Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come
out. Either the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides
out of the slots or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit.
How do you remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.

Thanks,
Gary

abby wrote:
Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come out. Either
the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides out of the slots
or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit. How do
you remove these screws? They are deck screws with Phillips heads.

Out of curiosity, why are you taking off the decking?

If you're trying to salvage the material, if can get there, a Sawzall
between the joist and the bottom of the decking board may be
easiest/quickest.

If salvage isn't important, bigger catspaw to get to them and
vicegrips...

If neither of the above apply, it's a bear...

--

Encountered the same situation when I had to remove several deck boards to
gain access to a broken irrigation line. Final solution was to drill the
center of each screw, then drive an "easy-out" into the screw and back them
out till you can get a vice grip on the head. Pain inna butt, however it
worked for me.

Bill



abby" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come out. Either
the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides out of the slots or
the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit. How do you
remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.
Thanks, Gary

With a Dremel tool and a fine abrasive wheel grind a slot in the head
and use screwdriver.

On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:39:51 -0400, "abby"
wrote:

Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come
out. Either the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides
out of the slots or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit.
How do you remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.

Thanks,
Gary

In article ,
sam wrote:

With a Dremel tool and a fine abrasive wheel grind a slot in the head
and use screwdriver.

On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:39:51 -0400, "abby"
wrote:

Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come
out. Either the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides
out of the slots or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit.
How do you remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.

Thanks,
Gary

Try a left hand drill bit. Yes they do exist.

Chuck P.

Pilgrim wrote in newsilgrim-698C9D.15340021062008@
70-3-168-216.area5.spcsdns.net:


Try a left hand drill bit. Yes they do exist.

Chuck P.

That's what the "easy out" is, essentially.

Puckdropper
--
If you're quiet, your teeth never touch your ankles.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

"abby" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come out. Either
the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides out of the slots or
the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit. How do you
remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.
Thanks, Gary


There are special drill bits available to do the job. A few electronics
shops sell them. I have one called something like "crosshead out" or
something close to that, I bought it a couple of years ago. It has a ball
shaped cutter which drills into the head of the screw and either the screw
comes out or the head snaps off. A good cordless drill with a slow speed is
required. You can help things a bit by letting a very light oil penetrate
around the screw - sewing machine oil. BUT if the decking is going to be
re-used it may stain the wood.

abby wrote:

Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come out. Either
the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides out of the slots
or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit. How do
you remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.
Thanks, Gary


You can try one of these:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...crew%20remover

or:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...ssearch=152316

if those fail there's always:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...o2GgodS3 ZbVw

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:39:51 -0400, "abby" wrote:

Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come
out. Either the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides
out of the slots or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit.
How do you remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.

Thanks,
Gary

One of these?
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,180,42334


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"abby" wrote in news:aOc7k.219$1l6.84
@newsfe02.lga:

Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come
out. Either the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides
out of the slots or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit.
How do you remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.

Thanks,
Gary


I just did this... Not fun. Don't expect to save every board intact,
it's just not worth the grand effort.

The ones that come out with the Phillips bit are the easiest, and you can
improve your success sometimes by putting your weight on the screw
driver. Use good bits, and don't be afraid to replace a chewed one.

Now, for the harder ones:
If you can pop the head off, do it. It's easier to pry a board up with a
crow bar if the screws have no heads.

If you can get a sawzall in under the board and support, this is the best
way to remove it. Just cut the screw in half, and watch for anything
sticking out.

Another technique I used was the splitting method. The board is cut
close to the support (across the grain) and then a wedge is driven into
the board until the board splits. The board can be removed and the screw
cut off. For wedges, use cheap chisels like the ones Menards has at 4
for $6 or $7. They'll eventually weaken and break, but they work for
this application.

Oh, and when buying relacement decking at a borg be sure to ask about
their 10% off with new credit card. My sawzall was essentially free
because of the credit card offer.

Puckdropper
--
If you're quiet, your teeth never touch your ankles.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

On Jun 21, 3:39*pm, "abby" wrote:
Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come
out. *Either the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides
out of the slots or the heads are stripped. * I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit. *
How do you remove these screws? *They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.

Thanks,
Gary

Make a hole saw from tubing and a file big enough to pass over the
head of the screw. It's a big plus if it is also the same size as
dowell stock you can use to plug the holes. Core all the way through
the deck board and then lift the board off and snap the screw in the
joist with a hammer.

I had some wood outdoor decking to remove and reuse last year and
started out by stripping the first couple screw heads. I then
switched to a Milwaukee cordless hammer/drill set to the hammer
setting and reverse and tried backing out the stripping out screw
heads - it worked great. I think the combination of the hammering on
the heads and a low speed did the trick. It took out the rest of the
"good" screws with no more problems.



On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:39:51 -0400, "abby"
wrote:

Hi,

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come
out. Either the heads are buried into the wood and the bit slides
out of the slots or the heads are stripped. I tried drilling a head
off but it was taking forever even with a tungsten coated bit.
How do you remove these screws? They are deck screws with
Phillips heads.

Thanks,
Gary

Some of the screws holding down our decking refuse to come out.

To provide closu As suggested I used a spare bit and a hammer
to give each stuck screw a good whack or two. I also switched to
my cordless driver/drill. The screws came out easily.

I bought a set of screw extractors at the local lumber yard but didn't
need them.

Thanks,
Gary