Drawer knob screw won't come out

[Pat]

Got my new door and drawer knobs today.  Switched 17 of 18.  Somebody at the plant must have used loctite or something to install the last drawer knob I need to change.  I have tried everything to get the thing to turn.  I don't want to strip the screw entirely, and I have scratched the front of the wood drawer trying to turn the thing.  I'm not particular about whether the old knob is damaged by pliers. 

Any suggestions how to get that old screw to turn or at least to remove it so I can change to the new knob?  If I had a drill, I could drill off the head of the screw and push the shaft through the hole and throw away the old knob.  I can always buy another screw, since I need the extra long one for the thick drawer face. 

I guess I can wait a few weeks till I get to Mesa.  Someone there can remove it.

--pat

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Probably just corrosion/rust rather than loctite, but the net result is the same (or worse).  One method is to cut/scrape away enough wood around the screw head to get a pair of vise grips on it. Then you can usually tun it or break it - either solve the problem.

 

[Pat]

Gary:  Speaking of old projects, today I finally squirted a teensy bit of sewing machine oil into the shaft of my fantastic vent, and it stopped squeaking.  Your suggestion in another topic ages ago. 

For this knob project I'll most likely see if my brother can drill the head off the screw without doing any damage to the wood of the drawer.  I make quite a mess trying to grab something with pliers.  Also, I still think it may be loctite.  These knobs were all easy to remove, and they aren't too old.  The cutting board knob would have been a lot more trouble, because the screw head isn't accessible.  However, that twisted off ok. 

I wanted to get the chintzy plastic paper towel holder off the kitchen wall today.  Interesting that the shaft that holds those interchangeable screwdriver bits was too large to fit into the hole in the towel holder base to get at the screws.  However, the thing was so cheezy, I was able to wiggle it slightly and gently back and forth, and it snapped off.  Now the screws are very accessible. 

--pat

 

[John From Detroit]

Yet another option is a nut buster.... IF YOU HAVE ROOM FOR IT,,, You would need a fairly big one for a knob though less you can cut the knob down to size a bit

This is basically a teardrop shaped metal "ring" with a screw driven chisel in the point... Slip it over the nut, (or in this case knob) screw the screw in and the chisel is driven into the "nut" (knob) splitting it so it can be removed easily no matter how badly it's rusted on

Note, this is destructive to the nut (knob)

 

[Pat]

JID:  The knob is already a scraped up mess from the pliers I tried using on it.  I have almost stripped the screw head.  I'm going to drill into the screw with a bit that's a little larger than the shaft.  Should loosen things.  I may try to wait till I get to Mesa and retrieve the excellent drill and driver bit sets I gave my brother with my Makita portable drill.  I don't like having to recharge things in this small space, and the Makita is too heavy anyway, so I'm looking at a wired drill at Sears this week.  I also need to make a hole or two in the bottom of a cabinet for a paper towel holder, so might as well get a drill.

Hope I remember to take a matching screw to town Thursday.  I'll have to replace this one.

--pat

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

...so I'm looking at a wired drill at Sears this week. I also need to make a hole or two in the bottom of a cabinet for a paper towel holder, so might as well get a drill.

I suggest a Black & Decker corded drill from most any Walmart, Home Depot or whatever. They are very inexpensive and hold up fine for occasional use such as yours.

 

[Pat]

Gary:  Drilling worked great.  I used a drill bit a little larger than the screw shaft.  I drilled into the middle of the screw head toward the shaft.  In less than a minute total drilling, the knob with shaft still attached popped out.  The head was easy to pry off.  No damage to the wood.

I am near a small town with a hardware store that has minimal merchandise; however, I lucked into a small Makita corded drill.  They've probably had it in stock for years.  The instruction pamphlet was printed in 1999.  The B&D they had was huge and very heavy.  The DeWalt was also a little too large.  This Makita did an excellent job on two projects today.  I'm glad I got it.  I bought only two drill bits, because I have some nice stuff I'm going to get back from my brother, if he isn't using it. 

--pat