Removing tight screw - drill?

[TrashPandas]

Very newbie question here.

I need to remove some screws that are too tight for me to do by hand with a screwdriver. Will a drill with a reverse function do the job or is there a simpler tool?

Yes it will.
Push down firmly and take it very, very slowly to avoid threading the screw head.

Yes, but often the drill won't have enough torque (twisting force).

The cheap way.

If you look at your screwdriver often at the base of the handle where it meets the metal there is a flat bit which is contoured differently to the rest of the handle.

This is designed to take a spanner so you can apply more force. Get an open ended spanner than fits onto the flat bit of the screwdriver handle. Then while pushing the end of the handle into the screw head with the palm of one hand turn the spanner on the handle with the other.The longer the spanner the more twisting force you will apply.

Make sure you have the right screwdriver /bit - Philips and pozi look similar but are different so using a Philips driver on a stuck pozi screw for instance won't be as effective as using a pozi bit. And can strip /knacker the screw head

A decent Cordless drill like a Dewalt or Makita will break your wrist if used incorrectly, more than enough force BUT you need a lot of downward pressure and a good quality, correctly sized screw driver bit, make sure you have the cordless drill on its slowest speed setting, that is 1 on a Dewalt & on its highest drill setting.

The prob with the spanner/screwdriver trick is that its hard to apply enough force to the screw AND turn the screwdriver, either way, sometimes its worth trying to tighten the screw a tiny fraction first, then try and undo...

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I'm a bit scared to try it now! I'm disabled and wrist strength is not great. It sounds like it might be worth paying a handyman for an hour than buying a drill?

Electric screwdriver? They're pretty powerful (and cheaper than getting someone in).

Have you got a friend or relative who can help?

Try putting the screwdriver on the screw and hitting the back of it with a hammer. That can loosen the screw. Also weirdly trying to tighten it slightly can do the same thing. Is it cross head or slot type of screw?

Also it you want an electric tool to help them you need an impact driver, which is like the electric version of a screw driver, but not the same as an electric screwdriver as they are generally a bit crap.

Would a neighbour pop in and do it for you? It's probably a two minute job.

I really wanted to try to do it myself so I bought an electric screwdriver. Took me a few minutes to get the hang of it but it worked perfectly!

It was about 30 screws so I didn't want to bother a neighbour. I bought some furniture that was advertised "fully assembled" with no mention that you had to put all the handles on yourself, and the screws I had to remove must have been done by machine because they wouldn't budge with a handheld screwdriver. It's the second "no assembly required" thing I've bought this year that needed a power tool. 😡

Thank you all for the advice.

Well done @TrashPandas it's always a good feeling to sort such a problem