Looking for help on how to get this screw out that keeps spinning...

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purbeast0

purbeast0

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Sep 13, 2001
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Okay I'm looking for some help trying to get this one damn screw off of one of my speakers. I realized that neither of the outer 3 drivers were outputting any sound the other day so I am trying to get inside and see if something is up with the wiring. Behind this driver is where the PCB is mounted to the side so I need to get this off.

The problem is that the thing that tightens the screw inside the housing has come loose and the screw just spins. I don't know what it's called but it is one of those things that goes into the wood and has threads in it, and it was somehow sealed/mounted to the hole where the screw went through. But it came loose and now when I try to unscrew it it just keeps spinning as you can see from the video below. This is a view from inside the speaker housing looking up at the underside as I'm turning from outside the speaker.


I have tried vice grips to grab the thing but it is such a pain in the ass to get them in there and grab that thing because it's so tight and because the f'ing magnet keeps grabbing the vice grips. I have grabbed it a couple times but since it's grabbing it perpindicular, as soon as I start turning the grips let go and I can't loosen it.

I can't hold it with my hand too because it has sharp edges.

I have tried wedging stuff between the driver and the housing and putting pressure on it to pull the driver up as I turn, hoping it causes the metal part spinning to grip the wood underneath but it's not working.

I tried using gorilla wood clue to the underside applying it with a paint brush and I let it dry overnight, and as soon as I tried to turn it slowly, it unstuck.

It is this one last god damn screw here in this pic on the top right of the driver.

58Yodrq.jpg


Anyone have any ideas?

EDIT:

This is similar to the thing that you see spinning from the underside. This is what I mean by the threads are attached to the spinning piece.


81x9eKE2eAL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
Last edited:
brianmanahan

brianmanahan

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Sep 2, 2006
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maybe drill out the center of it with a smaller drill bit?

disclaimer: i have heard of people doing this but never tried it. sometimes it works fine, but sometimes it results in messing up the threads with then requires rethreading the bolt hole or using a larger screw in the future. or just not using that hole anymore.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

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Sep 13, 2001
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brianmanahan said:
maybe drill out the center of it with a smaller drill bit?

disclaimer: i have heard of people doing this but never tried it. sometimes it works fine, but sometimes it results in messing up the threads with then requires rethreading the bolt hole or using a larger screw in the future. or just not using that hole anymore.
Click to expand...
Yeah I don't know anything about drilling out a screw either and was thinking this. I could use a smaller bit and gradually go up until it basically drills the entire screw out and/our the metal thing holding it breaks free somehow.

I wish I knew wtf that thing it's screwed into was called so I could google for this problem. I'm sure this has happened to someone else lol.

I also don't care about any threads messing up. The threads are inside of the metal thing it's attached to. It goes into the wood it's mounted to and threads are in it. But I don't even care about that one screw hole. There are 7 others to hold the speaker in place just fine.
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

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Nov 30, 2004
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Oh, I missed that. Drill a hole on either side of the cam within the groove section, and stick a prong(like a fork with some prongs missing) in them to retain it.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

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remove bolt from a free-spinning t-nut? - FineWoodworking

Here’s a question for all you smarter-than-me types. I have a speaker cabinet (made of veneered mdf) which has a wooden panel fastened to the front as a cover for […]
www.finewoodworking.com www.finewoodworking.com

Just tried the drill thing here while getting upward pressure on it and it started smoking lol. The unerside was slowly chipping away at the wood underneath but not gripping to unscrew it.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

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lxskllr said:
Oh, I missed that. Drill a hole on either side of the cam within the groove section, and stick a prong(like a fork with some prongs missing) in them to retain it.
Click to expand...
So you are saying like right next to the screw basically drill down a hole that will be inside the diameter of that circle that is spinning, so that i can wedge something between some of the "wings" to stop it from spinning?
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

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Feb 26, 2006
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Drill a small hole in the wood in one of the notches. Put a small screw in the hole to hold the "t nut" from spinning. I have needlenose vice grips that should work also.

the-original%E2%84%A2-long-nose-locking-pliers-279.jpg
 
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lxskllr

lxskllr

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purbeast0 said:
So you are saying like right next to the screw basically drill down a hole that will be inside the diameter of that circle that is spinning, so that i can wedge something between some of the "wings" to stop it from spinning?
Click to expand...
Yup, from the backside.
 
D

[DHT]Osiris

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Dec 15, 2015
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Jam something long and thin in there like a metal skewer, rotate until it hits something like the speaker magnet or the housing wall, that should do it.
 
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BoomerD

BoomerD

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purbeast0 said:
Dont have access to the backside. Its too small to get a drill in there. I would have to do it by drilling through the edge of the driver and through the top.
Click to expand...

Maybe the video you posted is deceiving...it LOOKS like there's a fair amount of room there.

If there's not enough room to get in there with a drill...


 
Last edited:
purbeast0

purbeast0

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BoomerD said:
Maybe the video you posted is deceiving...it LOOKS like there's a fair amount of room there.

If there's not enough room to get in there with a drill...


Click to expand...
The video is from inside and it's just my phone with the front facing camera sitting on the insulation in there taking a vide.

Look at the pic below it. There just is not much room in there at all.

And between each driver there is a little lip that is like 1-2" deep.

So when I go inside the hole you see, I have to go down and then up. I can't just put stuff in there and turn it 90 degrees to access the spinning screw because of the lip.

Not sure what that extender is going to help with either.
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

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Would getting a cobalt drill bit that is the size of the screws, or a little smaller, and just drilling through the screw, work?

Or is that just a pipe dream?
 
BoomerD

BoomerD

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purbeast0 said:
Would getting a cobalt drill bit that is the size of the screws, or a little smaller, and just drilling through the screw, work?

Or is that just a pipe dream?
Click to expand...

MAYBE...the best way to do that is to drill a small hole first, you'd have to find a way to keep everything from spinning...
 
purbeast0

purbeast0

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Sep 13, 2001
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BoomerD said:
MAYBE...the best way to do that is to drill a small hole first, you'd have to find a way to keep everything from spinning...
Click to expand...
I could grab the bottom of the screw with the vice greips.

If vthe screw is 5/32" what vsize bits would you recommend trying? Like starting small and working up to it?:
 
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