Using a tap handle to try to extract a screw
Projects

Trying to Remove Rusted Screws from the Vise

Score so far: Vise: 1, Me: 0. In this post I tell the sad tale of trying to extract the jaw face screws that are frozen with rust – nothing has worked for me.

Warning: Once again, I don’t know what I’m doing!

At first I soaked the screws in WD-40 (penetrating oil), then tried to remove them with a big screwdriver. Result: I gouged up all the screw heads.

WD-40 + big screwdriver = gouged up screw heads. No luck.
WD-40 + big screwdriver = gouged up screw heads. No luck.

Next I tried an Impact Screwdriver and more WD-40, which I should have tried before I gouged up the screw heads with a screwdriver. Result: one screw did come out (yay!) but three screws remained in place.

An impact screwdriver removed one screw of four. Three remain stuck.
An impact screwdriver removed one screw of four. Three remain stuck.

…and I bent the impact screwdriver bit.

Removing one screw cost me one bent impact driver bit.
Removing one screw cost me one bent impact driver bit.

Next I tried a screw extractor, also called an Easy-Out. To use it, you drill a hole in the center of the stuck screw, then insert the screw extractor and turn it counter-clockwise. The extractor has a left-turn thread so it (in theory) digs into the screw, then unscrews it.

I first tried drilling a hole with my drill press. A bad idea because it spins too fast, and I was having trouble keeping the vise jaw from moving. Result: a broken, steel-grade drill bit. Very fortunately for me the bit didn’t break off in the screw.

Metal drill bit + high-speed drill press = broken bit.
Metal drill bit + high-speed drill press = broken bit.

Next I used an electric hand drill and another steel-grade bit, running the drill at a slow speed, and lubricating the screw head and bit with WD-40. Success! I drilled the pilot hole.

Next I picked a drill bit that was the right size for the extractor and screw – or so I thought – and enlarged the hole with the new bit.

The successful screw head drilling setup.
The successful screw head drilling setup.
The drill bit I thought was large enough – nope.
The drill bit I thought was large enough – nope.

It turned out I should have chosen a larger bit: something large enough that a lot of the screw extractor could bite into the screw before trying to twist it out. I naively began – gently I thought – twisting the extractor into the screw.

Screwing the screw extractor into the screw head
Screwing the screw extractor into the screw head

…then I heard a soft “pop!” But it wasn’t the screw breaking loose; it was the tap handle’s clamp breaking in half.

I’ve broken the tap handle
I’ve broken the tap handle

Luckily (?) the tap handle still held on to the screw extractor… at least long enough for me to break the screw extractor, with the broken tip lodged in the screw. The worst possible outcome.

The tip of the screw extractor has broken off in the screw
The tip of the screw extractor has broken off in the screw

At this point, I’m giving up trying to undo these screws that hold the vise faces on. To get the hardened steel screw extractor out of the screw, I would need something like a diamond drill bit.

In hindsight, I should have 1) tried the impact screwdriver before gouging up the screw heads, and 2) drilled a larger hole for the screw extractor: one that would remove a lot of the body of the screw, but still leave enough metal for the screw extractor to bite into.

Next: I bend the movable jaw to make the vise faces more parallel.