best way to remove a stuck screw?

[purbeast0]

Is the tnut on backwards? It looks like there are little prongs that should stick into the object to keep it from rotating, so if it is freely spinning, I'd guess it is backwards?

If that is the case, I'd think you could wedge something thin against the "teeth" of the nut to hold it in place, and then unscrew.

no it's not on backwards. it was in there fine prior but when i went to screw the screw back on it wedged out for some reason. the only one out of like 32 screws. and the t-nut is all mangled now so i can't just press it against the wood so that the teeth grab so i can turn it. that is what i was trying for a long time last night. the teeth must be all jacked up by this point.

 

[Markbnj]

Is the tnut on backwards? It looks like there are little prongs that should stick into the object to keep it from rotating, so if it is freely spinning, I'd guess it is backwards?

If that is the case, I'd think you could wedge something thin against the "teeth" of the nut to hold it in place, and then unscrew.

Either that or the case is particle board and the t-nut just chewed it up to the point where it can spin freely.

If cutting the head off he screw would work then that means OP has room to extract the t-nut and screw remains from the other side. If he does then he should have room to get ahold of the t-nut with a pair of pliers.

 

[purbeast0]

Either that or the case is particle board and the t-nut just chewed it up to the point where it can spin freely.

If cutting the head off he screw would work then that means OP has room to extract the t-nut and screw remains from the other side. If he does then he should have room to get ahold of the t-nut with a pair of pliers.

i can definitely get a hold of the t-nut with pliers, as long as they fit down in there because it is pretty tight. im gonna see if i can get some vise grip things today and try grabbing it with that from the inside, and turning the screw with my drill slowly.

do the needle nose vise grips have as firm a grip as the larger ones? i just want to get the smallest one possible so i can fit it in there.

edit:

like something like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100201...10051&N=25ecodZ5yc1v&R=100201063#.UVWxwWfICp8

 

[SpatiallyAware]

You're the dumbass that doesn't even know what a pair of vise grips are. btw jackass once your dumbass finally removes the screw the t nut will be screwed up just like the screw you mangled. It's called cross threading. Next time have a man install the speakers since you can't even screw the screw in straight.

Man you have no room, none at all, to call someone else a dumbass. I swear you need a forced disclaimer in your signature to take all advice with a grain of salt.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=34804949&postcount=27

 

[purbeast0]

Man you have no room, none at all, to call someone else a dumbass. I swear you need a forced disclaimer in your signature to take all advice with a grain of salt.


http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=34804949&postcount=27

yeah i just ignored his reply because he's just trolling at this point. you should probably do the same so this thread doesn't get derailed.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

yeah i just ignored his reply because he's just trolling at this point. you should probably do the same so this thread doesn't get derailed.

Unfortunately the advice he gives is at best completely wrong and at worst dangerous. This means I have no choice but to call him out on his BS for the greater good.

()


:biggrin:

 

[Anubis]

Drew, your best bet is to just send it back to Jeff

 

[SlitheryDee]

Is it close enough to the other speaker hole that you could get a c-clamp on the edge of the nut? You'd need something to pad where the clamp presses on the box to avoid damaging it, but maybe that would hold the nut well enough for you to unscrew it.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Unfortunately the advice he gives is at best completely wrong and at worst dangerous. This means I have no choice but to call him out on his BS for the greater good.

()


:biggrin:

So my advice of removing the t nut and screw completely out was wrong in what way? The t nut is very likely screwed up due to having the screw completely cross threaded in there. Yet OP continues to try to remove the screw when it will do no good. At this point cut the screw off and pull the dang t nut completely out. Assess damage to wood to see if another t nut can be put in. If wood is too damaged to accept another t nut then another route needs to be taken.

 

[Rakehellion]

i have a screw that is used to screw in drivers to a speaker cabinet. on the underside of the speaker cabinet there are t-nuts that the screws screw into.

well when i was screwing the screw into the spot, the t-nut became dislodged after the screw was screwed into it.

and now for some reason the screw is like stuck in the t-nut and i can't get one off of the other. i've tried holding the t-nut on the underside of the driver (the speaker holds 3 drivers so i removed the one next to this driver to get my arm in there) and i can't turn one or the other because they are kind of stuck.

it is tight inside of the speaker case as well and there is the driver magnet close to where this is happening, so it is hard to reach down in there. i tried holding the t-nut with some needle nose pliers but had no luck. as soon as i turn the screw the pliers come loose.

there is probably like 1/4 or 1/5 an inch, if that, of wiggle room where i can pull this screw up from the hole it is supposed to screw into, before the back of the t-nut hits the inside of the speaker and i can't pull it up anymore.

anyone have any ideas how i can get this screw out? i don't mind if the screw is ruined in the process as i can just get another one.

I'm going to jam myself in that speaker cabinet so hard, whoever pulls me outta that will be crowned King of England.

-damaged screw

 

[purbeast0]

Drew, your best bet is to just send it back to Jeff

everything is working fine with the speaker at this point after i reconnected everything and it's on there solid. this happened when i was screwing the drivers back in after it had all been working after 4 reconnects to the crossover i thought was bad.

