Introduction
This guide will show you how to extract a screw that has broken while being embedded inside its hole, along with showing you how to replace it with a new one. This process works for screws inside walls, pieces of lumber, or metal. The guide requires a couple of power tools, so you should always use the necessary precautions when using them to avoid any injuries.
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Use an angle grinder to grind the tip of the broken screw until its surface is smooth and even.
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Place a center punch in the middle of the tip of the screw.
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Use a hammer to hit the center punch to make a dent in the center of the embedded screw.
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Place a center drill bit in the dent made in the previous step and start drilling until it expands enough to fit the standard drill bit inside it.
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Make a hole in the tip of the screw by drilling with a standard drill bit.
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Keep drilling until the hole reaches near the end of the screw.
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One comment
It all sounds great, but... It didn't work. I have a Porter-Cable older router. The first screw in the base came out without a problem, and the other 2 screws wouldn't budge. I tried various penetrating oils and nothing. I drilled one of the screws and tried an extractor...nothing. I cut off the screw and drilled clean through, then tried the extractor again...nothing. So, what's left of the screw is drilled out, won't budge with a hole, and is laughing at me.
Although I haven't tried it yet, I was going to cut of the base, leaving the screw intact, getting some vise grips and try to twist it out.
Any other ideas??