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protruding deck screws

johnharkins | Posted in Construction Techniques on April 23, 2009 06:02am

hey you guys
I’m back to finishing off a deck that is part of an addition i built over the winter / hoping for kinder, warmer weather for painting railings & skirting

where i’m hoping for your ideas is taking care of some screws that didn’t quite make it flush for one reason or other

ss deck screws # 10 X 3″
2 X cedar decking into treated hemlock joists

froze up / will be trying vise grips if something to bite into
square drive hand removal & my 1/2″ drill
anyone use a pattern hole drilled through say 3/4″ plywood , drill out screw & plug
thanks, john

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  1. User avater
    rjw | Apr 23, 2009 06:30pm | #1

    Impact driver and "course"lapping powder for some bite.


    "Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

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  2. Piffin | Apr 23, 2009 07:23pm | #2

    Impact drill and back it out some first, then ram forward

     

     

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    1. User avater
      Ted W. | Apr 24, 2009 12:26am | #3

      Impact drill and back it out some first, then ram forward

      ... and the screw goes snap!

      Impact driver to reverse the screws out, then use a 1/4" bit to take some of the wood from the hole, about 1/8" deep. This will allow the screw to drive a little deeper without snapping the head off. ~ Ted W ~

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      1. Piffin | Apr 24, 2009 12:50am | #4

        Yeah, well, I use good screws 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

  3. JTC1 | Apr 24, 2009 12:54am | #5

    My course of action:

    1) Try to back them out with an impact driver - smack the bit into the screw head a few times with a heavy hammer before trying to remove - even if they come out only to the point where you can get the trusty Vise Grips on them - you have got it made. Pull completely and replace with a new one.

    2) Ever try the Grabit extractors from Isomax? Kind of like a very short (1/8" to 3/16") drill bit on one end and an EZ out on the other end of a double ended bit. 

    Available in four sizes.  Size #2 is for #8 to #10 screws. I have had good luck with them on brass screws in hardwood and Piffin screws in softwoods.  May be being marketed under the name of "Alden" now. Try http://www.aldn.com if you cannot find them locally.

    Do not attempt to use these with an impact driver - cordless drill on low speed will do just fine.

    3) Last resort - attempting to drill the screw out of the deck board - I would be more inclined to hammer the screw in before trying this maneuver.

    Good luck!

    Jim

     

    Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
  4. AitchKay | Apr 25, 2009 05:30am | #6

    I've used many of the suggested techniques with success.

    I've also heated up the screw with a soldering gun, working on the theory that a hot screw will soften up the resins that have glued it into its hole.

    I've not done scientific, double-blind tests of this, but overall, my sense is that this technique works.

    AitchKay

    1. Piffin | Apr 25, 2009 12:43pm | #7

      probably true - most glues are thermoplastic. 

       

      Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

      1. johnharkins | Apr 25, 2009 07:11pm | #8

        been taking advantage of some bright good weather to paint railing & skirting
        will give it a go w/ impact driver and some taps backing out & deeper pre drill

  5. DanH | Apr 25, 2009 07:53pm | #9

    Try a hand impact driver -- the kind you hit with a hammer. (Available at Sears and auto parts places.) More controllable than a power driver and will drive just about any screw that isn't totally hosed.

    The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
  6. excaliber32 | Apr 25, 2009 08:02pm | #10

    Counter-sink bit for #10.

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