Broken Hardware Screw

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NightCrawler

NightCrawler

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2016
Messages
211
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Previous owner GB 42 Classic
Vessel Make
Currently running a 23' CC
Best solutions for replacing a deck hardware stainless screw that broke off? IMG_20191206_162513.jpeg
 
Drill it out and use a bigger screw or a bolt, or set it with butyl tape and toothpicks.
 
What is behind it? Or does it screw into something glassed in?

I’ve use ez outs before, but they don’t always work and you can’t use heat due to the fiberglass.

Drill it out, fill the hole with thick expoxy, drill, install new screw.
 
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Assuming no backside access. Looks like it broke off flush at the deck.

Drilling out busted SST screws is no fun, may the the only way though. SST works hardens as it is machined, so start with a really good new (cobalt alloyed) drill. Check first if you can get a straight shot at it, as the railing tube could be in the way of the drill chuck. That means the other 3 come out so you can move the base out of the way (maybe).

If you get through all that, I usually fill holes like that with JB weld and toothpicks so the screw has something to bite.

Brooksies advice is good, you may have to oversize the hole in the footing to get clearance.

Another cave-man technique I've used is to pound the busted end through with a small drift punch (last resort bludgeon strategy.) But if there are many diameters of thread length engaged this may not work.

Good luck!
 
Are you absolutely sure that it is a screw and not a bolt? Do you have access to the underside? If so I would check to make sure it isn’t a bolt. If it is a bolt then it will be easy to get out from the bottom.

If it is a screw then you have had some good suggestions.
 
At work we use a lot of stainless steel bolts and screws. When we break one we have had a lot of good luck with a quality set of left handed drill bits. The theory is that the drill bits will heat up the broken fastener while drilling in to it. It will also have enough friction while drilling to end up turning the broken fastener in the reverse direction and screwing it out. You should start with the smallest size bit and gradually go up in size until the screw is removed.
I have had more success with these than regular screw extractors.
 
I would like to see someone drill through a self taping screw [ 10-14] without going off center.
 
Find a screw with the same head. Cut the head off the new screw and glue the head into the countersink. ��
 
I am assuming that this is for the grab rail along the cabin house on a Grand Banks. I was just looking at mine and wondering if removal would be easy enough to remove to polish underneath. Please let me / us know your progress.
Thank you.
 
By far the best solution. You drill down the side of the screw till it "grips" the screw shank and backs it out. Then fill with epoxy and redrill. Used these lots of times, excellent tool, only good for soft materials. No good for drilling metals etc.
 
More than likely, the screw is going through the fiberglass and into a wood backer. It shouldn't be that difficult to remove. The glue trick may work.
 
HopCar said:
Find a screw with the same head. Cut the head off the new screw and glue the head into the countersink. ��
Click to expand...
I bought a new high end class A motorhome and they did exactly that!

Drilling out (or drilling for and ez out) a sheet metal screw driven into fiberglass or wood is nearly impossible. The minor diameter is too small and the surrounding material too soft. After you remove the rail if there is anything sticking above the surface sometimes you can grab it with vice grip pliers and back it out. If flush use the tool referenced above to cut around it. If you have access to a lot of equipment, you can lay a washer over the hole on top of some thin insulating gasket, plug weld the washer to the screw, spot weld a nut to the washer, and back it out. That's a lot of trouble to go to though when then annular cutter will do it. Fill with thickened epoxy, the repair will be better than new - in fact that's what should have been done at the factory.
 
Brooksie said:
I use one of these https://www.woodcraft.com/products/...MI-NHy6IGi5gIVkp6fCh0oEwpCEAkYASABEgLIlfD_BwE


Then fill with epoxy for fiberglass or wood plug for wood repair. Re-drill and install new screw when plugs are cured,


If you are having trouble removing screws from wood or fiberglass, try heating the head with a soldering iron for a few minutes first,
Click to expand...
Thanks all for the tips. Yes, it's a grab rail. I actually have three different identical situations and in the past drilling the small stainless threads out has not ended well. I like this boring tool. Never seen them before. May give it a try for a clean hole to backfill.
 
