Out Damn (seized) Screw!

Mind Distortion

In my efforts to repair and beautify… Apologies I seemed to have stumbled back into my self-inflicted mind distortion – given that all the efforts to date have been on repairs. Believe me when I tell you that there is no beautification a happenin around here – not yet, but soon.

And, speaking of mind distortion, a shout out to Steve Jobs and his Reality Distortion Field. Which was Mr. Jobs personal refusal to accept limitations that stood in the way of his ideas. To convince him, and others, that any difficulty was surmountable. That however impossible the task, it was, in fact, possible.

I embrace this mind distortion, as do others. Refuse to accept limitations, be they real or imagined. Distort. Delude. Make Believe. Go forward.

Instead of putting barriers in front of you that don’t exist, don’t conjure them up. Imaginary barriers begin before you even get started. They are built by fear. They do not exist. The only barriers you see are the ones you create. Embrace mind distortion by not even acknowledging that a barrier exists. By following this path not only will you focus your energy on action. By refusing to believe that barriers exist ensures that you don’t conjure them up, as your mind’s subconscious effort to self-defeat.

Look mind distortion exists in everyone but our brains tend toward the negative version of make believe by conjuring up imaginary barriers. One more time because it’s a point worth repeating. Make believe can be positive striving or it can be negative barrier building. Adults will chuckle at make believe as only existing in a child’s imagination. However, these same adults embrace imaginary barriers, that their brains conjure up, as real – they are not real, they are make believe.

And you might be thinking that I’m a bit crazy or delusional in my thinking. I’m not. By believing in make believe. By believing that all things are possible – instead of seeing barriers – then all things are possible. If you don’t conjure them up you keep moving forward. Mind distortion at its best!

But I have digressed. Back to those darn seized screws.

What is a Seized Screw?

A seized screw or nail whose original purpose was to secure metal to metal or wood to wood but is now old and rusted and appears to have become part of said metal or wood, instead of it’s previous life form as a separate being.

The Problem With A Seized Screw

In my efforts to make the many repairs needed here at the barn I’ve discovered a dastardly inanimate object called a ‘seized screw’. I’ve also discovered that there is nothing that can take up more time and cause more frustration than any and all attempts to remove. I’d like to tell you that you probably will only run into one or two seized screws during the life of any repair. But, if that were true I wouldn’t be writing a How To on their removal.

And now you might be thinking. Then I’ll just tear out, demolish, replace those parts and pieces of my repair job where I find a seized screw. I completely identify with this way of thinking. But (why does there always have to be a ‘but’?) where you find one seized screw there seem to many more and they all seem to be attached to the one thing that you want to keep. And, throwing away a lot of good wood or metal versus removing said seized screw is both conserving of our natural resources as well as a budget friendly approach. And, as my mother use to say, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. In ‘barn’ terms, you don’t want to throw out repurposed wood with the seized screw.

A Quick Note: When I was little my father use to tell me to Use My Brain, Not My Brawn. Given that I don’t have the same physicality as a full grown man I’ve applied this thinking to the majority of my efforts at the barn. So, while some of the ways that I’ve approached repairs might seem a bit unconventional they work for someone who has less brawn than brain.

Let’s Get Started (An Exciting Image of a Seized Screw)

This is a picture of a 40+ year old seized roofing nail from my big barn roof. (More on the Big Barn Roofing project later.) Pretty exciting, huh? Agree that’s it’s pretty non-descript but I have to start my ‘How to remove a seized screw’ steps somewhere.

Note: While the example that I’m using might not be a screw, per se, it is actually more difficult to remove than a seized screw because they have a flat nail head as opposed to a screw head. (There are a variety of screw heads. A few examples are bugled, Phillips, star and hex.) Think of it this way. With a seized nail you first have to get underneath the nail head to remove it. With a seized screw you just have to have the right screw bit to get started.

An old roofing nail that is completely seized.

Regardless of whether you encounter a seized screw, nail or roofing nail these are the steps that I’ve honed over 1,000+ seized screws and nails and work for me every time. Rest assured that I’ve followed these same steps for screws, nails and roofing nails that are seized within a myriad of material – and it works for me every time.

I’ve followed the same steps that I’ve outlined below whether it be a seized screw or nail, regardless of the composite material (metal or wood).

Lesson Learned: How to remove a Seized Screw

Step One: Clear the Gunk

In order to secure access to the nail head you first need to clean away the old sealant, caulk, tar, etc. And trust me, if it’s seized, it’s old and there is going to be gunk.

