Drilling that Screw!!!

[vinmcmahon]

:o
The time involved in drilling out a broken screw can be amazing. The patient is irate, frustrated and waiting while we drill away. Any tips to make this process go faster, with less frame breakeage?

Vin McMahon

[chip anderson]

First try to remove it with and Easy-Out, there are two verisons a narrow one that fits inside the screw diamter and a wide one that fits outside the screw diameter. They can be applied to either end of the screw. Second try slotting the broken end of the screw and removing with screw driver. Third: apply pentrating oil and see if screw will loosen, some claim a sonic cleaner will loosen screws, others say heating frame helps. Fouth use one of the Hilco drill/screw guides if all else fails.

Lastly I have wondered if peening screws with a hammer (as oppposed to stakeing) doesn't sometimes crack them inviting screw brakeage.

Wish I had more hints.

Chip

[harry a saake]

:D as i remember there were a number of tips on this subject in the tips on dispensing thread, one of the things that does work best is patience.

[Cindy Hamlin]

chip anderson said:
First try to remove it with and Easy-Out, there are two verisons a narrow one that fits inside the screw diamter and a wide one that fits outside the screw diameter. They can be applied to either end of the screw. Second try slotting the broken end of the screw and removing with screw driver. Third: apply pentrating oil and see if screw will loosen, some claim a sonic cleaner will loosen screws, others say heating frame helps. Fouth use one of the Hilco drill/screw guides if all else fails.

Lastly I have wondered if peening screws with a hammer (as oppposed to stakeing) doesn't sometimes crack them inviting screw brakeage.

Wish I had more hints.

Chip

Chip,
I have never heard of easy-out, what is it? Also, I have always had success with taking a thin file and filing a slot in the screw and then removing it with a screwdriver. That has always worked best for me.

When I do have to drill, it is always best to go slow. I kind of nick at the top until I have an indentation than I drill away. I must say, I have broken very few frames. And afterwards I always put in a screw and nut. I put the screw in upside down so that the temple hides the nut.

[hcjilson]

Vin,
Remember that your customer has the problem and if he/she is irate, its usually because they don't have a spare pair. They are trying to make their problem your problem. Don't buy into that. Any repair problem I think I'm going to have a problem with, I ask the customer to leave the glasses and I will call them when ready. If they can't do that and I have the time between customers, I do it while they wait. My customers rarely get irate and if your customers do, just return the glasses saying you have'nt the time to do a proper job and to come back at a time that they can leave the glasses.

All too often we give the control of our offices over to our customers. Does your appliance repairman come right over after your call?Does your car mechanic do repairs
without notice, while you wait? We all know the answers to those questions! Tear a page out of their book and put yourself back in control.

Try that on your next repair and see what happens....you will be pleasantly surprised I think.

[lguess]

We drill out screws only as a last resort- instead we use Western Optical's "ShootOut" tool. It will remove screws from temples or eyewire barrels 99% of the time. The only caveat I have is that you should practice using the tool on any old frames you have lying around first. The tool is incredibly powerful and it's easy to bust up an eyewire barrel if you're not careful. Hope this helps.

Larry

P.S. No, I'm not affiliated with Western in any manner.

[CME4SPECS]

Hilco's bullseye screw extractor (20-059) works great. I find it to work best when you have the frame for a short while. Send the patient off for coffee or lunch or have them sit in the car...anything just get them out of your hair! I always have other things that I have to do before I can get to their glasses. Terry

[chip anderson]

In machine (like cars) when you break a bolt or stud off, you drill a hole in the bolt or stud and put an "easy out" ( a hard coarse threaded screw the which is a little smaller than the hole at the bottom and larger than the hole at the top. Screw in the reverse direction of the thread on the screw to be removed and if you get lucky the screw comes out.

In eyeglasses the screws are too small for this to be practical but there are screwdriver type devises that have teeth on them which can sometimes be forced down on the top of the broken end of the screw and turned in the reverse direction of the screw to accomplish the same thing. I have a small male one that is the diameter of most screws and another that is female with a hole in the center a little smaller than most screws and teeth on the outside of the hole a which extend a little to the outside of the screw. Sometimes (especially of if a little of the broken off screw extends beyond whatever it is screwed into) this will extract the screw. Drilling I save for a last resort as some screws are very hard and the drill tends to slip and drill through what the screw is screwed into then you end up with two holes or the screw still in place and a hole next to it.

Hoever even when this disaster happens once the screw is out, you can fill the hole with solder, and re-drill the hole and re-tap the threads.

Chip