How to remove a stripped screw

Updated 15 November 2026 · 7 min read

A stripped screw is one where the driver just spins: the cross or star in the head has been chewed round, so nothing grips. Most come out with one of the seven fixes below. Start at the top. Each one takes a bit more kit than the one before.

Before you start

• Stop driving it. Every spin that slips rounds the head a little more and makes the next fix harder.
• Check the bit matches the head. Phillips (PH) and Pozidriv (PZ) look alike, but a Pozidriv head has four small extra lines between the arms of the cross. Lots of timber and chipboard screws sold in Australia are Pozidriv, and a Phillips bit in a Pozi head slips out under load. Most 8g and 10g screws take a size 2 bit.
• Is it the head or the hole? If the screw turns but won't come up or won't tighten, the hole is stripped, not the head. That's a different fix, covered further down.
• Think about what's behind it. Turn off the power before working on light fittings, switches or appliances. Wear safety glasses for anything involving a hammer, a grinder or a drill.

1. A fresh bit, more pressure, slower

Worn bits strip screws, and they keep stripping them. Put in a new bit of the right type and size, push hard straight down into the screw, and turn slowly. If you're using a drill, drop the speed and the clutch right down, or put the drill away and turn it with a hand screwdriver, which gives you more feel.

If the bit still slips, try the next size up. A slightly bigger bit can catch on the parts of the head that aren't worn yet. Good for: heads that are only a bit chewed.

2. A rubber band

Lay a wide, flat rubber band over the screw head, push the bit through it into the head, and turn slowly with firm pressure. The rubber fills the worn gaps and gives the bit something to bite on. A pinch of steel wool works the same way, and hardware shops sell screw grip drops: a gritty liquid you put on the bit for extra bite.

Good for: lightly stripped Phillips heads. It won't help much if the head is rounded smooth.

3. Tap the bit in

Seat the screwdriver or bit in the head and give the end a couple of firm taps with a hammer. That drives it deeper into the soft metal of the head, so it grips again. Then turn it by hand, pushing hard. This works especially well on Torx and hex heads, where you can tap in a slightly bigger bit.

Skip this one on anything that could crack: tiles, glass, electronics and thin plastic.

4. Grip the head from the outside

If the head sits up above the surface, clamp locking pliers (vise-grips) tight on the outside of the head and turn anticlockwise. Re-clamp as you go. Good for: pan, round and hex-washer heads. It won't work on countersunk heads that sit flush with the surface, because there's nothing to grab.

5. Cut a new slot

With a rotary tool or an oscillating multi-tool and a thin cutting disc, cut a straight slot across the head, then turn it out with a flat-blade screwdriver. Make the slot deep enough for the blade to sit in properly. Good for: exposed heads in metal. Wear safety glasses, and expect to mark the surface around the screw a little.

6. Use a screw extractor

This is what screw extractors are made for: heads that are rounded smooth, rusted screws, and screws that snapped with part of the head left. An extractor has a left-hand thread. Turned anticlockwise, it digs into the screw harder the more you turn, and the screw unwinds with it.

There are two common kinds. A traditional extractor (often called an easy out) needs a pilot hole drilled first. A double-ended extractor bit does both jobs in your drill, with the drill in reverse the whole time:

1. Cut a seat. Put the burr end in the drill, set it to reverse, and cut a small clean cone into the head at low speed.
2. Flip the bit. Turn it round to the threaded extractor end.
3. Back it out. Still in reverse, slowly, with steady pressure. As the thread bites, the screw starts to turn.

Pick the size for your screw first, using the screw extractor size chart. There's a full walk-through, with the mistakes that snap bits, in how to use a screw extractor.

7. Drill the head off (last resort)

If nothing else works, drill straight into the centre of the head with a metal drill bit about the same size as the screw's shank, not the head. Once you've drilled deep enough, the head comes away and whatever it was holding lifts off. Any shank left sticking up can often be turned out with locking pliers.

It's slow, it ruins the screw, and if you drift off centre you can damage the hole. Start with a centre punch mark so the bit doesn't wander, and go slowly with cutting oil on metal.

Stripped Torx, hex and tiny screws

Torx (star) screws

Tap the next size up into the head with a hammer, for example a T25 into a stripped T20, then turn it out by hand. If the star has rounded into a circle, use an extractor.

Hex socket (Allen) screws

The classic trick: hammer a Torx bit that's slightly bigger than the hex socket into it. The points of the star cut into the soft walls and grip. An imperial hex key that's a fraction bigger than the metric one sometimes works too.

Tiny screws in laptops, phones and glasses

Try the rubber band first, and a hand screwdriver rather than a drill. Most extractor sets, ours included, start at 2 mm screws. Anything smaller needs a precision extractor kit made for electronics.

If the hole is stripped, not the head

When the screw spins in place and won't tighten, the timber or wall around it has given up. In timber, push a few wooden toothpicks or matchsticks coated in wood glue into the hole, snap them off flush, let it dry and drive the screw back in. Or use a screw one gauge thicker. In plasterboard, take the screw out and fit a wall anchor rated for the load.

How to stop it happening again

• Use the right bit type and size, and throw out worn bits. They're cheap; your afternoon isn't.
• Push harder and drive slower. Most stripped heads come from a bit that's spinning too fast with too little pressure behind it.
• Set the drill's clutch lower for small screws, and finish by hand if you're unsure.
• Pre-drill hardwood, and rub a little wax or soap on long screws going into dense timber.
• Choose Torx or square-drive screws for decks and big jobs. They slip far less than Phillips.

Written by Backout. We sell screw extractors, so we've said where one helps and where you don't need one.

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