ahhh.. an old mechanic taught me that one 35 yrs ago.. gald to know it still
works
BT

wrote in message ...
I was reading a previous thread from May about owner assisted annuals. I
noticed a number of comments about drilling out stuck inspection panel
screws. Back when I used to work on airplanes as an avionics tech,
someone
showed me a neat trick for getting stuck screws loose. When you find a
screw that doesn't want to come loose, or that the screwdriver tip cams
out
of, put a little dab of valve grinding compound on the screwdriver tip.
Valve grinding compound comes in a tube about the size of a small tube of
toothpaste at auto parts stores, and has a fairly coarse grit in it. It
gives your screwdriver tip much better traction in a screwhead that's
already been a little damaged, and does a great job of preventing the
screwdriver tip from camming out. There's also something similar
available
called "Screw Grab" that I found at a hardware store locally, that has the
same grit in it but in a thinner solution. It works just as well. It comes
in a small plastic tube. I've rarely had to drill out screws since I
started
using those compounds.
Scott Wilson