If there’s anything more frustrating than a Philips screw that won’t unscrew, it’s a Philips screw head that threatens to give way under the applied torque and leave a conical hole where a nice engagable cruciform is needed.

That’s when I reach for my BrazeDriver, a brazing iron with a Philips head form in the tip, manufactured to provide a close tolerance fit to the screw. Clean the screw head with a suitable solvent, switch on the power and the driver can be brazed directly to the screw head. Leave to cool, attach ass ratchet, and wind away!

Once the screw has been extracted, re-apply the power to heat the joint and remove the screw. Plunge the hot tip into the patented TipCleaner, an insulated tube with stainless steel wire brush filaments inside, to remove extraneous braze and prevent clogging of the Philips driving form.

The BrazeDriver comes with a full set of instructions, safety goggles, brazing paste, and fire extinguisher should the substrate material prove less than optimally temperature resistant.
-- egbert, Sep 21 2003

Ass ratchet http://www.halfbake.../idea/Ass_20Ratchet
Inspired by discussions with po after reading this by AO. [egbert, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Also suitable for attaching balls to your monkey.
-- phoenix, Sep 21 2003


There is a compound on the basis of cyan acrylate, that is produced with this application in mind. Works, too, couldn't find a link, though.
-- loonquawl, Apr 22 2009


Some screws are made of strong stuff. I am not sure it would melt. But maybe it is the softer screws that get the problem described.
-- bungston, Apr 22 2009



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