hi I'm Gwendolyn with iFixit and this is
basic skills where I show you tips and
techniques involved with repair today
we're talking about stripped screws
nothing stops a repair faster than a
stripped screw that can happen to anyone
but they can also be avoided here are
some tips on how to avoid strip screws
and what to do if you have one first up
pick the right tool this sounds like
common sense but it's worth the time to
take the extra step to do that fit your
bit into the screw head but don't turn
it yet if it's either too big or too
small change your bit next unless access
to your screw is limited make sure your
driver is at a ninety degree angle and
lastly add a good amount of downward
pressure don't be shy you can put some
muscle into this but definitely stop if
you see yourself stripping the heads now
if you have stripped a screw you can use
this handy tool yes it's a rubber band
but it works wonders on strip screws
stretch the rubber band over the strip
screw and then insert your driver the
rubber band should give your driver a
little extra to hold on to if that
doesn't work try superglue just add a
drop of superglue to the strip screw
insert your driver and let them dry
together and finally if the screw is big
enough and you have them on hand try
your screw extracting pliers these have
a specially designed tip so that they
can grab screws a little easier
hopefully one of those tricks worked for
you but if not we do have one other
option you could cut into the head of
the screw with a rotary tool it is one
of the more extreme options but it does
work for this make sure that you have
your protective eyewear to protect your
eyes from the sparks and it also makes
you look cool for this we're also going
to use a cutting disc bit once you've
got that on make a thin cut on the head
of the screw just big enough for a
flathead screwdriver also make sure you
use a lower power we're using two out of
six start with just one cut that should
be thin enough for your driver if not
you can add another cut it's better to
start small and add more width in to
start too big finally fit your flat head
driver into the new cut and get that
difficult screw out now you have the
basic skills for conquering a strip
screw what are some of the tricks you
use on strip screws
let us know in the comments below and
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