How do you grip a stripped screw or a rounded nut?
The bit is spinning, the screw isn't, and every rotation makes the head a little rounder. You've got about two more tries before this becomes an extraction job.
Applies to
- Process
- Removing damaged fasteners
- Materials
- Stripped screw heads, slightly rounded nuts and bolt heads
- Setup
- Scrap of medium or coarse sandpaper, the driver or wrench you were already using
- Works best on
- Fasteners that are damaged but not yet fully round
Why it matters
A stripped head fails because the tool has nothing left to push against. The grit fills that gap and adds friction in exactly the plane where you need it.
It costs you a scrap of sandpaper and thirty seconds. Every other option on the list — extractor, drill it out, weld a nut on — costs considerably more than that.
What good looks like
- Heavy, steady downward pressure — most of the job is pressure, not torque
- Slow turns, not impact
- The fastener moves before the paper shreds
How to apply it
- Cut a small square of medium or coarse sandpaper.
- Place it grit-side toward the fastener, under the bit or between the wrench jaws.
- Press hard and turn slowly. Pressure first, torque second.
- Once it cracks loose, back it out gently — don't re-strip it on the way out.
Exceptions & tradeoffs
A fully rounded head is past this. Sandpaper adds friction, it doesn't add geometry — at that point you want an extractor or a hammered-on undersized socket.
Grit tears up under an impact driver. This is a hand-pressure trick.
Common mistakes
- Grit facing the bit instead of the fastenerGrit goes toward the damaged fastener — that's the surface that needs bite
- Speed instead of pressureLean on it hard and turn slow; spinning fast just polishes the paper
Placing sandpaper between the tool and a stripped or rounded fastener for extra grip — Sandpaper Does What?! Nooo Waaay! ↗ at 0:54–1:48.
Summarized and independently edited by Start Here from the source clip. The clip is mostly talking-head, so the exact move is our reading of the frames — treat this one as directional until you've watched it yourself. Cautions and test steps are our editorial notes, not a quotation from the creator.