NightCrawler said:
Thanks all for the tips. Yes, it's a grab rail. I actually have three different identical situations and in the past drilling the small stainless threads out has not ended well. I like this boring tool. Never seen them before. May give it a try for a clean hole to backfill.
Click to expand...

I wonder what those screws are set in as to break the screw? 5200 or maybe epoxy before it was cured? Maybe done by a previous owner? I think the boring tool is the way I would go.
 
I've taken many out with a 9/16" holesaw (smallest I've been able to find), with the pilot bit removed, same idea as the wood craft tool. Tip - make a nice straight hole thru a piece of plywood and use that for a guide. Once cut to the depth of the screw the plug can be broken out with a small screwdriver (avoid going all the way thru material if possible), fill & re-drill. Breakoff of screws in fiberglass is 99% caused by crevice corrosion and/or pilot holes too small or shallow. Avoid crevice corrosion by: using screws of 316 SS; using a sealant; making screw holes centered and aligned.
 
Brooksie said:
I use one of these https://www.woodcraft.com/products/...MI-NHy6IGi5gIVkp6fCh0oEwpCEAkYASABEgLIlfD_BwE


Then fill with epoxy for fiberglass or wood plug for wood repair. Re-drill and install new screw when plugs are cured...,
Click to expand...

:thumb: I have a similar set. I’ve broken off #8 screws working on teak decks then used an extractor to pull the screw and repaired as you outlined. Redrilled with a new screw and plug and you’d never know there was a repair there. You do have to careful that the extractor doesn’t walk across the surface when you first start though. This a pic from the internet.
 

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I also use the boring tools to remove screws, but in harder surfaces, particularly mis-matched metals (like a stainless screw into aluminum), I’ve used the ceramic tile boring bits to equal success. The good ones use diamond dust and grind their way through rather than cut. Makes a cleaner hole in fiberglass as well.
 

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Larry M said:
:thumb: I have a similar set. I’ve broken off #8 screws working on teak decks then used an extractor to pull the screw and repaired as you outlined. Redrilled with a new screw and plug and you’d never know there was a repair there. You do have to careful that the extractor doesn’t walk across the surface when you first start though. This a pic from the internet.
Click to expand...

Thanks Larry. I've found spraying the gel cote with Simple Green prior to any drilling makes for a very clean hole. Seems to help avoid the chipping and skipping about. Definitely going to follow up on this tool.

Thanks to all.
 
EngNate has the answer: Remove the stanchion. Use a small diameter & deep hole saw (just big enough to fit around the remaining screw). No pilot bit. If you don't go all the way through, break up the "plug" with a small screwdriver and remove it. Fill the resulting hole with epoxy, 5200, etc. If the hole goes all the way through the deck, you may have to push a wad of paper or something down to the bottom of the new hole, to keep the epoxy from dripping out.
I recommend taping off the area around the hole or you'll have epoxy all over the deck - it's a Rule of the Universe that epoxy gets on everything within 3' of what you're working on.
Next day:
Re-drill a pilot hole for the new screw (through the hole in the base of the stanchion).
 
The degree of focus and great information on this thread is why I joined the Trawler List 21 years ago and later on this forum.
 
+1 to Rich's remark above; though a newbie here, threads like this are literally gold. I have already bookmarked the cutters referenced on the previous page. Postage costs might hurt here, but what a brilliant tool!

I did find another method, perhaps good for wooden boats, here:


I think if I were able to expose the shank that far, though, vice grips would work as well.
 
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I have a semi-related tip to share:



To avoid stripping out the head of a Phillips screw that's really tight, dip the tip of the screw driver in valve grinding compound before you try to back the screw out. It works remarkably well.
 
Mischief Managed said:
I have a semi-related tip to share:



To avoid stripping out the head of a Phillips screw that's really tight, dip the tip of the screw driver in valve grinding compound before you try to back the screw out. It works remarkably well.
Click to expand...


That's a great tip. I have one I am worried about that I need to get out and I'm going to try this. Thanks for posting.
 
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