The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors removing trim screws

Small screws are almost impossible to drill out or drill into. They are also hard to cut a slot and hard to grab onto. If you have a welder and there is some stick-up of the screw or screw head, find a washer with a hole just a tad bigger than the screw and weld it to the screw first. Welding at the washer hole area. Then weld a nut to the washer. That has always worked for me without damage to the associated trim piece. As Bill says rock the screw in and out awhile with a socket on the nut. This is, of course, after you have PB Blasted for a day or so. In this method you will have a large leverage advantage so don't break off the screw shank. Go slow and lots of back and forth with minimal torque. I don't like electric or air tools on small stuff. You have no feel or control. You will strip a Phillips head in no time. I have used a small cordless driver with a ratchet torque setting. Set it way low and let it knock. Not for the force of it but for the vibration without stripping Phillips. It will set there and buzz and finally turn....maybe.