Stuck Screw

This subject has probably been beat to death before, but ...

I am trying to remove the top of a Japanese camera (ME Super Spotmatic) and

got down to the last screw (of course) and cannot budge it. It is a 1.6 mm

screw with a head of about 2 mm diameter. I have searched here and elsewhere

and have made sure to get and use a cross-point driver (rather than a

Phillips), tried penetrating oil, acetone, and lighter fluid. I then tried

heating the head with a soldering iron. Nothing has worked. In the process,

of course, I have boogered up the slot some, although the cross-point driver

will still engage. Is there an "easy-out" this small? The head is elongated,

so there would theoretically be room to get a few threadeds of a left-handed

easy-out or similar tool engaged. I don't want to drill out the entire screw -

especially since the head is still there. Any ideas?? Thanks, Larry

At this point it might not hurt to try this: spot-weld a rod of similar diameter onto the top of the screw. It won't take but a fraction of a second and heat won't be a worry.

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Then turn the screw using the rod (which won't slip now). The heat often frees the bugger, and if it doesn't then at least you have a good grip on it.

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Uh... <u>it's not a left-hand thread, is it?</u> If it's on a post or axle type part that turns, it might be left-handed.

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It happens to all of us once!

 

Best of luck!

It isn't the dimension I'm used to work with. A few thoughts: Give it a apropriate whack with a hammer to losen semicorroded threads. Also try getting hold of some chemical wonder intended to provide additional grip between head and tool. - That stuff might be available in motorbiking suply stores. - I don't know English brand names. Here it is sold as "Schraubendoc" or whatever. BTW research if the thread is left or right. - I had such trouble too sometimes.

The screw is definitely right handed. The service manual calls out two of the same screw (A342), and the other one I was able to remove was right handed.

Tow suggestions here. First, try dipping your screwdriver tip into some lapping compound. The tiny particles of abrasive grit can sometimes help the screwdriver grip the screw head enough that the stubborn screw can come out. I have not tried this on small camera screws, but it works well on #6 or #8 screws on an airplane when servicing panels that have not been removed in a long time.

 

Second, try to drill a shallow depth into the recess of the screw head with a very small diameter drill bit. There is no need to drill deep. Sometimes this will allow the screwdriver tip to extend slightly deeper into the head for a better grip. Again, never tried it on small camera screws, but this technique works great on removing stubborn brass and bronze wood screws when restoring old wood boats.

 

Good luck.

My father was a Machinist/Millwright for 50 years, and although on a much larger scale, the method for removing stuck screws and bolts was the whack with an appropriate size hammer as mentioned above. Certainly it can't make the situation worse, unless you use a 10LB sledge.