Drilling out screws – is it as easy as it sounds?

Said screws are in the body of our woodburner, holding the brackets in place that retain the fire bricks. The fire bricks are crumbling and need replaced, but the screws won’t budge. Tried cutting a slot in the head to get a better purchase, but nothing moves. The chimney sweep can only suggest putting more bricks inside in addition to the existing ones, but that seems a clumsy solution.

Can we just drill them out? Do we then need to recut a thread in the cast iron body? Is that even possible?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any help 😀

Drilling screws out of anything that gets red hot is generally very easy. Re-tapping is also very easy in cast iron. You’ll probably end up drilling the old thread out and tapping with the next screw size up.

Re-tapping is also very easy in cast iron.

Really? I thought that cutting a thread in cast iron is tricky!
When the thread went on one of our stove doors I took it to an engineer who drilled it out, pressed a big grub screw in and then tapped that. Can you get a drill into the stove? What make is it? I’m surprised that a stove manufacturer holds firebricks in with brackets that need removing.

Edit: I’m wrong, tapping cast is fine (and my engineer tapped our door to pit the grub screw)

Have you tried an impact screwdriver? Gotta be able to get the bit on the screw and get a good swing at it though.

Impact shatters cast iron.

Thanks for the replies – makes me feel like it might be a goer…

You’ll probably end up drilling the old thread out and tapping with the next screw size up.

This is fine, no idea what size the originals are anyway, so I just need to buy a cutting dye thingy and use one that fits? (remember this from CDT at school – half turn in, quarter out…)

Can you get a drill into the stove?

Yes. We have taken it out and removed the door and top so access is easy.

What make is it?

Morso ‘Badger’ (older version)

I’m surprised that a stove manufacturer holds firebricks in with brackets that need removing.

Yes – so am I. It seems silly. All the other screws (for the top and door) came out easily. The stove was inherited with the house and has been a bit bodged in the past (wrong sized baffle plate fitted) so I can only assume he used the wrong screw (in relation to the metal) when replacing the bricks previously.
We have the stove in pieces, and although we can get the existing bricks out by breaking them there is no way to remove (or install) them whole without removing the brackets 😕

Have you tried an impact screwdriver?

Haven”t tried this, we have now mangled the screw head a fair bit in trying to get them out by hand, so I think drilling is the way forward.

Thanks.

Have just found (through google) thread cutting screws – can we just use these to re attach the bracket after drilling the originals out?

Here

No, those screws are fine in metal sheet but will soon jam in anything more than about 1.5mm thick. Tap sets cost peanuts and you’ve explained yourself how to do it. You can either buy the three tap set which progressively cuts the thread (essential in blind holes) or a cheaper tapered tap which cuts the thread in one go.

to get the old screws out – if there is some of the screw sticking out proud try gripping that in the chuck of your drill driver

OK – that sounds like a plan to try.

Have spoken to Morso (well Surroundedbyhills did) they state that the brackets are actually not required as the weight of the baffle from above will hold the bricks in place 🙄 . Apparently this is a common problem.

So looks like we can just cut the heads off, remove the brackets and leave them out.

Why on earth did they fit them if the weren’t required 👿

Many thanks for all the replies.

So having just spoken to the local Stove shop who consulted Morso on this we have been told to cut the screws off and throw away the retaining plates as they are “virtually redundant anyway”. The weight of the baffle plates sitting atop the bricks is enough to keep them in place.

you two need to co-ordinate your posts better 😉

Doh 😳

EDIT – that’s nothing – you should see how bad our communication is at home 🙄 😆