I need to remove the hot plate on my Stanley Range for servicing. I successfully removed one bolt with a fair bit of effort but this one is well stuck, I’ve tried lots of WD40 and also a blowlamp but no joy. I removed the one shown with a large flat screwdriver and a hammer with the help of the blowlamp. I fear I may have to drill it out and re thread afterwards. Anyone got any suggestions?
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Try proper penetration oil. Wd40 is not a loosening agent.
Leave it to soak for 24 hours and should come out.
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If you drill the head off. Lift the plate.
There should be enough of the screw to get a grip of it with mole grips.
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I’ve had good results with a penetrating oil called Kroil, made by a US company called Kano. It’s rather expensive though - don’t ask me why.
Persistence and patience can help. Repeated heating and cooling can gradually break up corrosion that has caused a screw to seize, along with hammering to assist the process. Penetrating oil is always going to be hit and miss. More often than not I’d say that after successfully removing a seized screw there was very little evidence that the oil had actually penetrated very far at all, so had hardly any effect on corrosion on threads that is more than a few millimetres from the surface.
Damage to the slot is obviously going to scupper your chances, so using exactly the right size screwdriver is essential, and if the tip is at all worn and rounded, don’t use it. For hammering I use an old screwdriver that it thinner than the slot as a chisel to minimise the risk of damage to the head.
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Put a short stubby screwdriver in the slot and give it a few smacks with hammer.
Don’t try to rotate it, just hammer along the axis of the thread.
That can quite often will loosen a thread.
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A decent old fashioned manual impact driver and a heavy lump hammer.
As others have said penetrating oil and also try heat cycling (freezing spray as well as a blow lamp)
But the impact driver with a bit that fits the screw head and a heavy hammer would be my go-to for this.
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As and when you do remove it, may be wise to replace all with new hex bolts. Possibly a bit of copper slip on the threads prior to reinstallation.
Best of luck .
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If you do have to drill the head off, you can always then drill down the stud, and use a stud extractor to remove old stud.
Thanks all, I’ll keep at it, one of the problems is only about 10mm of the bolt actually screws in to the chassis so there’s a big gap under the plate and as a result I suspect the oil is not reaching the seized threads below. If all fails I’ll drill off the head and remove the plate, as mentioned above there should be enough left protruding to get a grip on and also better access for the penetrating oil. Alternatively I was thinking I could screw on two nuts to the stub and lock them and then use a wrench on the lower nut.
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Or screw on one nut and pein the stub, so the nut won’t unscrew.
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Does your screwdriver have a square shaft that goes through the handle. In the past I have used a spanner on the shaft to provide rotational effort whilst hitting the shaft. A helper is useful in this scenario.
Most handles reduce the effect of the hammer thereby not loosening corrosion (if any) in the threads.
Heating may not be much use if it is a long distance from where the heat is applied to where the threads are actually joined/seized.
I’m using a large flat screwdriver at an angle and whacking it with a hammer anticlockwise
My thinking is that impact should go along the axis of the bolt. If shaft is not square you could try mole grips on the screwdriver shaft - do make sure that the mole grips are tight.
Spanner or mole grips will allow a better rotational torque to be applied. Do note earlier comment regarding making sure screwdriver head is a good fit for the bolt head.
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Have you tried Arctic Hayes crack-it freeze release spray?
I’ve used it in the past, and it has done the trick.
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Perhaps have a look at getting a screwdriver whose shaft will take a hex key. Like the PB Swiss 102.
with hexagonal wrench section for applying higher torques and loosening tight screws
And of course make sure you get the exact size head, not just approximate.
Of course WD40 is a penetrating oil.
I would spray a penetrating oil on it and leave for a day. Sounds like you need patience here. As someone has said, the right screwdriver is a must with any screw. It needs to fit snug with no play. A hex shape as part of the screwdriver shank (like Snap-On) is very useful on occasions like this, as you can put your whole weight over the screwdriver and turn with a spanner.
Hit it hard inline with the screw.
Heat it up several times.
Use an impact drill.
Last resort it to start drilling the head off.
Yes it is.
Wd40 can be used many many thing, take a look on YouTube.
I use it to keep my olive and CB casework clean. 
Exactly, but it seems my “Yes it is” is speaking to no post now.
WD40 is very good at penetrating and then releasing. What it’s not that brilliant at is lubricating and actually not that great at anti-rust.
@Hollow, decades ago I was introduced to Plus Gas Penetrating Oil by an engineer.
Available from the usual places and no doubt others in Ireland.
Apply and leave for at least 24hours, reapply if necessary.
Follow the above advice re suitable screwdriver and spanner, with a small clockwise pressure before attempting to unscrew, after a solid tap.
Patience and avoid any power tool will likely achieve the desired result.
ps looking at the photo, clean the slot and use a fine point to clear any gunge at the edge of the screw.
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