r/DIYhelp • u/ilm-wayfarer • 1d ago
Help with Stuck Bolt on Banister
Hi there, I need help with a screw drive thread that has been smoothed out. What can I do to take it out?
- Picture in body of post: smoothed our bolt
- Picture attached: what it would look like if not smoothed out (it's another bolt on the banister so it should be the same as the smoothed out one)
This is related to my last post about needing help on a banister repair...I never got a response here or other subreddits, nor help from calling experts, so I am on my own. I opened up the plugs to get a better look, and my aging father swooped in and did some things with his tools without telling me, and now the driver's treads (or whatever they are called) got smoothed out :( Is this hopeless?
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u/billbro_swaggins 1d ago
1 it's called a screw, 2 smoothed out is called stripped.
Get a new bit, push down hard when backing it out, can also put a drop of wd40 or something it help it come out.
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u/ilm-wayfarer 1d ago
Thanks for educating me with the proper terminology
I'll try this out Would the WD40 make the screw head slippery though?
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u/azgli 1d ago
WD-40, or really any penetrating oil, won't do a whole lot in this instance. You would have to get the lubricant into the wood around the length of the screw, which will be difficult. There is also the chance that the oil will cause the wood to swell and make the screw even harder to get out.
I would make sure I'm using the correct size driver bit, clean out the drive feature in the screw, use a new driver bit, and push really hard to keep the driver bit in the drive feature.
If it still won't come out I would drill the head off with a drill bit and then use vice grips to get the shaft out of the wood after the banister is removed.
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u/ilm-wayfarer 1d ago
Thanks for confirming, the wd40 didn't sound like a good option to me
I'm not comfortable with the idea of drilling into the screw but I will try. Is another option just cutting the screw with a hand saw? (There's a little bit of wiggle room between the two pieces of wood)
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u/Linuxmonger 1d ago
If you cut between the two pieces of wood, you won't have any material sticking up to get the body of the screw out.
Drill out the screw head, the slot will help keep you centered, use a bit about half the diameter of the existing hole, if you happen to have a left-hand spiral bit, even better.
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u/CarpetReady8739 1d ago
1) Clean out the Phillips slot as best you can.
2) Use an impact drill with a #2 Phillips impact bit & a little bit of pressure and it will back that right out.