harrycatcat1 Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 I have a job at my daughter's to replace a top rail on a fence 22mm x 150mm (1" x 6") the rest of the fence is ok. The problem is getting the screws out, they are very tight and rounding off. My plan is to drill them out. There are about 8 screws per length and 5 length so 40 ish screws. What drill bit would you recommend? I normally get stuff from screwfix as it's just down the road from me. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 I doubt you will drill the screws out, the drill will try to find the path of least resistance...wood. The only way I could see this being possible is if the drill was very small and you could drill down the centre of the screw, best of luck with that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Hello, me again 😊 Is the existing top rail rotten ? I'm guessing yes,,,, so rip it off carefully, use a drill with a chuck and reverse action, clamp screws into chuck,,,, unscrew 🙂 Or,,,, rip off top rail, cut or snap screws and fix new rail with screws in a slightly different position ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 https://www.google.com/search?q=screw+extractor&oq=screw+extractor&aqs=chrome..69i57.6969j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_r4aqX5yVJZWBhbIPvJ6CkAc54 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, old'un said: I doubt you will drill the screws out, the drill will try to find the path of least resistance...wood. The only way I could see this being possible is if the drill was very small and you could drill down the centre of the screw, best of luck with that one. I will rephrase, I need a drill to take the phillips/possidrive screw head off then hopefully the wood will pull off. I don't want to drill the whole screw out. The Aldi steel drill bits are cack. 13 minutes ago, JKD said: Hello, me again 😊 Is the existing top rail rotten ? I'm guessing yes,,,, so rip it off carefully, use a drill with a chuck and reverse action, clamp screws into chuck,,,, unscrew 🙂 Or,,,, rip off top rail, cut or snap screws and fix new rail with screws in a slightly different position ? Yes that's what I intended to do until I found that one of the brick "piers" was not as solid as it should be so need to be careful. It's not dangerous but any forcing would make it worse. Edited November 10, 2020 by harrycatcat1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyn Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Use an angle grinder and cutting disc to go trough the wood and screw at an angle to cut the head off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Oh dear,,,, didn't realise the rails were attached to brick piers 😕 Basically you're going to have to very carefully remove the timber rails by either splitting them with hammer and chisel, or somehow drill out next to each screw,,,, then use a chucked drill as I described earlier or a pair of grips on the screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob85 Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Look for a cobalt drill, if you know roughly what the diameter of the screw shank is then use that size to drill through the head down into it, pop the head off and move to the next one. You will want a few cobalt drills as it will handle heat build up better on the steel screws. I do this quite often with rivets/screws/bolts in work right down to 1/16" diameter stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, wyn said: Use an angle grinder and cutting disc to go trough the wood and screw at an angle to cut the head off. Or this,,,, but be safe 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyn Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Maybe use a core drill to go around the screw. remove the length of timber, then deal with the bit of wood and screw that's left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 5 minutes ago, wyn said: Maybe use a core drill to go around the screw. remove the length of timber, then deal with the bit of wood and screw that's left. That's inspired out of the box thinking and the best, easiest solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 (edited) A small lathe centre drill, having centrepopped the head of the screw, ought to be solid enough not to break and the countersink should take off the screw head Edited November 10, 2020 by amateur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Bear Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Try this https://www.screwfix.com/p/screw-bolt-extractor-set-2-pieces/2951v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 1 hour ago, wyn said: Use an angle grinder and cutting disc to go trough the wood and screw at an angle to cut the head off. I reckon I am going to try this before buying more stuff 👍👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Just been out with the dog and talking to a bloke who works in an an engineering company says he will bring me a 5mm drill that will "pee" through all the screws. Good chap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Yellow Bear said: Try this https://www.screwfix.com/p/screw-bolt-extractor-set-2-pieces/2951v I looked at the reviews on this and one person said it took an hour to get one out. Are these "easy out's"? If they are they might not work as the screws are so tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 19 minutes ago, harrycatcat1 said: I looked at the reviews on this and one person said it took an hour to get one out. Are these "easy out's"? If they are they might not work as the screws are so tight. That's a hell of a lot of work for 40 rusty screws 😳 I think the best way forward is to do as I suggested earlier in my first reply. Take things easy, as I'm sure you will, those tall brick piers can become very loose very quickly 😯 The difficulty is removing the screws if you intend to re-use the plugs/fixing points. If you opt to drill and fix in new positions,,,, grind through the timber and screws in one hit 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Here's something similar I had to deal with earlier in the year.... The wind got hold of this section 😑 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 5 minutes ago, JKD said: Here's something similar I had to deal with earlier in the year.... The wind got hold of this section 😑 Yes they are similar brick "piers", I will get some pictures of them the next time I go. I will also take the angle grinder. Glad it's not only me that gets these type of jobs 👍👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B725 Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 Would you be able to cut through the screws by using a recip saw with a metal blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted November 10, 2020 Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 I'd either take the wood away and then clamp and unscrew the exposed screws or grind them flat with an angle grinder and fix new holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2020 33 minutes ago, B725 said: Would you be able to cut through the screws by using a recip saw with a metal blade. I will take some pictures tomorrow of the offending items 👍 20 minutes ago, GingerCat said: I'd either take the wood away and then clamp and unscrew the exposed screws or grind them flat with an angle grinder and fix new holes. I will take some pictures tomorrow of the offending items 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2020 Another day in the life of electrical failures. I went with the hand angle grinder to try and take the tops off the screws. As soon as I started it up it blew the fuse in the house and set the newly installed burglar alarm "blipping". Reset everything and threw the towel in till the fella brings the drill bit. I will try that tomorrow as they reckon it's going to be a nice day. So it looks like the angle grinder is off to the same bin as the big one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted November 11, 2020 Report Share Posted November 11, 2020 Would a Dremel with a small grinding bit not just grind off the heads - then you could jemmy the wood off and remove the screw shanks with Mole Grips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted November 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2020 1 minute ago, bruno22rf said: Would a Dremel with a small grinding bit not just grind off the heads - then you could jemmy the wood off and remove the screw shanks with Mole Grips. I was trying to get through using the tools that I have to hand but they seem to be packing in on me at the moment. I think I will try and drill the heads off tomorrow 👍👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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