Fin screw stripped, stuck in there....

[Surf Hound]

I have a fin screw that seems to be stripped. I cannot get anything to "grab" hold and turn so my fin is stuck in there. I am wanting to sell this board but wanted to keep the fins, any suggestions on how to get this screw out without ruining my board?

[pandarturo]

Drill it out?

[oldmansurfer]

If this is a box fin screw then I have heard of a trick to place a rubber band over the screw head then place the screwdriver in pushing the rubber band into the head and squishing it makes a snug fit again if it's not too stripped.

[IB_Surfer]

1) buy a new screw and a new fin key
2) put in the old fin key in the screw as best as possible, then put crazy glue on it (make sure not to get any anywhere else) and let it try. Then twist out and throw it away. If you are worried about the crazy glue you can use gel epoxy

[Harley Tom]

Yes use old screw key but I would try liquid weld let dry overnight use W-40 to help soak into threads ....HT

[pico_train]

I must say that the crazy glue idea is a kick ass idea!

[Jimi]

if you're handy with a drill, you can use a thing called an easy out (it's a left hand thread tapered screw) that is designed for removing sheared bolts. not sure if it will be available small enough though for the little allen keys, as I've only used them on car engines.

The other trick is to buy a left-hand drill bit and use it to slowly drill into the top of the stuck screw. It might make it budge with a bit of pressure.

[Big H]

From SURFERMAG
Another way to remove a stripped screw is to take a drill and a bit just large enough to spin the screw. Gently run the drill with the bit in the screw until the heat from the rotation softens the area around the screw. This will allow the screw to be removed. Just make sure you use a slightly larger screw when you re-install the fin. I learned this trick from my long time shop owner and board repair man. He has saved me a lot of money over the years teaching me how to fix my own boards (I'm a little rough on my boards, typical east coaster)

So I wrestled with a stuck screw for about an hour, poked around on the net and tried this (and the rubber band too...stopped short of the superglue....impossible to contain that stuff and I was sure I'd get some on the threads of the box and then I'd have to change the whole box). Anyhow, this took about two min to set up the drill and 3 Sec of careful drilling. Easy peasy. Did some ding repairs at the same time so all energy was not spent on this for an hour....watching footie too.

[Big H]

By the way, I ran the drill slowly on reverse....light pressure pushing down and it came right out.

[Big H]

And it was a standard drill bit that just fit inside the screw....made my struggles look silly it came out so quick.

[loco4olas]

From SURFERMAG
Another way to remove a stripped screw is to take a drill and a bit just large enough to spin the screw. Gently run the drill with the bit in the screw until the heat from the rotation softens the area around the screw. This will allow the screw to be removed. Just make sure you use a slightly larger screw when you re-install the fin. I learned this trick from my long time shop owner and board repair man. He has saved me a lot of money over the years teaching me how to fix my own boards (I'm a little rough on my boards, typical east coaster)

So I wrestled with a stuck screw for about an hour, poked around on the net and tried this (and the rubber band too...stopped short of the superglue....impossible to contain that stuff and I was sure I'd get some on the threads of the box and then I'd have to change the whole box). Anyhow, this took about two min to set up the drill and 3 Sec of careful drilling. Easy peasy. Did some ding repairs at the same time so all energy was not spent on this for an hour....watching footie too.

This worked for me. Used a drill bit to forward screw in to open up the grub screw and then used a larger drill bit on reverse with pressure and it backed the grub screw out. Whew......

[timando1]

I have a fin screw that seems to be stripped. I cannot get anything to "grab" hold and turn so my fin is stuck in there. I am wanting to sell this board but wanted to keep the fins, any suggestions on how to get this screw out without ruining my board?