How are you dealing with stuck screws?

[Andreas Thaler]

In France at least there is Degryp'oil (Degryp coming from dégripper, which means unstucking)

Merci bien

 

[bernard_L]

In France at least there is Degryp'oil (Degryp coming from dégripper, which means unstucking)

Another vote for Degrip'oil. The head of the workshop at my place recommended it to me specifically for steel-aluminium (a common combination in cameras) and it did the trick. Feels and smells like a combination of naphta and oil. Definitely less oily than WD-40.
Possibly Transyl is a similar product, better known than Degrip'oil outside France.

 

[BobUK]

Heat expands and cold contracts. Putting the grumpy mechanism in the freezer for a couple hours is sometimes helps.

I would not recommend this.
A friend left their binoculars in the car boot overnight during a very chilly, frosty night.
When brought indoors and left on the sideboard he actually heard them click.
The objective lens had cracked in the sudden warmth.

 

[chuckroast]

I would not recommend this.
A friend left their binoculars in the car boot overnight during a very chilly, frosty night.
When brought indoors and left on the sideboard he actually heard them click.
The objective lens had cracked in the sudden warmth.

There are degrees of cold and the dose makes the poison. I've not had any issue with putting something in the freezer (which tends to be set around 0F) for an hour or two.

If you're in Nome Alaska in mid winter, I'd recommend bringing your cameras into the house

 

[eli griggs]

There are degrees of cold and the dose makes the poison. I've not had any issue with putting something in the freezer (which tends to be set around 0F) for an hour or two.

If you're in Nome Alaska in mid winter, I'd recommend bringing your cameras into the house

Use direct heat on the screw, only, first to expand and then as it cools it should 'break' the friction and be removable.

Some folks will leave camera kit in cars, in the cold, so they are ready to go the next day, without condensation fogging things up including the insides of the camera, only bring it, in it's bag or case inside to slowly come to temp, in a chest cooler it cardboard box, over more that a day or two.

 

[BobUK]

Use direct heat on the screw, only, first to expand and then as it cools it should 'break' the friction and be removable...................

Wondering how people apply heat to small screw heads.

Possibly heating the tip of a cheap, damaged old screwdriver in a flame then holding it in the slot or star of the screw head.

Or even drilling holes in a spare copper soldering iron bit as required, with a couple of assorted diameter rods driven into the copper bit.
A sort of multi tipped heater.

 

[eli griggs]

Wondering how people apply heat to small screw heads.

Possibly heating the tip of a cheap, damaged old screwdriver in a flame then holding it in the slot or star of the screw head.

Or even drilling holes in a spare copper soldering iron bit as required, with a couple of assorted diameter rods driven into the copper bit.
A sort of multi tipped heater.

Soldering iron with tip has been mentioned.

If you have a steel, copper or brass tip, OR narrow copper nail, copper or brass or steel screw or nail, a strong, narrow jaw vice grip, some heat sink paste/jell, and a gas torch.

Take the probe tip, lock the tool in the back end of the probe with the vice grip/plyers apply a ring or three of heat sink material about two or three inched up from the tip, and with the camera/lens pre positioned, heat the top, just up to the heat sink until it's red hot and then apply it to the stuck screw of 30 - 60 up to 90 seconds anr remove the tip, reheat it to red and apply again.

Do several applications, then let the screw air cool.

It should have had enough expansion and then cooling to do the job.

I have some odd pieces of steel, 3/8" thick lettering dies, for striking into metal and wood, which includes a "dot" die, which would be ideal for this application and it's mass would hold a great deal of heat, needing a vice grip and heat sink to be used.

There are other methods and probs you can try, but in the past, I've had good results with other items, using this basic method, always metal on metal.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

If you put some solder on the soldering tip, the heat transfer to the screw head is perfect. But then there may be solder left behind that you have to scrape off or remove with the desoldering braid so that the screwdriver can take hold.

Currently my cordless soldering iron with a wide soldering tip is my star for this purpose. It has too much power for soldering electronics, but it is suitable for screw heads

 

[88E30M50]

On a recent Canon A-1 parts camera disassembly, I found the top screw in the bayonet front cover rusted and stuck. Attempts to turn it were starting to damage the head, so I mixed a tiny bit of acetone with a tiny amount of RemOil. Basically, I'd take a drop of each and mix them before applying that to the screw. I did this for a couple of days. Towards the end, I got lazy and just put a needle tip drop of oil on the screw, then used my tweezers to add a drop of acetone. Before attempting to remove the screw, I pressed the hot tip of a soldering iron to the screw for a couple of seconds. The cover is plastic, so I was careful to not overheat it. Then, when I turned the screw while applying a bit of pressure, it popped free quite easily.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

@88E30M50

Great and congrats!

I wouldn't have that patience