You may not notice that your screws have been damaged by being over-torqued at the factory until the day when you do a routine check of screw and bolt tension -- to be sure that nothing has vibrated loose. I had read several threads that recommended a periodic check of screws and bolts and when I inserted my little square screwdriver I found that the screws turned effortlessly then the heads fell off. I would never attempt to tighten screws in the trim and corner edges with a cordless drill. I would always want to control torque with my own hand. Quite frankly, after running into two out of six problem screws -- I stopped checking screw tension cause I didn't want to discover any more poorly set screws. Yes, this is the head-in-the-sand maintenance method.
I was kind of upset and Ed at the factory was kind enough to send me a supply of screws of varying lengths and diameters so that I could do my own repairs. But, so far, I've been unable to remove the small broken screws so I've dabbed white silicone over the holes until I discover a better fix. The drill tends to wander all over the place when I attempt to "drill-out" the small broken screws and the aluminum skin tears easily.
I think that the Grabit extractors are different than what is depicted by Keith. There are four different sizes and each has a conical cutter that fits into a drill and creates a small cone (is this what Keith means by "burnishing" ?? ), not a hole, in the end of each broken screw or bolt. The opposite end of the tool has a conical gripper / extractor that fits into the cone that you create and somehow grips when counterclockwise pressure is provided.
It's different than the ease-outs we used to use to remove broken head or valve cover bolts. Maybe it will be easier to create a conical indentation than burrowing a tiny hole in a #8 or #10 screw shaft ? I don't have a clue if its going to work but I went ahead and bought the set of four for $20 plus $6 shipping. I'll be sure to share my Grabit experience with the forum members.
It's just not my style to use silicone to hide problems and I won't get aggressive with drilling new holes until I've done more research. I sure appreciate the suggestions. You guys are great.
Eric
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