Once you start repairing tools, appliances, and—if you’re adventurous—laptops and such, you’ll come across some very small screws. Some of these fasteners are only a few millimetres long, and working with them is threaded with tiny challenges.
You don’t have tiny screwdrivers?
A butter knife probably won’t work this time. Pick up a precision screwdriver set at the hardware store or online. The sets come with multiple heads to match those wee screws holding your laptop and small appliances together. You’ll need star-shaped Torx and pentalobe drivers for many electronic devices; slot and Phillips drivers for eyeglasses and battery covers. Sometimes, you can jam a tiny slot screwdriver in to turn Phillips and Torx screws, but that risks stripping the head.
8 screws every cottager should have in their workshop
You stripped the head and the screw’s stuck?
Try sheathing your tiny screwdriver with the thumb of a thin disposable latex glove or even a balloon. The rubber layer gives your driver head better grip on the screw. In a pinch, squeeze a drop of superglue on the screwdriver, and hold it in place in the screw. When the glue cures in a minute or two, remove the screw (and then clean the glue off the screwdriver).
How to free a stuck screw or a seized nut
And now you’ve dropped the screw?
In the carpet? Grab the largest magnet you can find and comb it over the fibres. If this happens often, consider getting a screw starter. This device grips the screw by the slots while you thread it into its home.
DIYer mistakes that even the experts make
This article was originally published in the June/July 2024 issue of Cottage Life.
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