# Bore a hole around screw heads??



## lukehawk (Oct 10, 2016)

Good Afternoon All - 

I have some subfloor i am trying to pull up, and it is screwed to the joists below. The screws are very old and worn and now stripped, because I could not get them out. I have never had luck with those screw extractor sets, and I did try it on a few. 

I had the bright Idea that I would simply use something like a hole saw to drill around the screw head. This would allow me to pull up the subfloor, and then cut the screw. However, I cannot find a hole saw without the bit in the middle. The closest thing I found was something like this, which is designed to be used wet (I think) on tile and similar materials. I used it anyway. It worked OK at best. It took forever, and mostly just burned a hole in the wood, instead of drilling it. 

Any ideas on where I can find a 1/2 inch hole saw WITHOUT the center drill bit?

Thanks!!!


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## bzguy (Jul 11, 2011)

A hole saw is "centered", held in place by the center bit, without one you need to put the material in a drill press and clamp it. If you try to do this with a hand-held drill the saw will just "walk" around the floor.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Here's a trick I used with a pilot-less diamond bit on stone.

Make a "guide", take a piece of 3/4" or thicker material and run the hole saw through it.

Now take the hole saw and remove the pilot bit, take the "guide" and secure it to the floor. Run the hole saw through the hole in the guide, it will keep it in place.


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

Use shoot summ's idea, but use a plug cutter. Use a screwdriver to break the plug out.

http://aboloxtools.com/cutting-tool...3-8-1-2-5-8/?gclid=CLXyp_m50c8CFQkxaQodiMAEeA


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

A hole plug cutter would work alright if you have one but I don't have one. I usually either dig the wood away with a chisel and use vice grips to grab the head. If that doesn't work I might grind the head off with an angle grinder and lift the sheet off the screw.


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> grind the head off with an angle grinder and lift the sheet off the screw.


What he said, only skip the grinder. Use a drill bit only slightly larger than the screw shank and drill the head off. It'll be faster and safer than grinding.


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## Kerrys (May 2, 2016)

I never wasted time unscrewing subfloor. Used a bigger pry bar. If that didn't work ran a cut the thickness of the subfloor material on either side of screw line, pulled up subfloor then cut screws off with a sawsall from the side.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

Kerrys said:


> I never wasted time unscrewing subfloor. Used a bigger pry bar. If that didn't work ran a cut the thickness of the subfloor material on either side of screw line, pulled up subfloor then cut screws off with a sawsall from the side.


If a screw head is ruined on flooring you're removing, I would remove the screw just like removing a nail.. Pull it out using a small nail bar and driving the claw with a hammer to get under the screw head.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

d_slat said:


> What he said, only skip the grinder. Use a drill bit only slightly larger than the screw shank and drill the head off. It'll be faster and safer than grinding.


What usually happens when I do that is when the head gets thin the bit slips off to the side and leaves enough of the head you have to get an angle grinder and finish the job.


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

Grab a piece of steel long enough to stand one foot on. Drill a hole the size of the screw youre trying to remove at one end of it.
Lay the plate on the floor with the hole over the screw. Stand on the plate to stop it moving, and drill out the old screw through the pilot hole with an ordinary drill bit. Minimal damage to the wood.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

I'm with most of the rest of the folks here, I would likely find a faster, more destructive way to do this.

Circular saw, reciprocating saw, BFH, 36" pry bar, even the angle grinder sounds plausible. 

I'm going to tear out a 16x48 deck in the near future, there will be a chainsaw used on it as I don't intend to remove a single screw...


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Get some stainless steel tubing*

Use a short length of 3/8" OD stainless tubing or chrome plated tubing about 4" long. Make 2 teeth on the end of it with a die grinder or Dremel. The hole in the center will locate it around the screw. You may have to sharpen it frequently but it should work if the teeth are large. Then use a vise grips to remove the screws.


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> Use a short length of 3/8" OD stainless tubing or chrome plated tubing about 4" long. Make 2 teeth on the end of it with a die grinder or Dremel. The hole in the center will locate it around the screw. You may have to sharpen it frequently but it should work if the teeth are large. Then use a vise grips to remove the screws.


Why bother making one when a plug cutter is less than $10? And it will stay sharp longer.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/17277766...75035&wl11=online&wl12=17277766&wl13=&veh=sem


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