[Shop-talk] Removing security screws

[Brian Kemp]

Some ideas:

- Use a rotary tool or hacksaw and cut a slot in the screwdriver to use 
a regular flat blade screwdriver.
- Take a file and file off two sides of the screw so the vice grips can 
get a better bite on the screw head.  If it is tight, you may have to do 
this a second time so you essentially have a square headed screw.
- Drill progressively bigger holes in the head of the screw until it 
comes off the pull off the latch then use vice grips on the screw shaft.
- Slice through the latch and cut off the screw head then use vice grips 
on the screw shaft.
- Use a small pair of curved jaw vice grips and clamp them as absolutely 
tight as you can.  Use a bit of 2x4 to push the vice grips down as you 
tighten them and turn them to keep the vice grips from riding up.

Good luck.  Had to do this with window bars and a rusty security door.

Brian



On 10/21/2020 6:35 PM, Scott Hall wrote:
> New house was a foreclosure.  It was 'secured' at some point.  One of 
> the security features was locking sash latches in all the windows.  
> They did not leave a key to those locks.  The sash latches are secured 
> with security/one-way screws that cannot just be unscrewed.
>
> They're also pretty hard and so close to the window pane itself that 
> drilling them with a reverse drill bit isn't working.  And they're 
> small enough that just grabbing them with a needle-nose vice grip 
> isn't working either.
>
> Any advice before I do something stupid and screw up what we're some 
> nice windows before the idiots got involved?
>
> Scott
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Shop-talk at autox.team.net
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation  $12.96
> Archive: http://www.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk http://autox.team.net/archive
>
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/bk13@earthlink.net
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/shop-talk/attachments/20201021/a2479028/attachment.htm>