Peter McBride

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To remove woodscrews from infill planes where the slot in the top has been removed.
Here is a selection of project planes. I have removed the screws already.

To show how I do it, I replaced a screw and ground most of the head away. I have ground an old nail set punch to a chisel.
This is to cut a starting groove for the cylinder bur, so it doesn't tend to run out and hit the cast iron..

Gentle taps with a hammer from each side to cut a chip away. Make your starter slot in a convenient orientation for a good grip on the plane when using the flexdrive or dremel..

It might even be worth a try to see if this is enough to get a grip on the screw, if not, the cylinder bur is chucked into a flexdrive, or a dremel.
I use a 1.2mm bur because it is a good balance between strength and slot size.

Using the starter groove, just work the bur slowly back and forth in the slot, with a little beeswax as lube.
Do one side, then swing it around.

I have a small screwdriver I shaped to suite the slot.

Out it comes. It might be a help to warm the screw with a soldering iron, to help it break away if it is rusted into the wooden infill.

Copyright © Peter McBride 2010