 

[purbeast0]

Is it close enough to the other speaker hole that you could get a c-clamp on the edge of the nut? You'd need something to pad where the clamp presses on the box to avoid damaging it, but maybe that would hold the nut well enough for you to unscrew it.

im confused by what you are saying here. i can grab the t-nut with my needle nose pliers, the problem is that they don't have a strong enough grip that i can keep hold while i turn the screw. i'm thinking with what people are saying about these vise grips, if i can get it in there and grab it, that it will hold it enough that i can turn the screw.

the thread of the screw/t-nut is definitely mangled together somehow and not threading together properly, which is why i can't just do this by hand.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

im confused by what you are saying here. i can grab the t-nut with my needle nose pliers, the problem is that they don't have a strong enough grip that i can keep hold while i turn the screw. i'm thinking with what people are saying about these vise grips, if i can get it in there and grab it, that it will hold it enough that i can turn the screw.

the thread of the screw/t-nut is definitely mangled together somehow and not threading together properly, which is why i can't just do this by hand.

IMHO vice grips, maybe some with angled jaws, would be your best bet. There's little to no risk of damaging the box, and it's the most likely thing that will work.


Also it sounds a little extreme, but if you have a machine shop near you I bet they would remove it for less than the cost of a pair of vice grips.

 

[ManBearPig]

When a screw broke off in my license plate screw hole, i had to drill through it, then reverse drill it out with some bit. Your speakers are expensive as hell though, and I'd hate to have to do anything that could have even the smallest possibility of damaging them.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Can I ask what your fascination is with removing the screw from the t nut? The t nut is spinning freely and the threads inside of it are trashed due to being cross threaded. The t nut itself needs to be removed. Once it's out you can carry on trying to get the screw out to please whatever fascination you have with removing the screw.

 

[purbeast0]

Can I ask what your fascination is with removing the screw from the t nut? The t nut is spinning freely and the threads inside of it are trashed due to being cross threaded. The t nut itself needs to be removed. Once it's out you can carry on trying to get the screw out to please whatever fascination you have with removing the screw.

because i want to get it out so that i won't have a screw/tnut dangling in there, and i can replace it with a new set of screw/tnut once it is out. no shit the tnut needs to be removed, which is what i'm trying to do.

screw removed = tnut is also removed.

 

[purbeast0]

IMHO vice grips, maybe some with angled jaws, would be your best bet. There's little to no risk of damaging the box, and it's the most likely thing that will work.


Also it sounds a little extreme, but if you have a machine shop near you I bet they would remove it for less than the cost of a pair of vice grips.

yeah i don't know if any machine shops around, especially over the weekend. the vise grips are only like $15 so i'll just grab em. i'm sure they will come in handy in the future as well.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Can I ask what your fascination is with removing the screw from the t nut? The t nut is spinning freely and the threads inside of it are trashed due to being cross threaded. The t nut itself needs to be removed. Once it's out you can carry on trying to get the screw out to please whatever fascination you have with removing the screw.

It's a 'loose' screw in an overbored hole, with a cross threaded nut on the end.


How in the world do you propose he removes the nut without removing the screw. I envision suggestions of mapp torches and who knows what else.

 

[purbeast0]

It's a 'loose' screw in an overbored hole, with a cross threaded nut on the end.


How in the world do you propose he removes the nut without removing the screw. I envision suggestions of mapp torches and who knows what else.

the whole point of this thread is me asking how to get the nut and screw off of eachother. apparently my first reply to him must be correct - he hasn't read the thread.

 

[rasczak]

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

because i want to get it out so that i won't have a screw/tnut dangling in there, and i can replace it with a new set of screw/tnut once it is out. no shit the tnut needs to be removed, which is what i'm trying to do.

screw removed = tnut is also removed.

Can't cut the head off the screw and pull it whole thing?
What exactly are you trying to grip with the pliers? Those needle nose would be great for a flat surface to grab onto. If you're trying to grab onto something round those won't work well at all.

 

[purbeast0]

Can't cut the head off the screw and pull it whole thing?
What exactly are you trying to grip with the pliers? Those needle nose would be great for a flat surface to grab onto. If you're trying to grab onto something round those won't work well at all.

read the thread.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Can't cut the head off the screw and pull it whole thing?
What exactly are you trying to grip with the pliers? Those needle nose would be great for a flat surface to grab onto. If you're trying to grab onto something round those won't work well at all.

Have you read the thread -at all-?

This is so painful to watch you flail around like this. Please, take a few moments, read the thread, it would really help us from having to continually repeat these things to you.


:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Okay. Read it. Me personally I'd squeeze the t nut with either my channellock linesman pliers or a regular pair of vise grips and see if it will unscrew. If not onto next step.

Buy a dremel, use a grinding attachment to carefully grind off the head of the screw and nothing else, pull t nut and what's left of the screw out from the back.

 

[purbeast0]

Okay. Read it. Me personally I'd squeeze the t nut with either my channellock linesman pliers or a regular pair of vise grips and see if it will unscrew. If not onto next step.

Buy a dremel, use a grinding attachment to carefully grind off the head of the screw and nothing else, pull t nut and what's left of the screw out from the back.

i'm going to be doing #1 tonight when i get home from work after i get a pair of vise grip pliers in an hour.