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How can I get a screw like this out?

I decided on cleaning my laptop fans today, which I’ve been procrastinating for about a year now because of this one screw. But I just can’t seem to open this with my screwdriver, since whatever I did back when I last opened it it’s nearly circular now. Is there a way to unscrew this?

Luci ,
@Luci@lemmy.ca avatar

Rubber band?

fernlike3923 OP ,
@fernlike3923@sh.itjust.works avatar

Tried to no avail.

DaddleDew ,

Carefully dremel a slot in the screw head and use a flat head screwdriver.

Make sure you don’t get any dust into the electronics.

ArbitraryValue ,

They make screw extractor bits with thread that winds the opposite way from the screw itself so that the bit drills into the screw while turning counterclockwise, but I don’t think that’s worth bothering with here (and I’ve never seen an extractor small enough). Just drill the head off with a normal drill bit. The body will stay stuck in the hole, but you’ll be able to take the cover off and laptops are usually held together by so many screws that a missing one won’t cause problems.

un_aristocrate ,

With a screw extractor, you’ll find one at any hardware store.

fernlike3923 OP ,
@fernlike3923@sh.itjust.works avatar

I will check out a hardware store in the morning, didn’t really know about those, thanks! Though is it a tiny bit possible to get this out in some kind of DIY way too?

brap ,

An expendable torx driver makes for a good remover of screws like these.

flashily_ripcord590 ,

Amazon search for tiny screw extractor.

DarkSurferZA ,

If you have a Dremel, grind a slot into it and unscrew it.

If it has a hard backing, you can place a flat head screwdriver on it, give it a few taps, apply loads of pressure and turn it out.

If none of these are possible, a drop of CA adhesive on the screwdriver head, push it against the screw, make sure there is no excess leakage, then use a quick set spray. Once the screw has been turned out, use acetone to remove the glue.

If all of this fails, you gotta drill it. A hand crank drill, and a left handed bit. People seldom have these, so I assume this is your last resort.

Final bit of advice, hit the screw head a couple of times before you try any of these as it loosens the screw a tad. Also, sharpen an old screwdriver tip to just the width and thickness of what is left of the screw head slots. You should be able to find one that is already this size in those screwdriver tip sets

Good luck.

dual_sport_dork ,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

If you have a Dremel, grind a slot into it and unscrew it.

This has saved my ass many times. I keep one of those diamond coated wheels on a spare cutoff mandrel already mounted up pretty much specifically for this purpose.

Harbor Freight has a pretty cheap left handed drill bit set that is sometimes a lifesaver in these situations. Many times I just start drilling it with the left hand bit and often the bit grabs and unscrews the screw before even getting to the phase of trying the screw extractor on it. Sometimes not.

A_Union_of_Kobolds ,

I was gonna say, my Harbor Freight Dremel has been a fantastic use of a couple bucks. I get tons of use from it.

fernlike3923 OP ,
@fernlike3923@sh.itjust.works avatar

Sadly no Dremel. I will try out a screw extractor and buy a few other screws before drilling or getting adhesive, thank you for your response!

ShepherdPie ,

Do you have a large Philips bit (like #3 or #4, the largest one that will fit in whats left of the screw)? You could try using that and tapping the end with a hammer (not too hard since its plastic) while gently twisting it. This usually shocks the screw and breaks it loose.

Cooljimy84 ,
@Cooljimy84@lemmy.world avatar

Depending how tight it is you could superglue something to it to turn it ?

fernlike3923 OP ,
@fernlike3923@sh.itjust.works avatar

I don’t really have superglue right now, and the screw looks like this far up, not sure it can be called tight or not.

https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/d9dff2e0-7ca7-4b7a-bd26-2817f89e910b.jpeg

(Screwdriver for comparison, couldn’t really find something better.)

Broken_Monitor ,

Pretty much this - depending how much surface area and how good the glue is you might get it or you might snap that right off too. If it fails the next step is to carefully drill the screw out. A somewhat riskier operation but itll get it open

A_Union_of_Kobolds ,

That would have to be a pretty loose screw

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