Basic Skills!: Stripped Screws

This is part 1 of a series of videos aimed at teaching beginners the basics of repair!

If you are just starting out with repair or just need a refresher, our Basic Skills guides are for you. With Basic Skills you will learn the tips and techniques to level up your repair skills. Today, Gwendolyn explains stripped screws—how they happen, how to avoid them, and what to do when you encounter one.

[KRPTV]

When your laptop isn't working so you look at a YouTube video on how to repair it, but then when you do try and unscrew the back to mend it and you have a stripped screw and so then you end up watching a YouTube video on how to remove stripped screws from laptops you lose the will to live!

[thereviewer]

Well done video. To the point and without wasting any time. This is how videos are supposed to be.

[vincentlacasse]

if this doesn't work, does it mean I'm screwed?

[tommypayn]

Video request: Removing super glued screws from a screwdriver

[B-rad]

Duct tape work's better on smaller screws compared to a rubber band. Just a heads-up. It's saved me a few times.

[MatthiasLee]

Just a tip, when using a rotary tool to cut a slot, make sure you clean up around where you made the cut, the metal dust and chips you generated may cause a short. I usually cover the area around the screw with tape to prevent the dust from settling on the board itself.

[akaKrypt]

this is why all screws should just be flathead...

[mythblaze]

I coax it out with sweet whispers and calling it my precious and voila the screw comes out all by itself. 

[_IHateHandles_]

Another good way to remove stripped screws is to use a can of compressed air. Turn it upside down and gently press the nozzle down until liquid starts to come out, then let this liquid drop onto the screw for about 10-15 seconds. The supercool liquid will shrink the screw down enough to be easily removed. :-)

[PooHPC]

youtube has the answer to pretty much everything ever

[pedrocalebe]

I've seen a dude in reddit soldering the screw and putting another screw on top of it, then rotating the solded screw.

[hornylink]

today we talk about stripped screws, also know as

[rosiemoto]

The rubberband method worked great for removing my stuck/rusted/stripped phillips head screw on my bike's battery! Thank you! Now I'm going to keep a couple wide rubberbands in my emergency toolkit.

[DUNDUA]

Just to note, if you're going to use the super glue method, don't use your good set of tools.

[sega]

I keep trying to use the rubber band method but everytime I try my screwdriver keeps piercing through.

[lunarwinds]

A HUGE THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I've been asking around for how to do this for months. Never even thought of a rubber band. Now I'm looking forward to trying it out.

[goodun]

Note that the metallic debris thrown out by the Dremel cutting wheel is electrically conductive, and quite possibly magnetic, and therefore you should probably put masking tape or better yet blue or green painter's tape over the surrounding circuitry, hard drive etc so that the metallic debris doesn't stick to components in circuit board and cause short circuits. In some cases you can use a magnet to catch the debris thrown off by the spark field of the cutting wheel, but you probably don't want to put a magnet anywhere near the hard drive which has magnets and magnetic storage media inside of it. If the hard drive isn't completely covered up with tape, those super powerful magnets in the hard drive will invariably draw some of that metallic dust inside and cause problems.

[robertpanush]

You, your videographer and director are top notch!

[zacharygames]

Best video I have seen on stripped screws, fantastic!

[theloffikilli]

The motherboard was sweating the entire time