Screws to tight
05-11-2010, 12:04 PM
#16
Heat Gun has always worked for me. just got to get it hot enough...
05-11-2010, 12:07 PM
#17
Tech Master
iTrader: (77)
You shouldn't need lock-tite on the chassis screws that are counter-sunk. Those suckers are hard enough to remove without lock-tite. I just went through this very routine last week. Typically by the time you figure out the screw won't budge, you've already stripped the SOB.
Heat guns don't typically work because the screw and chassis are flush and you just end up heating both the screw and the chassis at the same time. The heat gun may work if lock-tite is the only thing holding the screw in place, but that is unlikely.
I don't advocate the use of a dremel to cut a slot in the screw head. Since those screws are already flush with the chassis, that means you're probably going to cut a slot in the chassis too. Cutting a slot in a screw head with a dremel works great when the head of the screw is exposed, because then you're only destroying the screw.
You've probably gone past this step, but like the others have said make sure there is no dirt in the screw head so that you're wrench fits all the way down in the hex. If the wrench doesn't fit all the way in the screw head, you're going to strip the screw head. Make sure you're using a good hex head wrench too. If your hex wrench is already rounded just a bit or isn't the correct size, you're going to strip the screw head. Go slow and put pressure on the outermost part of the hex wrench to get the most leverage.
If you end up stripping the screw head (which happens 75% of the time), use a drill to drill out the screw. Find a drill bit with the same diameter as the screw threads, and make sure you have some hard ass drill bits. Start drilling into the hex portion of the screw head and make sure you're going in straight. By the time the drill reaches the point where the head of the screw meets the threads, the drill should have separated the head from the screw threads. If it hasn't, get the next size bigger drill bit and repeat. This pops the head of the screw off without doing any damage to the chassis.
Heat guns don't typically work because the screw and chassis are flush and you just end up heating both the screw and the chassis at the same time. The heat gun may work if lock-tite is the only thing holding the screw in place, but that is unlikely.
I don't advocate the use of a dremel to cut a slot in the screw head. Since those screws are already flush with the chassis, that means you're probably going to cut a slot in the chassis too. Cutting a slot in a screw head with a dremel works great when the head of the screw is exposed, because then you're only destroying the screw.
You've probably gone past this step, but like the others have said make sure there is no dirt in the screw head so that you're wrench fits all the way down in the hex. If the wrench doesn't fit all the way in the screw head, you're going to strip the screw head. Make sure you're using a good hex head wrench too. If your hex wrench is already rounded just a bit or isn't the correct size, you're going to strip the screw head. Go slow and put pressure on the outermost part of the hex wrench to get the most leverage.
If you end up stripping the screw head (which happens 75% of the time), use a drill to drill out the screw. Find a drill bit with the same diameter as the screw threads, and make sure you have some hard ass drill bits. Start drilling into the hex portion of the screw head and make sure you're going in straight. By the time the drill reaches the point where the head of the screw meets the threads, the drill should have separated the head from the screw threads. If it hasn't, get the next size bigger drill bit and repeat. This pops the head of the screw off without doing any damage to the chassis.
05-11-2010, 12:16 PM
#18
You shouldn't need lock-tite on the chassis screws that are counter-sunk. Those suckers are hard enough to remove without lock-tite. I just went through this very routine last week. Typically by the time you figure out the screw won't budge, you've already stripped the SOB.
Heat guns don't typically work because the screw and chassis are flush and you just end up heating both the screw and the chassis at the same time. The heat gun may work if lock-tite is the only thing holding the screw in place, but that is unlikely.
I don't advocate the use of a dremel to cut a slot in the screw head. Since those screws are already flush with the chassis, that means you're probably going to cut a slot in the chassis too. Cutting a slot in a screw head with a dremel works great when the head of the screw is exposed, because then you're only destroying the screw.
You've probably gone past this step, but like the others have said make sure there is no dirt in the screw head so that you're wrench fits all the way down in the hex. If the wrench doesn't fit all the way in the screw head, you're going to strip the screw head. Make sure you're using a good hex head wrench too. If your hex wrench is already rounded just a bit or isn't the correct size, you're going to strip the screw head. Go slow and put pressure on the outermost part of the hex wrench to get the most leverage.
If you end up stripping the screw head (which happens 75% of the time), use a drill to drill out the screw. Find a drill bit with the same diameter as the screw threads, and make sure you have some hard ass drill bits. Start drilling into the hex portion of the screw head and make sure you're going in straight. By the time the drill reaches the point where the head of the screw meets the threads, the drill should have separated the head from the screw threads. If it hasn't, get the next size bigger drill bit and repeat. This pops the head of the screw off without doing any damage to the chassis.
Heat guns don't typically work because the screw and chassis are flush and you just end up heating both the screw and the chassis at the same time. The heat gun may work if lock-tite is the only thing holding the screw in place, but that is unlikely.
I don't advocate the use of a dremel to cut a slot in the screw head. Since those screws are already flush with the chassis, that means you're probably going to cut a slot in the chassis too. Cutting a slot in a screw head with a dremel works great when the head of the screw is exposed, because then you're only destroying the screw.
You've probably gone past this step, but like the others have said make sure there is no dirt in the screw head so that you're wrench fits all the way down in the hex. If the wrench doesn't fit all the way in the screw head, you're going to strip the screw head. Make sure you're using a good hex head wrench too. If your hex wrench is already rounded just a bit or isn't the correct size, you're going to strip the screw head. Go slow and put pressure on the outermost part of the hex wrench to get the most leverage.
If you end up stripping the screw head (which happens 75% of the time), use a drill to drill out the screw. Find a drill bit with the same diameter as the screw threads, and make sure you have some hard ass drill bits. Start drilling into the hex portion of the screw head and make sure you're going in straight. By the time the drill reaches the point where the head of the screw meets the threads, the drill should have separated the head from the screw threads. If it hasn't, get the next size bigger drill bit and repeat. This pops the head of the screw off without doing any damage to the chassis.
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