Hi, Jeff, You make a good point. Drilling the head off is probably the way to go. I would get some painter's blue tape and solidly tape a piece of parchment paper or other thick media over every possible opening of the case prior to starting. The metal shavings cause terrific headaches once they get into the case. Also, you might consider having someone hold the case firmly in case the bit suddenly locks into the screw head. That will help prevent the machine from flying off your table. Speaking from experience on this one.
Good luck! BTW, I tried Googling a material similar to the above and haven't found it yet. If I come across it, though, I'll be sure to post. Sounds like a nice thing to have on the shelf and ready to go in the shop area. On Friday, May 4, 2012 12:57:51 PM UTC-4, Jeff Walther wrote: > > > > On May 3, 10:26 am, Abel Ortiz Monasterio <[email protected]> > wrote: > > I've seen mechanics tap them with a drill I don't know if you can get a > bit > > long enough > > There are definitely drill bits long enough available at the hardware > store. I have some 1/8" drill bits that are 10 - 12" long and I got > them at Home Depot or Lowes. I forget why, but I needed them when I > was wiring my house with 1/2 mile of network cable. > > While the "official" method of removing a stripped screw/bolt is to > drill a hole in the bolt's shaft, tap the hole, and use a reverse > threaded tap to turn the bolt out, I have found that simply drilling > the head off of the bolt is usually sufficient, thus removing the two > difficult parts of the operation. > > Drilling a hole in the narrow screw shaft is usually very > challenging. Don't need to do that if you're just drilling the head > off. Getting the reverse tap to work and not break is usually > challenging. No need to do that either. > > Additionally, if you're just drilling the head off the screw, you can > use a much thicker drill bit, because you're not trying to drive it > down the center of the screw shaft. Just don't drill too far. > > That last bit will be challenging with the screw deep in the Mac's > handle. You want to drill through the screw head just until you reach > the screw shaft. If you're using a bit which is slightly wider than > the screw shaft, this will cause the screw head to separate from the > screw shaft, and then the screw won't be holding the Mac together any > more. > > After you get the head off the screw, the screw will no longer hold > the mac (or other object) together. Disassemble it. Once it is > disassembled, there should be 1/4" or so of the screw shaft sticking > out of the hole, which was previously passing through the removed > component. > > You can just grab this exposed 1/4" with a channel lock pliers and > turn it out. With the object disassembled, the tension will be off of > the screw and chances are, you can turn it out easily with your > fingers, without a channel lock. > > Or you can hack saw a groove in the end of the shaft, and use a flat > head screwdriver to turn it out, if it is really stuck (someone used > lok-tite, e.g.). -- ----- You received this message because you are a member of the Vintage Macs group. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To leave this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintage-macs Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/
