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Most of my screws are stripped by now because I used low-quality tools. I bought the iFixit Minnow Driver Kit, but I can’t use them yet because of the stripped screws. I saw a method where using a wide rubber band can be used, which molds inside the stripped screw when you press against it with a screwdriver. This way unscrewing should be easy. So my question is… should I use my brand new screwdrivers on that rubber band? Perhaps you have a better method?
Removing Stripped Security Screws “Should I use my brand new screwdrivers on that rubber band? Perhaps you have a better method?” A stripped size P5 PENTALUBE security screw or a stripped size T5 TORX security screw is so small that a regular “post-man” or “office-type” rubber band may be too thick to try the “rubber band hack”
Pentalube head
Torx Head The rubber band trick (see link below) works quite well on larger pieces too, like even larger type screws on furniture! For this size screw (P5/T5) you’d need about a centimeter ~1/4” or so of wider thinner rubber. (The rubber band used in the referenced guide is wide and the guide doesn’t say where to find such a band ) A piece from a gym resistance type rubber stretch band or something similar would be Ideal - Just cut a bit off the end and keep it. I’ve never tried, but now that i think of it - a bicycle puncture repair patch is latex rubber too. The “rubber band trick” works by partly filling the “void” of the stripped screw.The screw driver “head” forces the rubber to try to fill the voids in the screwIt also serves as additional friction or grip when applying a firm, perpendicular downward pressure whilst turning anti-clockwise to open. See The iFixit Guide, contributed by Jake Devincenzi “How to Remove a Stripped Screw” , see STEP 2 I have used a small piece of electrical insulation tape placed over the screw head before in the absence of a rubber band and it worked. Electrical insulation tape has a different plastic compound, it is thicker and tougher than regular household packaging tape. There is no right or wrong answer as to whether to use the new tools or not.I’d try to use the stripped screw “Hacks” with the old tools firstIf time was money - I’d jump right in with the new tools Minnow Driver Kit https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Minno…
