Wait till I get my hands on that guy Phillips!

[jaybee]

To claim my title as Captain Obvious I'd like to point out that old Chevys are built with enormous quantities of Phillips screws.  Screws that sometimes don't come loose even with multiple squirts of penetrant, hammer shocks to the end of a screwdriver, and the applications of large amounts of torque and swearing.  "Drill them out" says Captain Obvious.  That's where I'm getting in trouble.  Moderate pressure, moderate drill speed, a drop of oil on the tip of the bit, whatever I do I seem to end up with a dull bit within a few minutes.  I try very hard not to overheat the bit, it doesnt discolor and never seems to get more than warm to the touch.  Help!

[chimp koose]

Reverse the drill?Actually you can buy left hand helix drill bits that will spin the screw out if it tries to stick.I think someone posted a good tech article on stuck fastener removal here quite a while ago.

[C9]

Grinding a right hand drill so it will cut left handed works well.
Looks weird and you have to pull the drill back to remove cuttings on deeper holes, but it works great.
Most times the heat and vibration from the left hand drill backs the offending bolt right out.


What you need is an impact screwdriver.
Loosens Phillips head and slotted screws with no problems.
These work especially well on motorcycles with their Phillips head machine screws into aluminum.

Go here to see one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37530

Inexpensive at $5.99 each....

[jaybee]

I had completely forgotten about impact screwdrivers.  Haven't used one in many years, but I had one when I owned Japanese motorcycles that were assembled largely with Phillips screws into aluminum.  Among the group I rode with we cursed the people at Honda, Kawasaki, et. al. regularly and none of us had heard of antiseize so the next time the cases came apart they were just as bad as the first time.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I am still getting used to the torx drive stuff

:T)

[2rods]

Torx is the best thing since the robertson head

[wayne petty]

tips for left hand drills...


buy a package of double ended 1/8" drill bits...  they come 10 or 12 in a pack.... most automotive paint stores have them along with really good hardware stores...

and a 1/4" and 5/16"  left hand drill bit...

you also need a variable speed drill that works good at slow speeds..    not all do...

drill a shallow hole with the cheep 1/8 double ended bit.. (use either end  i don't care)  

then come in with the larger left hand drill bit.. and lean hard on it and apply a bit of power..  this will cause the end of the bit to dig in... this puts enough torque to back out damaged fasteners..  

not all cross threaded fasteners... or many rusted in fasteners will come out this way....

i have also used my cut off saw to carefully carve  slots in button head fasteners.. then wedged an impact type flat screwdriver tip...    it is really important that the edges of this cut be vertical.. or the flat tip will ramp out..

one last thing...

proper use of the hand impact driver...

the exact size bit...  

a BFH

and a little torque/twist applied to the handle of the hand impact driver .. not only to hold it in place.. but to put the bit tight in the fastener..


you can also use a flat tipped roll pin punch to flatten out the twisted out phillips shape in the head of the fastener.  then drive in a new bit to reform the opening...

heres a link that explains it all

http://www.sizes.com/tools/screw_drive.htm

[Inprimer]

back in the day when i was in the AF we routinely removed hundreds of panels affixed with Phillip head screws. I still to this day remove phillips head screws with a good #1 or#2 apex bit and a apex holder. and the most unused tool in the toolbox, a speedhandle. You can control the amount of torque whereas a drill in reverse either spins too fast or wants to jump out of the head, with a little practice you can remove almost any screw The only time I see the use of a speedhandle is in the pits usually guys unbolting  stuff off a motor, actually a real neat tool in my book

[Canuck]

Think it was a couple of years ago a guy published a idea, I think on the HAMB,  on making a impact screwdriver that utilized a air chisel.  Just a air chisel shaft with a 1/4" socket welded onto it with a small handle.  WORKS FANTASTIC, far better than a hand held impact with less chance of damage to surrounding metal, especially sheet metal.  About 40 PSI to give a gentle rap.  Backed out damaged trim screws and door hinge screw on my A easily.  I've used the ahnd held impact drivers on cycles, they did the job but was never happy with the process or the result.

Soaking for a couple of days with a penatrant (ie PB Blaster) dosen't hurt either.  If you are not worried about paint on larger fastners a bit of heat helps too.

I know that I owe him a couple of beers for that idea.

Think it was C9 if my memory is working.

Canuck