by Kelly
(Denver, Co)
Hi, I was locking my patio door when lever fell off and the screw was sheared in half. How do I retrieve the other part of the screw stil in the lever hole.
Hi Kelly
When I have screws that break off and cannot be grabbed with a pair of plier to loosen them I some sometimes have to drill them.
I would clamp the handle in a vise to hold it steady, then try to drill a hole in the center and on the end of the broken screw.
Sometimes just the vibration of drilling the hole will cause the broken screw to loosen. Be sure to use a sharp drill and squirt cutting fluid to clear the chips away. The process is messy.
Once you have a hole at least 1/4" deep you can use an easy out to turn the screw in the opposite direction to loosen it. An easy out is like a drill bit with cutting edges in the opposite direction.
You thread it into the hole and it grabs enough to loosen the screw and turn it out of the hole.