Can't shift screw

spleenharvester · 2 May 2011 at 17:06

Selling off an Elonex Ebox for parts on behalf of a family member.

I've removed everything but the motherboard, of which I have removed 7 screws, but the last 1 just won't come out at all. I've tried everything I can think of. Went out and bought a screw extractor set, now the screw just looks cone-shaped, lovely.

Any ideas?

Cheers

joxang · 2 May 2011 at 17:07

Tried a drill with a screwdriver bit on the end? Usually works for the toughest screws for me. Make sure the case is firmly clamped down.

PhillyDee · 2 May 2011 at 17:12

Drill the head off. You will need to be careful of course! Apart from that, you are stuffed. If its the JML screw extractor set, they are pointless and do not work.

spleenharvester · 2 May 2011 at 18:03

joxang said:
Tried a drill with a screwdriver bit on the end? Usually works for the toughest screws for me. Make sure the case is firmly clamped down.

That's the problem lol, there is no screw left nearly. It's worn down to a cone shape.

PhillyDee said:
Drill the head off. You will need to be careful of course! Apart from that, you are stuffed. If its the JML screw extractor set, they are pointless and do not work.

How? D: it is indeed, they aren't great but they got the other 3 toughies out

HypnoToad · 2 May 2011 at 18:08

sometimes if its tall screw or bolt pliers can work if you grip the outside really tight

PhillyDee · 2 May 2011 at 18:09

Can you get under the motherboard and unscrew the riser from the board?

joxang · 2 May 2011 at 18:19

Oh I totally misread this - thought you wanted to remove the motherboard tray from the case.

Is the screw firmly wedged into the standoff/riser so when the screw turns, the standoff turns in the mobo tray? I've had this happen in poor quality cases. The standoff can't be unscrewed - it just turns round and round without moving.

Try drilling into the standoff from underneath the motherboard tray. You have to be extremely careful obviously but you can usually force the rise out of the hole where it's stuck.

spleenharvester · 2 May 2011 at 19:33

Standoffs are fixed in. Gonna try pliers now, why didn't that occur to me before :confused:

Cheers

spleenharvester · 2 May 2011 at 19:45

Alright so pliers didn't work at all. Just can't get a grip on it.

Just for clarity:
-The screw is jammed, nothing turning at all
-The standoffs are fixed into the case
-The head is mullered, is virtually flat, nothing to get a screwdriver into
-Pliers, attempted drill out has not worked

Running out of options here, having to be careful about cleaning the metal filings off the board too. Hopefully it's still working fine. :/

Any last thoughts? Tempted to put some nonconductive flux on to try and free it.

joxang · 2 May 2011 at 20:00

Last option, use a thin bladed saw (e.g. fret saw) to saw through the remaining standoff. It'll be a lot easier to remove from the motherboard once the mobo is separate from the tray.

The Badger · 2 May 2011 at 22:55

glue a handle to it ? ;p

wilko49 · 3 May 2011 at 06:37

How much of the head is left? You might be able to cut a groove in the top so you can use a larger flat screwdriver.

HypnoToad · 3 May 2011 at 07:05

Pauliee said:
glue a handle to it ? ;p

you may joke but that isnt a bad idea, if you use superglue that may just work

Xire · 3 May 2011 at 10:43

hmm take a pic.

Deleted member 651465 · 3 May 2011 at 10:55

wilko49 said:
How much of the head is left? You might be able to cut a groove in the top so you can use a larger flat screwdriver.

This is what I do, if I get a stubborn screw.

Small hacksaw to make a groove big enough for a flathead driver = win.

Can't shift screw

Deleted member 651465

Deleted member 651465