Replies

1. 
   RickL | Jun 13, 2005 10:11pm | #1

   We used to make our own from a piece of   1/4" black pipe from the local hardware store. Just file a few teeth in the end.  I think Woodcraft and a few others carry them. There's a new thing called Grabit I've gotten at my local hardware store.  One end is a drill bit and the other end is an "easy out" screw remover. Haven't used it a lot but it worked fine the time I did try it.

1. 
   Rich14 | Jun 13, 2005 10:47pm | #3

   Rick,

   Yup. I think I'll get a piece of steel tubing and make what I need.

   Rich

2. 
   Rich14 | Jun 13, 2005 10:45pm | #2

   George,

   Thanks, but I don't see the tool there.

   Rich

   
   

   ---

   Edited 6/13/2005 3:46 pm ET by Rich14

1. 
   DustyGeorge | Jun 13, 2005 11:04pm | #4

   Rich,

   Sorry.  Try this URL and then do a search on extractor.  http://www.bitsnbores.com/index.html

   George

1. 
   Rich14 | Jun 13, 2005 11:29pm | #5

   Bingo!

   Yessir. That's the ticket. Unscrew-ums. Now why couldn't I have thought of that name when doing a Google search?! My order is in.

   Thank you very much.

   Rich

1. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 14, 2005 04:07am | #6

   Rich,

   Note the direction in which the teeth are filed - the drill has to be run in reverse - never have understood why, especially as this makes it impossible to use the storebought models in a drill press. Another reason for making your own, I guess.-Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

1. 
   joinerswork | Jun 14, 2005 04:55am | #7

   jazz,

   Ahh...you run them backwards so the broken off screw backs out when caught by the friction of the hollow extractor.

   Regards,

   Ray

2. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 14, 2005 05:43am | #8

   Ray,

   Duuuhhh! What a conspicuous Brain Fart! I remain eternally hopeful that my cognitive deficiencies are just enough slower than my ability to act, that I am somehow able to learn just enough not to be a danger to myself and others by the time I get around to trying new skills. 

   Thanks for the "lightbulb moment,"-Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

3. 
   joinerswork | Jun 14, 2005 03:30pm | #10

   Hey jazz,

   Not to worry, it happens to me at least once a day. Just the Man's way of keeping us humble. :-)

   Cheers,

   Ray

4. 
   1maddog | Jun 14, 2005 08:08pm | #11

   Has anyone used the screw extractors from Craftsman? They're actually made to bite into the screw and not harm the wood around it.

5. 
   joinerswork | Jun 14, 2005 10:23pm | #13

   1mad,

   Haven't used them.  Same as an EZ out?

   Regards,

   Ray

6. 
   WillGeorge | Jun 15, 2005 05:59pm | #16

   Jazz  OK settle down...

   I was thinkin' I'd have to go buy a SPECIAL drill that goes counterclockwise to use them...

7. 
   Rich14 | Jun 14, 2005 09:11am | #9

   jazz,If the extractor is sufficiently larger than the screw shaft, a forward working tooth pattern can be used. One doesn't get to use these kinds of things that much. But the few times I used them several years ago, the reverse cutting action, expecting the screw to be caught by the tubing was wishfull thinking.Those suckers were just not going to budge until the wood had been removed pretty much all the way near the point. And that really required a larger-diameter cutter than the one which "grabbed" anyway. So a forward-cutting, home-brew model would have been just as useful.I need to extract 4 #12 hinge screws whose heads snapped off right where the shaft and head join. I'm pretty sure the screws are 2, maybe 2-1/2 inches long in a poplar door frame. No way the reverse-turning extractor is going to turn those shafts.Rich

8. 
   jazzdogg | Jun 14, 2005 09:12pm | #12

   Rich,

   You've just pointed out exactly why the thought never occurred to me; it's an infrequent activity, and, in my experience at least, the likelihood of the screw somehow backing itself out because the extractor is running in reverse has been, shall we say, a statistical improbability. I guess that's why I consider these gizmos little more than thin-walled plug cutters that, oddly, work only in reverse.

   Let's hope neither of us has to use one any time soon,-Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

3. 
   EdHarrow | Jun 15, 2005 12:04am | #14

   Rich, I've made them (for small screws) using a roll pin.  Use a triangular file to file a "V" notch at one end of the split.  Chuck the other end in a drill, set it down upon the bit of screw left, and spin it backwards.  (The only technical aspect is choosing the correct size for the roll pin, and that ain't hard, not so big as to not grab it, and not so small as to not go over it.)

1. 
   Rich14 | Jun 15, 2005 12:09am | #15

   Ed,

   Thanks. I've already placed my order with "Bitsnbores." I should have the store-bought variety in a few days. It's a good kit to have on hand for a chore one hopes never to have to do.

   Rich