To do this I use my handy, dandy Kobalt folding utility knife. I bought mine at Home Depot but they are ubiquitous (adjective 1. present, appearing, or found everywhere.) so you can find them at any hardware store, on Amazon, etc.

A picture of my folding utility knife — My handy, dandy utility knife

Just like in the picture below, to remove the gunk (sealant, caulk, tar, etc.) use your knife to clear any residue ala gunk from around the nail head.
You only need to clear enough away to cut thru the adhesive and release and gain access to the nail head.
Don’t spend a tremendous amount of energy in an effort to completely clean the surface. You only need enough clearance to access the nail head.

Step Two: Lubricate

Now that you have initial access to the nail head you want to lubricate, lubricate, lubricate. I use WD40, which is pretty much available anywhere.
The goal is not to lubricate the nail head. The goal is to lubricate the shank and wood or metal composite that surrounds the shank. Trust me, WD40 is the secret sauce to this process.
Once I lubricate the nail shank I like to give it a few minutes to ‘soak in’. This is not a required process. (Understand that I’m generally working on up to 6 seized screws simultaneously, so waiting for the lubricate to soak in is part of my process versus a delay in my process.)
Don’t put the WD40 away just yet. You will be asked to lubricate again in Step Three below.

Lubricating the shank and composite material

Step three: Pry Me Up

Remember when I mentioned earlier in this post that a screw is easier to remove than a nail. Will this be the proof in the pudding on that statement.

Okay so you’ve cleared the nail head of the ‘gunk’ and you’ve lubricated the nail shank. So, for my next trick…
Remember this is a roofing nail, which mimics a screw in that the shank tends to be threaded (or ringed) while a nail is smooth.
We now need to work to get under the nail head. To get started you want to take a small hand held pry bar. In the post pictures I’m using an Estwing 12 inch Pro Claw Puller but I also like to use a to use pry bars from Vaughan’s Mini Steel Pry Bar Set (3-Piece).
Position the pry bar as far under the nail head as possible.
Now take a hammer and lightly tap the other end of the pry bar. The goal is to hammer the pry bar in order to secure it as far under the nail head as possible. (Sorry for not having any pics on this one. If you need a picture just drop the request in the comment section.)
Note: Depending on the number of seized screws, what seems like a simple process tends to increase in difficulty due to repetition. Because of this I use a light, smaller hammer as well as a standard hammer. Using the smaller hammer and only using the standard hammer when needed.
In the picture below you can see that, thru your efforts, the roofing nail washer has been released from underneath the nail head.
This is where I would give the nail shank another shot of WD40. Seriously this is the secret sauce.
Once you have the pry bar positioned as far under the nail head as possible you want to slowly twist your pry bar to the left. (See Lefty Loosey / Righty Tighty). All you are trying to do at this point is to get a bit more clearance between the nail head and the composite (wood, metal, etc.) material.

Positioning the pry bar under the nail head

Step Four: turn, Turn, Turn

Now we’re cooking with gas! The final step in our seized screw saga.

You’ve now given yourself enough clearance to switch tools to a Bates Nail Puller.

With your Bates tool grab the head of the now cleared roofing nail. Note that you might have to use your weight to push the composite material down – providing you with a bit more clearance.

Once you have a firm grip of the nail head, slowly turn the nail to your left. If it’s still a bit tight then add more WD40.

Note: Given the number of seized nails and screws that I discovered I would start by removing the screws that I could remove via a single run thru this process. There always remained a few that were a bit more stubborn. Amply applying WD40 and then letting it soak for a couple hours or even 24 hours seemed to do the trick.

Continue to turn to the left while also gently applying a firm pulling pressure to the screw.

Note: You never want to haphazardly discard rusty screws or nails – given the risk of tetanus. What I found worked was using an old Gatorade bottle but any plastic bottle with a lid will work. Just drop your, now recovered, screws into the bottle and screw on the top. This will also ensure that no one gets poked if you had simply dropped them into your trash.

Beginning to *unscrew* the roofing nail – using a Bates Nail Puller

Removing the seized screw with a Bates Nail Puller

Step 5: Victory is yours!

Not sure that we really need this final step, other than to celebrate!

Out Damn (seized) Screw!

Table of Contents

Mind Distortion

What is a Seized Screw?

The Problem With A Seized Screw

Let’s Get Started (An Exciting Image of a Seized Screw)