Which multitool blade for cutting through screws?

[johnny2007]

Bang it in with a hammer and punch.

Don't do this!
There's plenty of meat there to remove those screws with mole grips.
Try again getting a tighter lock.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

.

 

[robinbanks]

Agreed, using disc edge at an angle grinding end of screw below the surface, will make a small grove in the wood but easily filled

1) not if you're good
2) but I did say "flap wheel", which looks like this:

Carefully used it will reduce the screw to flush with only a miniscule depression in the surrounding wood; easily painted over to hide

 

[morqthana]

Could you (slowly & carefully, as you'd have to omit the pilot drill) cut round the screws with a small holesaw so you can then prise away a lot of the wood holding the screws in, then they might come out a lot easier? Use a size which matches dowel you have or can buy and making good won't be too hard.

 

[stealthwolf]

Thanks all. I tried mole grips. I tried pliers. Both just chewed up the thread without rotating the screws. I ended up getting a bosch metalmax blade, cutting them flush, then using a dremel tool with grinding wheel to bring the top of the screws just under the wood. Ronseal wood filler. Sanded. Just painted it now.

 

[stealthwolf]

Bosch expert metal max.

That’s what I ended up using. Took a while but worked well.

Could you (slowly & carefully, as you'd have to omit the pilot drill) cut round the screws with a small holesaw so you can then prise away a lot of the wood holding the screws in, then they might come out a lot easier? Use a size which matches dowel you have or can buy and making good won't be too hard.

I did debate doing this. I think my issue was that the screws were 80mm long, and around 25mm had snapped off. So still had 55mm to try to drill around. I decided it was quicker and easier to cut the screws flush and just fill.

 

[morqthana]

I meant to say this first time round...

The screws are 80mm long and the first 25mm have snapped off.

I thought I often go too far with screw lengths, but 80mm for a stair gate.....

 

[robinbanks]

80mm would be reasonable for fixing a 10mm bar through a 25mm batten, for example. The rough rule of thumb is to have a a screw 3x the thickness of the item being fixed; use a 36mm screw to fix a 12.5mm plasterboard etc

 

[morqthana]

Isn't the magnitude and direction of the loading a significant factor?

 

[stealthwolf]

I meant to say this first time round...



I thought I often go too far with screw lengths, but 80mm for a stair gate.....

my wife wanted a pressure fit stair gate. We didn’t have a suitable Jewell post (it’s round where the upper pressure fitting would go. I was worried about how secure the batten would be. By the time my son could walk, he would hang off the stair gate and try and pull it down! I’m glad I went OTT from a safety perspective.