Mount Deck Rail Posts
Notching posts over the band board, staging the carriage bolts so plumb survives tightening, and blocking so the rail takes a real lateral load.
Remove a Stripped Screw That's Flush With the Surface by Hammering In a Larger Bit
When a screw's head is too stripped for its own driver to grip and it's sitting flush with no room to pry, hammer the next size up bit (a T25 for a stripped T20, for example) straight into the stripped head. The impact cuts fresh grooves the larger bit can grip, and the drill backs it out from there.
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The Problem
A screw with a stripped head is hard enough to remove when you can still get a driver on it at an angle to pry. When the head is sitting flush with the surface — decking, trim, anything installed flat — there's no edge to grab and no leverage to work with.
The Technique
- Identify the size of the stripped screw head (a T20 Torx in this case).
- Take the next size up bit (a T25 for a stripped T20).
- Set the larger bit's tip into the stripped recess and hammer it straight down into the screw head. The impact seats the bit and cuts fresh grooves into the softer, already-damaged recess.
- Chuck the bit into a drill, set it to reverse, and back the screw out. With the larger bit now gripping cleanly, it comes out like a normal screw removal.
Pro tip: This works because the next-size-up bit is slightly larger than the stripped recess can properly hold — hammering it in forces it to cut new bite points into the metal rather than just sitting loose in the rounded-out original shape.
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