need help with stripped bathroom screw.

[JustinH]

I have a very old house that I purchased about a year ago. We have been remodeling it a room at a time.

The time for the bathroom has not come yet!

Anyways, the cold water handle of the shower was just spinning freely, and acting like it was stripped.

I bought a pair of identical handles from home depot for 12 dollars.

Thankfully, the cold water handle came off no problem, and I fixed the cold water.

Now the hot water handle looks disgusting, I decided I would change that out also.

It takes one little screw to hold this handle to the stem.

Of course the hot water side was caked with minerals, and it stripped instantly when trying to take it out.

What is the best way to get a stripped screw out? It goes into a plastic adapter that sits on the stem.

A friend of mine says to get a left handed drill bit, and that should take it out.

Any advise?

 

[Herz]

Left handed Drill bit works great for stripped screws. hit it with some penetrating oil and go to town.

 

[Herz]

oh and dont skimp on the bits, the cheap made in china garbage ones will break.

 

[JimPghPA]

If you decide to use a drill bit you should

1) Grind the top of what is left of the original screw flat.

2) After the top is flat, use a very small center drill to put a small centering hole in the center so that when you drill out the screw the drill bit does not wonder.

It might be easier to replace the entire faucet.

 

[Herz]

I would try without rounding anything first sometimes the stripped screw head makes a perfect hole for the revers bit.

 

[Carbon]

I am not sure what you are describing. Anything like http://www.acehardware.com/info/index.jsp?categoryId=1280424 ?

If you have a screw into a plastic adapter, why not just break the plastic free of the stem. Then use handles that are meant to go onto a stem. If the screw actually goes into the stem, break the plastic away, and grab the screw with vice grips.

Lime-away is good for getting rid of calcium deposit. It takes some time.

 

[NJC]

Originally Posted By: defektes
Left handed Drill bit works great for stripped screws. hit it with some penetrating oil and go to town.

+1

 

[mcrn]

If you are going to remodel everything and the house is old you might just consider replacing the stem and everything now since you are in there. I just had a problem with all of this. My shower head was leaking and I had to replace the stem. My house is over 30yrs old. Parts were not that hard to find!

 

[JustinH]

I managed to get the mangled screw free.

Cost me about 9 dollars in parts from lowes to free the 1 cent screw.

A new hitachi metal drill bit, a #1 screw extractor, and a bottle of spray-lube, and a pair of vice grips to pull it out.

It was my first time using a screw extractor successfully.

 

[mechtech2]

Good job.
Screw extractors usually only extract money from your wallet!

I was going to suggest hacksawing through the handle AND screw head [since the screw is recessed] and then utilize your new deep hacksawed slot with a screwdriver.