I needed to remove the roof rack from my wagon and ~2/3's of the screws were now cooperating, even after soaking with penetrating oil. i used a "dremel tool" with two of the thin cutoff wheels to change the Philips head screws into ones with a slot for a large single blade screwdriver. this was not a issue since the screws will be replaced any ways. for the really tough ones i used a wrench on the shaft. see the pictures of more detail. hope some one else will s]find this useful.
Yes, I have had to do that before myself. Those cut off wheels are handy, but I don't know why they can't make them more durable. They are dangerous as they shatter if you just look at them funny. No sense not wearing a face shield. Those thin stone ones are so brittle I think they ought to stop making them. on the other hand they make some that are more reinforced and much more durable.
Unless what you are working on is too delicate ,lightweight or thin. Slotting works great in these cases.
I had to remove a hundred or more screws on an airplane.The sloting with the cut off wheel would damage the plane so I drilled 1/16 holes across the face of the screws and used a flat blade to get them out. I love the FAA.
The ones that come in the kit are real thin, and those may be the ones you refer to, I have had the same problem ...but there are thicker ones, they look bonded or reinforced as you said, that go on the Dremel tool, I had to look at flea market suppliers for them.......
There was a discussion about Dremel cutoff wheels a few years ago on here. A HAMBer is a dealer for the very best wheels, I think the brand name is "The Good Ones", or something like that. They stink of rubber, but man do they cut and last. Instructions even say you can grind with the side too. I have, they don't blow up. I heart them!! Do a search, might have been two years ago. I just looked at my PMs, message from the dealer is gone. I will look at brand name tommorow night. He said they can be found in hobby stores, they have a bright colored label.
One trick that I found that works slick is when you have difficult phillips screws , dip the tip of the screwdriver into some valve lapping compound before you turn the screw. The grit gives the tip of the screwdriver a little more grip and makes it less likely to slip.
I am working on a 57 and 58 ranchero, I parted out a 57 midwest rustbucket. I would spray the screws a day ahead of removal with PB blaster, then use a clean sharpe phillips screwdriver, pop the head with a hammer- and wala, out comes the screw. Mark
here ya go..... widgetsupply.com/page/WS/CTGY/dremel-cut-off-fiberglass-wheel I also use old worn down 1.5mm X 4" cut off wheels in my dremel ( turn up an adapter on a lathe to take the worn out wheels when they get too small to use on a 4" and they last forever on a dremel setup)
i hade my face cut from those blades and i lost track of how many i used just to slot 2 bolts that had broken off on my steering box mount on my daily blazer
X2 on the valve lapping compount, it really works! Learned about it years ago working on small aircraft. Use a speed handle with a good phillips tip so you can lean into it a bit. Give it a squirt of your favorite penetrating oil and let it soak in a while before you do this.
........ Another idea that sometimes works for removing stuborn screws, is to insert the screwdriver into the slot and lightly tap the top of the screwdriver with a hammer... That loosen's up the rust somewhat and you could remove the screw. I can't understand why they never used stainless steel screws for outside trim pieces on those cars..
Amen to that one, the cost would have been minimal and the looks would stayed good. that is what will be replacing the old ones.
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