Well, I messed up installing a railing into a hardwood floor. I did not drill big enough pilot holes and two of the lag heads sheared off halfway into the hole, though of course they sheared at the wood floor line. I have a left hand drill and ez out coming from McMaster so I think I can solve this problem. However, I would like to find an alternative to lag screws. I am considering the 1/4" x 2" GRK structural screws for installing interior baseplates. Any thoughts? I am going with the 1/4" because the larger diameters only come much longer.

Any suggestions.

Thanks,

Steven

Find an alternative because it sheared, or because you dont like the look of a lag?

As far as getting lag screws out, the usual tried and true methods are the way to go, square broach in a round hole, easy outs, put a slot in it, etc. For the instillation, there's not much provided about the size of the railing, what it's being used for, etc. For a standard stair railing, that might be thick enough, but I would wonder if 2" would put you through the subflooring and into the framing. If it's something heavier, dunno.

Longer screws can be shortened though and I tend to go with overkill - put a nut on the screw, make your cut, take the nut off. and clean threads further if needed. Either use a bigger pilot hole with no point, or file a point back on it if needed.

If necessary, you could cut around the shank with a small hole saw or a plug cutter, and glue in a wooden plug. It sounds like the bolt sheared because it was “wedged” into the wood too tightly, and might be hard to back out even if it were intact.

I guess you learned not to use a small Lag Screw, to do a bigger job. LOL

The best way to remove the pieces, is with a Lot of Patience. The procedure is already stated above.

Neil

One method I've seen mentioned but that I've never personally tried is to drill the hole for the easy-out, stick in a length of copper wire of the same diameter as the drill bit, and heat it with a torch. Supposedly, this will soften the resins and fibers around the hole, lessening the effort required for easing the screw out.