How can I remove a totally stripped small camera screw?

"Cresny

@cresny


Rep: 96




3


2"

I took a flat head screwdriver just slightly larger than the original stripped out phillips slots (original was a PH0), placed it firmly on the head of the screw and rocked it back and forth from corner to corner for a while until it had formed enough of a groove that I could carefully unscrew. I had two very tiny screws with the same issue, one of them I had tried to drill out first with no success, and the other still had vague remnants of the original slots. The drilled out one took longer than the other one for this to work (used a 2.5 for the drilled out one, and a 2.0 for the one that was less stripped).

"have you tried using a jeweler's screwdriver size smaller than the stuck screw, and firm, slow pressure - as suggested in this article? or the bonding glue idea they also mention?

p.s. the following doesn't answer your specific question, but should you get past the stripped screw, perhaps you may find this teardown of an older model Canon PowerShot camera that I took apart useful as a reference. Good luck with your repair."

"You can't possibly know how happy I was to find these tips. The rubber band trick worked GREAT! I sell used watches on ebay and sometimes stumble upon a watch with screws in the back that hold on the back plate. Needless to say, I had 3 expensive watches which all had stripped screws, and no way to get them out. I drilled them out a little first with a small drill bit on the Dremel tool, then the rubber band and a slotted screwdriver and VOILA! I also want to note I had also used a bit of WD-40 to loosed them a little first.

Brilliant ideas and THANK YOU!"

"I have always enjoyed the hard, yet brittle alloy of an Exacto Blade.

These are small pointed 'razor blade' types available in most hardware and all hobby stores. For small screws, use the blade with about a 15 degree point (pointy) and work the tip into one of the obliterated slots of the former Phillips head screw with a small, firm, slicing motion. The harder alloy will cut the screw's alloy, then break off as you work ;-)

With patience, you'll have worked a slot into the screw head (similar to, yet finer than, the Dremel solution above) And the tip of the Exacto Blade will be just about the right size to use as a screw driver as in the Dremel solution; firm pressure to keep the tip in the slot, and back it out. If it snaps, get a new blade. Beware of loosing patience and making a mess of it(candid personal experience). The wider your new slot is, the better leverage you'll have in turning the screw (radius=lever in this case). If you can get some jewelers diagonal cutters to bite into the screw's periphery on each side, you'll have MAX leverage!

I haven't had to resort to messy oils, but a Liquid Wrench application may help. Also relieve any stresses on the screw (like re-tightening the ones around it) so you are only fighting one thing at a time. Bent sheetmetal parts are notorious for jamming screws; try to flatten them first. Or better yet, turn the sheetmetal to free the screw, if possible! The screw also may have seized due to thermal contraction so warming the area may help (soldering iron-careful yadayada...)

Some products (Japanese) use precision Phillips-type csrews that LOOK like standards, but you should get a good set of Japanese screw drivers if you do this regularly. Search the Humanoid Robot built from Japanese servos, sites for details and sources.

On boats, its not uncommon to use oils, tapping, wait a few DAYS and repeat...several times. In a couple weeks- YOU WIN!

Now THATS persistence!!"