It’s really easy to damage a screw by putting pressure the wrong way. It’s even easier with Allen screws. The material of the screw corrodes over time and gets easily stripped when you apply force. This gets especially tricky with a faucet or some narrow places your tools can’t easily reach.
However, there are multiple ways you can recover your stripped Allen screws from your faucet without damaging anything around. Join us as we explore a couple of ways you can safely remove a stripped Allen screw from your faucet.
7 Easy Methods to Remove a Stripped Allen Screw From a Faucet
Method 1: With an impact driver
Step 1: Gather tools
- Impact driver
- Safety glasses
- Hammer
- Screwdriver/drill
Step 2: Insert and tighten a flathead driver
Step 3: Make sure the screw head doesn’t have any loose dirt. You don’t want to tighten up the screw, so check if the bit is in the right direction
Step 4: Wear safety glasses and place the driver a bit snugly into the screw head
Step 5: Hit the end of the handle with a hammer a few times so that the bit sets into the screw head. The impact driver head also rotates and loosens the screw
Step 6: Remove the stripped screw with a screwdriver or drill
Method 2: With pliers
Step 1: Gather tools
- Locking pliers/vise grip pliers
Step 2: Grip the screw on both sides with vise grip pliers or locking pliers
Step 3: Twist the screw left and right until it’s loose enough to pull out
Method 3: With a cobalt drill bit
Step 1: Gather tools
- Two cobalt drill bits
- Drilling machine
Step 2: Find a cobalt drill bit with a diameter big enough to fit into the screw head slot
Step 3: Drill through the center of the head until the bit passes through the screw head. Do the step slowly and cautiously so you don’t make it difficult for yourself
Step 4: Swap the cobalt bit for one that will match the screw head diameter when you reach the base of the screw head
Step 5: Position the drill on the hole that you made and use the new drill bit to drill out the head of the stripped screw
Step 6: Continue to drill the screw head until you get to the inside diameter. Pop the drill bit out from the handle at a slow pace
Step 7: Remove the allen screw from the faucet. You may have to wiggle the handle to get the job done
Method 4: With rubber bands
**Photo Courtesy: YouTube
Step 1: Gather tools
- Rubber band
- Screwdriver
Step 2: Place your rubber band over the stripped allen screw and put the screwdriver into the screw head
Step 3: Extract the screw with slow and firm pressure
Step 4: Apply hard but with a slow force or you will chew up the band
(Pro tip: Put some steel wool onto the screw head if you don’t have a rubber band. This also helps provide some grip to extract the screw.)
Method 5: With a hammer
**Photo Courtesy: YouTube
Step 1: Gather tools
- Screwdriver
- Hammer
Step 2: Place a screwdriver onto the screw head. Provide a couple of taps with the hammer so that the screwdriver is set into the screw
Step 3: Continuously strike the screwdriver once you are sure it is set into the screw. The driver will push deeper into the screwhead for a good grip
Step 4: Turn the screw with the screwdriver once the tool is firmly set in and you have the grip. This will allow you to remove the fastener from the faucet
Method 6: With spot-weld a nut
Step 1: Gather tools
- A nut
- Welding machine
- Wrench
Step 2: Pick a nut that is similar to or slightly smaller than the stripped screw
Step 3: Weld the nut onto the screw
Step 4: Remove the screw with a wrench once the weld is done
Method 7: With a screw extractor
Step 1: Gather tools
- Screw extractor
- Drill driver
Step 2: Chuck your screw extractor in a drill driver with the burnisher end facing out
Step 3: Slowly reverse the drill with the burnisher engaged in the screw head
Step 4: Drill into the screw head for about 1/16 inch
Step 5: Turn the driver around so the extractor section faces outside
Step 6: Squeeze the trigger slowly while you press the extractor in reverse on the screw head. You will feel engaged with the screw head and it will come out slowly.
What to do if the screw has no head?
Step 1: Gather tools
- Drilling tool
Step 2: Put a positioning hole with a center punch
Step 3: Pick a tool to drill. The drill should feature a left-handed direction to unscrew
Step 4: Drill the screw until the shaft is outside
Step 5: Take the shaft out
Step 6: Put a positioning hole with a center punch to remove the remaining parts of the screw broken inside
Step 7: Use a drill smaller than the screw size for the drill so the screw thread isn’t damaged
Step 8: Unscrew with a tool that features a left-hand direction. The screw breaks when the direction is reversed, so you need to turn the tool gently
Step 9: Keep drilling until a small amount of the shaft is exposed to the outside. Use the tool gently to unscrew out the shaft in the left-handed direction
What to do if the heads are severely stripped?
A slightly bigger Torx driver with a hex or a flathead is the perfect tool when your screw head is too stripped.
Flathead screws do have sharp edges and they dent faster. Be careful that you don’t end up breaking anything.
An important note is that your driver can be harmed when you try this method. Don’t forget to take your time or you will need a replacement before you will be bale to complete the job.
FAQs
Q. What happens if a screw is stripped?
Stripped screws are often old, so you can’t get a good grip when you use a drill or a screwdriver to remove them.
Q. How do I remove a stripped screw by hand?
You can’t remove a stripped screw by hand in most cases. Try one of our methods mentioned above.
