Then you can come back with a threading tap to remove the reset of the screw material and clean up the threads in the mating part. Here is a picture of a typical threading tap.

enter image description here

Michael Karas
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  • That did the job, can you tell me now what type of screw head should i replace it with now? the same one I used but a better quality one or like the cross ones like the badges of this site? – Vrankela Jun 13 '15 at 10:59
  • I literally used the tip that is two places to the right of the one I marked :D – Vrankela Jun 13 '15 at 11:05
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    @Vrankela it depends, what sort of torque do you need, or what is it holding? – user2813274 Jun 13 '15 at 13:14
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    @Vrankela if you need a high torque, which explained that your previous screw was messed up, you should switch to hexalobular internal AKA Torx. It is much more difficult to demolish those screwheads. But then you might consider the use of a torque wrench to prevent damage to your screw threads. – Ariser Jun 14 '15 at 09:41
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I usually just cut a slot in the screw head with a Dremel or similar rotary cuttter, and then use a regular screwdriver to unscrew.

Wayfaring Stranger
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7

If the head is readily accessible you can use a fine toothed metal saw to cut a groove with which you then can use a regular flat screwdriver to unscrew.

hacksaw

hlovdal
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-1

Use a hand plier to apply on screw head and rotate

Basil Alias
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