How to get out screw broken in half?

[SalFromChatham]

By the way, dont buy cheap $5 strap buttons made overseas from Amazon....

Lesson learned.

Now... how to get this out safely?

[brencat]

Yikes!

Try a pair of flat nosed pliers, straight on, and carefully unscrew it.

[89bruin]

I’d try vise grips and go slow.

[SalFromChatham]

I have tried needle nose pliers, slow... wrapped around cloth around the screw. No dice.

So bummed...

[lowrider]

That one's easy; vise grips, don't get near the neck, turn it out slowly.

[Silly Moustache]

File the top flat, cut a groove in it enough to take a screwdriver blade , unscrew it.

[Denny B]

Sal, why wrap a cloth around the screw? I'd think that's preventing a grip on the screw...

There's enough of it protruding to lock a good set of grips directly onto it ( being careful of the wood ) and twist that thing out of there...

[SalFromChatham]

My problem is my tools are not up to the task. I try gripping with vice grips, and the metal on the grips is cheap as well.

What a headache.

Maybe I dont make a bad situation worse, and when I have time in the next few weeks, I take it in to a pro.

[charles Tauber]

Just curious: did the screw break while you were installing it, or did it break after it was installed and a strap was supporting the guitar?

A good pair of pliers should allow you to grip it and unscrew it. If you want, protect the neck by putting a towel on the surface of the neck, not on the screw.

[Carey]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Just curious: did the screw break while you were installing it, or did it break after it was installed and a strap was supporting the guitar?

A good pair of pliers should allow you to grip it and unscrew it. If you want, protect the neck by putting a towel on the surface of the neck, not on the screw.

This. You can take a piece of protective material, punch a small, screw-sized hole through it, let the screw shank pass through, and then clamp firmly above with your vise-grips. Apply a little pressure and wait.. then a little more, if necessary, until the screw gives.

If you feel uncertain about the process at all, take it to a pro.

[SalFromChatham]

It snapped on install. The metal was not strong enough for The torque of turning the screw through the mahogany neck. Maybe my pilot hole should have been bigger.

[dave42]

The wood area around it should be covered with painters tape. Vise grips or flat nose pliers. Slow.

Right sized pilot hole and a light smear of hand soap on the threads.

You'll get it, no prob!

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by themissal

It snapped on install. The metal was not strong enough for The torque of turning the screw through the mahogany neck. Maybe my pilot hole should have been bigger.

Was it a brass screw?

Your pilot hole should have been bigger. Mahogany is a relatively soft wood.

[coldfingers]

You are really lucky to have that much of the screw sticking out. Every time I've broken a screw, it's happened at or below the surface. As previously stated, vice grips are definitely the thing. If you don't have a good pair of those, run out and get one right now. It's one of the best tools ever invented and you will find many uses for it.

[Lee Callicutt]

More than likely the pilot hole should have been a hair larger. A dab of soap on the threads of the screw may have also helped.

On the bright side; better that the screw sheared off than the heel cracked.


I like to think I've learned to back off and respect resistance when applying mechanical advantage.

No harm no foul.