Strap Button Screw Snapped Deep in Wood

Oooh, that's a nasty thing to happen - especially to a Rick. I've never had to remove a screw broken off that deep in wood; I've always been able to use the "cut a slot in it & turn it", or the "Grab it with Vise Grips & turn it" methods. But, I have removed bolts in engine blocks & stuff, that were broken of pretty deep. How?
1. Use a broken screw/bolt remover, which works by drilling a pilot hole in the thing; and then screwing the remover in. The remover bit has reverse threads, so screwing it into the broken bolt/screw will (hopefully) turn it out of the hole. Do they make them that small? I don't know; but I imagine someone like Stewart-MacDonald (www.stewmac.com) would have them if anybody does... Then, glue a hardwood dowel in the hole, and install a new strap pin.
2. Very carefully drill the screw out, using progressively larger bits, until you get it all. Then, again; glue a hardwood dowel into the hole, and install a new strap pin.
3. Take it to somebody who's done this kind of thing before, and let them figure it out. They'll probably have the right tool for the job, anyway.
With care, the finish won't be boogered up any more than it is already. Good luck with whatever you decide...

 

you maybe able to get some jb weld and try bonding another piece of metal to the broken screw and take it out

 

Fabricate an extractor from a piece of brass tubing...there's a few threads on the process...or you can buy a real one from an on-line source.

Screw Extractor | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

Riis

 

If you have no experience with screw extractors, number 2 is your simplest option. Just get several sizes of good drill bits and get to work. Tape off the area around the hole to avoid the "Oh crap I slipped" blues. Once you get most of the broken screw out you can try collapsing it.

 

I'm thinking that if you can get the stub cleanly out with a screw extractor without buggering up the threads, you may not need to dowel the hole. Rics use strap buttons with integral machine threads rather than wood screws. (You're probably aware that before Ric started installing strap locks, the strap button and the mute adjustment screw were the exact same part.)

 

That's a job for a core drill (hollow screw extractor), like zooberwerx is recommending.

Another thing you can do is use a small diameter drill bit, and drill a bunch of little holes around the outside of the broken off screw, letting the drill bit ride right down the side of the stub. Surround it with little holes, and it will loosen up enough that you can yank it out with needle nose pliers. Then clean up the ragged hole with a single larger drill bit of a standard dowel size. Glue in a slug of hardwood dowel and redrill.

 

Really? I didn't know that. Are you saying that it's a machine screw, threading into something metal, inset behind the wood?

 

It's a machine screw, but it's threaded into hard maple. No metal insert. When I was rehabbing my '83 4003 it was missing a mute screw. I upgraded the strap buttons to the Schaller-made strap locks that Ric currently installs (also with integral machine screws) and used one of the original strap buttons to replace the missing mute screw.

BOLT STRAP/4003 DAMPER MUTE CH

 

Oh, okay, so the repair process is the same. Ideally, you glue in a maple plug. If you want use the Ric part, drill and tap the plug for the right thread (10-24?). Or, you could use a standard strap button and a long sheet metal screw, drilling a pilot hole in the plug.

 

I got a set of these not expecting them to be any good for the price but they worked perfectly the two times i've used them. In saying that, I used them on screws with stripped heads so not sure how they would go with your issue, but for a couple of dollars it's worth a go and you'll have them for when you've got a stripped screw in the future.

 

Take a pic if you can.

 

Now you really need a core drill.

Riis

 

And might need to be bigger than before.

 

You're not going to be able to drill into a drill.