Kessil Housing Screws... screwed up :(

[Meldrath]

I may have at some point along time ago stripped the screw on the bottom of my Kessil. I have tried stripped screw removals and now the screw head is damaged beyond hope.

Is there anyway to remove the housing and get a new housing to replace it. I also need to replace the fan as my Kessil is auto turning off due to thermals. Any direction to save this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Red_Beard]

Some times if you are lucky a left hand twist drill bit will do the trick, I used to be in industrial automation and when something was too small for an extractor that was the ticket if anything was going to work. You can’t use a regular drill bit though as they are right hand twist and will tighten it. Chuck it in the drill, put it in reverse in low speed push hard and twist it slow. Some times it will drill into the head a bit before it bites and will start to pull it out.

you should be able to find them at any industrial place like fastenal or online, I’d steer clear of the harbor freight ones though as their bits are cheep and will likely break.... making a bad time worse. Hopefully that helps!

 

[Meldrath]

Some times if you are lucky a left hand twist drill bit will do the trick, I used to be in industrial automation and when something was too small for an extractor that was the ticket if anything was going to work. You can’t use a regular drill bit though as they are right hand twist and will tighten it. Chuck it in the drill, put it in reverse in low speed push hard and twist it slow. Some times it will drill into the head a bit before it bites and will start to pull it out.

you should be able to find them at any industrial place like fastenal or online, I’d steer clear of the harbor freight ones though as their bits are cheep and will likely break.... making a bad time worse. Hopefully that helps!

Unfortunately I have destroyed the head trying to use a stripped screw removal kit from home depot. I mean literally destroyed. The bit that was in the kit is left hand twist (had to put the drill in reverse) and it was just walking and not actually biting into anything. It got to the point where I had walked it so much that I came off the head. It looks like there's a round crater in the screw head with a chunk missing out of the side of it.

 

[Red_Beard]

Hmmm... the heads are usually toast when that works. You have to push pretty hard. Maybe get it spinning medium speed light pressure until you get a good clean spot the slow it down and push. If you get lucky you might be able to get some vice grips or pliers to turn it if you can squeeze them tight enough. Worst case, are they the ones by the knob? If you’ve given up you can pop the head off with a dremmel or keep drilling untill it pops and take the other screw out then the case should slide loose.

 

[Meldrath]

Hmmm... the heads are usually toast when that works. Maybe get it spinning medium speed light pressure until you get a good clean spot the slow it down and push. If you get lucky you might be able to get some vice grips or pliers to turn it if you can squeeze them tight enough. Worst case, are they the ones by the knob? If you’ve given up you can pop the head off with a dremmel or keep drilling untill it pops and take the other screw out then the case should slide loose.

Appreciating the help and ideas. It's one of the two screws that hold the housing with the lens to the upper metal housing. I may have to do a dremel and just try not to damage the upper housing and see if I can get a new lower housing. Probably only way at this point is to angle grind/dremel the screw in half.

Do you know where I can get another housing for a Kessil if I do manage to do that?

 

[Red_Beard]

Also by push hard I mean 2 hands on the drill and carefull I doesn’t slip into a body part, safety first! Fingers don’t grow back!(we aren’t starfish!)

 

[Red_Beard]

Appreciating the help and ideas. It's one of the two screws that hold the housing with the lens to the upper metal housing. I may have to do a dremel and just try not to damage the upper housing and see if I can get a new lower housing. Probably only way at this point is to angle grind/dremel the screw in half.

Do you know where I can get another housing for a Kessil if I do manage to do that?

I don’t, I would imagine Kassel would be able to point you in the right direction.

That stinks, recessed ones are definitely more difficult. Before dremmeling the housing I would try a little patience with the drill. Take a deep breath and your time. Sometimes it has taken me a good half hour to fight a crap screw when trashing it wasn’t an option. I would keep going with the drill. Gentle at high speed until it is drilling into the head squarely then slower and push. Best case it comes loose, worst case you drill the head off and it’s loose

 

[WVNed]

can you not cut the head off, separate the parts and turn it out with vise grips

 

[Meldrath]

can you not cut the head off, separate the parts and turn it out with vise grips

Unfortunately I can't get to the head as it's recessed into the housing on the bottom (it's hidden normally by rubber stopper plugs)

 

[Meldrath]

I don’t, I would imagine Kassel would be able to point you in the right direction.

That stinks, recessed ones are definitely more difficult. Before dremmeling the housing I would try a little patience with the drill. Take a deep breath and your time. Sometimes it has taken me a good half hour to fight a crap screw when trashing it wasn’t an option. I would keep going with the drill. Gentle at high speed until it is drilling into the head squarely then slower and push. Best case it comes loose, worst case you drill the head off and it’s loose

I will try again tomorrow and see if I can get anywhere with your suggestion. I have emailed Kessil to ask about replacement housing and fan.

 

[Red_Beard]

I will try again tomorrow and see if I can get anywhere with your suggestion. I have emailed Kessil to ask about replacement housing and fan.

Good luck!

 

[Awesome Dennis]

Drill the bad head off completely with a drill bit like you would a rivet and then use pliers on the threads sticking out after you pull it apart.

 

[WVNed]

Take it to a machine shop and have them use an end mill in a drill press to cut the head off. It would take them 5 seconds.

 

[Red_Beard]

Did you get it?

 

[Jwill]

I had the same thing happen with an ai sol with the stainless screw seized in the aluminum heat sink
I put it on my mill and plunged an oversized end mill through it and the heat sink filled the hole with jb weld then drilled and tapped the jb weld worked out pretty good
If you have access to a drill press you could probably get an end mill in the recess hole to mill the head off the screw to get access to the screw
If there’s enough room you could also drill the rest of the screw out to the next tap drill size and retap the Hole one size bigger granted that the recessed hole can accommodate a bigger screw head

 

[Meldrath]

Did you get it?

Not yet, was busy with the main build today. See my build contribution badge.

I don't have access to a drill press nor do I know of anyone locally to me who would have one. Going to try drilling the head off and getting at the threads though or getting a dremel and going between the plastic and metal housings to cut it in half.

Either way, I'm figuring this thing is shot. Kessil hasn't gotten back to me regarding buying a new housing but I'll give them a few more days as it's New Years.

 

[TheOne]

In the future always use a handle with an easy out or a reverse bit. If you tap the easy out in after drilling the hole it works alot easier.

I've taken out tons of stripped out screws and bolts being a machine operator for 20+ years. As a last resort you can always drill and tap it.

 

[Meldrath]

In the future always use a handle with an easy out or a reverse bit. If you tap the easy out in after drilling the hole it works alot easier.

I've taken out tons of stripped out screws and bolts being a machine operator for 20 years.

Are these available at say a home depot? Haven't seen one before.

 

[TheOne]

Yes, They are called extractor's. Just do not use them in electric drills as you want to go slow to bite into the broken screw.

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[Meldrath]

Yes, They are called extractor's.

Extractor - Specialty Hand Tools - Hand Tools - The Home Depot

Get free shipping on qualified Extractor Specialty Hand Tools products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today in the Tools Department.

www.homedepot.com

Thanks!

This is what I had used to try to do it previously, but I like the manual one as it looks solid for some hammer bashing

RYOBI Spiral Screw Extractor Set (5-Piece) A96SE51 - The Home Depot

RYOBI introduces the 5-Piece Steel Spiral Screw Extractor Set. This is the perfect solution for removing screws and bolts. This extractor set features black oxide threads for longer life and performance

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