I am HO Scale and have problems with some hard to remove small screws. While I have jewelers screwdrive set that will fit the screws heads there handles are so small I cannot get the torque needed to break the screw loes. Tried to use pliers but cannot push down has hard the screw driver bite slips and rounds out the screw head?
Does anyone make jeweler sizes bites with larger handles? Maybe wrapping duck tape around the handle to make it bigger? Current project is a BLI F7A and cannot get the fuel tank off so I can get the motor out.
Try some pentrating oil on the stuck screws. The slots and/or Phillips heads on small brass screws cannot take much torque before they strip out. The dinky little handles on jewelers screwdrivers will apply all the torque the screw heads can stand.
If worst comes to worst, you drill out the gummed up screw, retap the hole a size larger, and insert brand new screws.
Holding the screwdriver with thumb and middle finger with index finger on rotating top . . .
Can you pinch the barrel with a small bit of 400-grit sandpaper folded into a v-shape between thumb and middle finger? Or, there’s always the George Brett pine tar technique.
Look at Wiha Tools, Ken. VERY comfortable handles and come in a variety of screwdriver head types and sizes. Those small jeweler’s screwdrivers are useless and uncomfortable with my larger hands.
Apologies if this is already familiar to you: I sometimes (not necessarily on model trains) find that small “Phillips” screws aren’t really Phillips, but something superficially similar, like JIS (Japan Industrial Standard). I sometimes can get better leverage on the screw using the intended type of screwdriver (like JIS) rather than the standard Phillips type. There’s a very good explanation, with identifying photos, on the Instructables site, titled “When a Phillips is not a Phillips.” JIS (and, I assume, other Phillips look-alike) screwdriver sets can be bought from USA vendors; they’re not expensive (at least for small jewelers sizes).
Picking up a variety of small screwdrivers – some of them promotional freebies – helps me solve the problem Spring Street mentions. I’ve been able to replace some of the screws with oddball heads with real Phillips screws from eBay or some of the online vendors.
I use miniature screwdrivers which are designed for electronics. They have better handles than jeweler’s. I have collected several over the years including ones made by Craftsmen, Stanley and Xcelite.
I have a pretty good selection of small screwdrivers, however, there are still times when I can’t get the screws loose, so I have a small vice grip, maybe three or four inches long I attach to the handle. It seems to work well.
Good, if your tip is hardened; not so, if it’s not. Unhardened tool tips will deform themselves AND the end of the screw head that you’re trying to remove.
I found a set, 3 sizes of phillips and straight blade, at my local hardware store. They have a nice easy to grip handle you can get your hand around, the end of the handle has the rotating tip thing, so you can grip the handle, and apply pressure with your palm.
Once I get them loose, I have the screw holding tool, with the wire grippers that hold on to the screw, for easy removal, and placement.
Of course you can take the very small screwdrivers meant for eyeglass repair and drill a hole in the end of a dowel and force in the screwdriver handle into the hole to give you a better grip and purchase if that is the issue.
You can also take a larger screwdriver and grind it down on a grinder to small size (slot head screwdriver that is).
One of my favorite very small screwdrivers is one I have no idea if you can still find. It came with one of my late mother’s sewing machines, circa 1950. When that one finally gave out she gave me the little tool kit that came with it. Small head, fairly long shaft, and a decent sized wood handle on it. Perhaps stores that cater to people who sew have something similar?
Don’t forget the old trick of putting things in the freezer to loosen tight screws, it works better than you think. A good trick if your eyeglass arms keep coming loose is to put them in the freezer and then tighten them. When they return to room temperature, they get really tight.
Once upon a time a had a cheap set of those Jewelers Screwdrivers, if you google, you will come up with a dozen that look exactly the same, fluted steel body, came in a set of 5. These had a hole in the upper body and a little steel bar, about the size of an 1/8" drill bit, that you could use as a breaker bar. Wouldn’t be hard to make your own with a drill press.
Kroil an oil popular with firearms folks is better than PB blaster or liquid wrench for loosening stuck screws. ATF and acetone is supposedly better.
I found a set from Kobalt at Lowe’s, it contains a regular screwdriver handle, with multiple exchangeable bits, from mini sized 0000 Phillips on up, that works great!