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Small hole saws

A

Artiglio

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Good day all

I seem to recall a thread a while back, where a solution for removing damaged screws was discussed. A solution offered was to use a small hole saw / core drill, to remove the screw, then plug hole etc.
Can’t for the life of me find the thread, does anyone else remember it or the tiny hole saws that were suggested.
I’ve got some severely rusted screws holding an access panel on the base of a scales cabinet that i need to remove.

Many thanks phil
 
Diamond core bit for the angle grinder?
 

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Another possibility if you have one is to use a plug cutter. They tend to be short but can get enough wood out to grip the screw. A number of sizes available and they aren't too expensive.
www.axminstertools.com

Axminster Workshop Barrel Plug Cutters

These barrel cutters will cut plugs and short dowels up to 50mm in length, when matched with a corresponding drill they can be used to cover screw holes or make a small repair in damaged timber, they also make a good decorative plug. Designed for use...
www.axminstertools.com www.axminstertools.com
 
Last edited:
Stainless steel straws work very well for a few holes. You can file little teeth in the end if you're feeling fancy.
 
Artiglio said:
Can’t for the life of me find the thread, does anyone else remember it or the tiny hole saws that were suggested.
Click to expand...

Here is the thread:

www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk

Removing screws

I suspect I need to drill out these screws. What kind of drill bit? I’ve never drilled metal so may be a stupid question. Brass hinge. Non-brass screws, possibly also glued in. I had some purchase on these using the slots to start, but nothing has moved at all. Cracked one screwdriver bit...
www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk www.thewoodhaven2.co.uk
 
Lons has nailed it. Plug cutters work really well and you can get long ones. I think I did a thread on this some while ago.
 
Cheers gents, that was the thread, subsequently found some small hole saws on amazon, cheap so probably won’t last long , but it’s only 4 screws to remove.IMG_9089.pngIMG_9089.png
 
Artiglio? I do a LOT of this, restoring old railway carriages, brake vans, flat waggons. Depending on the wood, and some old oak and "maghogany" in particular, are wrist-breakingly difficult to drill. We found the high revs/No2 seting on a cordless was too much initially. We now just 'touch' the surface with No2, to establish a shallow seat, then go down to No1 for maybe 3-4mm to establish the hole, then revert back to No2 for depth. The biggest trick is to withdraw, clean or blow out the dust, resume drilling every 2-3 mm. Most of our locations are frames, so we drill straight through. Where we can't, levering at points around the plug/embedded screw 90° apart, in methodical sequence, usually snaps off the plug after 2 or 3 rotations. Beware, you now have a spiky hole bottom. We use spade drills to fit the hole, with their central spike ground off, to clear th bottom if continuing the hole is location-sensitive.
Stopped holes like this need dowels with ribbed sides to allow glue and air out to prevent "hydraulic pistoning" from trapped glue etc.
HTH, Sam
 
Thanks for that Sam. The picture is of the offending screws, the cabinet has been in a damp loft ( and under a leak at some point) Initially i’ll just cut deep enough to release the “cover” it’s only about 4mm thick, then i’ll see if a decent pair of grips will ease the screws out, they won’t be very long the base is only 16mm thick , if not i’ll just filemthem flush. As the cover will be difficult to repair being so thin and not be visible when done, i’ll just put some new holes and screw it back once i’ve sorted the mechanism and case out.image.jpg
 
Don't forget the 'simple template trick' -- I used it yesterday (literally), on our front door.

If you have to make or enlarge a hole where there's something in the middle, such as a screw (or in my case yesterday, another, smaller hole), use your chosen drill to first make a bespoke drilling guide from some reasonably flat scrap material, ideally on a pillar drill. Then clamp or screw it in place on the actual workpiece.

If you need fairly precise alignment, mark the centre point of your template's hole with crosshairs extending to the edges of the scrap (before you drill it). Then mark similar lines in pencil on the actual workpiece. Then you don't need to squint at the hole but just line up the template and workpiece pencil marks.

The above works well for both core drills and Forstner bits. With core drills, you don't need the pilot drill, either.

I was making counterbores for the knocker/letterbox mounting bolts, so that they can be cut off flush with the inside surface of the door. They needed to be deep enough for a couple of half nuts and a washer, and to be cut around existing holes for 1/4" studding. The door is big and heavy, and it's quite impractical to take it off its hinges just to do this sort of thing.
 
Setch said:
Stainless steel straws work very well for a few holes. You can file little teeth in the end if you're feeling fancy.
Click to expand...
I've done that with brass tube too - obviously the 'teeth' don't last well, but it's all I had handy at the time. I think I excavated just enough to get electrical snips onto the head of the rogue nail to lever it out.

Stainless is a much better idea and Dremel/Proxxon multitools are great for carving up the end into a cutter.
 
Final thought: if you're trying to remove brass screws, consider a soldering iron (at least 25W) to heat the head - solder will help the heat transfer, as long as the brass is fairly clean. This doesn't seem to work as well with steel screws (although it's a popular 'tip' in old DIY books) - either my biggest Antex isn't beefy enough or it's urban myth. I've resorted to the kitchen blowlamp for hinges in door frames, which works but obviously causes collateral damage (no creme broulee for me then!).
 
Evening All

The order turned up today ( i ended up buying from a seller that had 2 of each size for under £12) , the 6mm one cut out the 4 screws in a trice. ( ended up with a 8mm ish hole). They look reasonably well made for the price and expect they’ll probably see me out for the number of times they’ll ever get used.
 
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