A stripped screw head is a grip problem, and grip can be borrowed, added, or recut. Work up this ladder and almost nothing stays stuck.
Riley Brand
Screws strip when the bit slips in the recess - 'cam-out' - and each slip rounds the recess further. The causes are nearly always: wrong bit size (a #2 Phillips lives in most pockets but a #1 or #3 screw needs its own), worn bits, drilling at an angle, or too much speed with too little pressure.
The prevention rule that changes everything: push harder than you twist. Strong axial pressure keeps the bit seated; let the rotation be slow and steady. On a drill, use low gear and the clutch. And when driving new screws into hardwood, a pilot hole plus a touch of wax on the threads prevents the resistance that causes cam-out in the first place.
Try a wide rubber band (or a piece of a rubber glove, or steel wool) pressed flat between the bit and the screw head: the rubber packs into the damaged recess and adds remarkable grip. Slow speed, heavy downward pressure, and it backs out a lightly stripped screw more often than not.
No rubber band? Step up to a larger driver type - a bigger Phillips, or a flathead jammed across what is left of the recess - or add friction compound: valve-grinding paste or a dedicated screw-grab gel (a few dollars at any auto store) smeared in the recess lets the original bit bite again. These three tricks rescue the majority of stripped screws before any real tools come out.
If any of the head is proud of the surface, grab it: locking pliers (vise-grips) clamped hard onto the head's rim turn out screws that no bit will ever move again. This is the single highest-percentage method on the whole ladder, limited only by access and how far the head protrudes.
For a flush head, first try the impact trick: seat the driver in the recess and give its butt a few firm hammer taps while applying twisting pressure (or use a manual impact driver, which converts each strike into a jolt of rotation). The shock breaks thread corrosion and seats the bit deeper in one move - it is the standard fix for stuck machine screws on bikes and appliances.
Cut-a-slot: with a rotary tool's cutting disc (or a hacksaw if the head is accessible), cut a single straight slot across the screw head, then back it out with a wide flathead screwdriver. You have converted a ruined Phillips into a fresh slotted screw - a two-minute fix that feels like cheating.
Screw extractors are the formal solution: drill a small pilot into the head's center with the kit's left-handed bit (drill in reverse - often the screw spins out during this step alone), then drive the tapered extractor in counterclockwise until it bites and turns the screw out. Last resort: drill the head off entirely with a bit the size of the head, lift the workpiece free, and grip the now-exposed shank with pliers. The hole survives; pack it with glued toothpicks or a plug and it takes a fresh screw.
Rusted screws want penetrating oil and patience before any of the above - apply, wait ten minutes, tap the head a few times, repeat. Heat from a soldering iron held on the head for 30 seconds also breaks corrosion and (on screws set with threadlocker) softens the adhesive. Never heat near anything flammable or on a finished surface you care about.
Tiny screws (glasses, electronics) strip instantly under normal-size tools: use the correct micro driver, the rubber-band trick scaled down, and consider that many small machine screws are metric JIS heads that a Phillips chews - a JIS or correctly sized Torx bit set is cheap insurance for anyone who fixes their own gear. Brass and other soft screws strip fastest of all; on those, go straight to locking pliers rather than burning your one good recess on retries.
If any head is exposed: locking pliers, clamped brutally tight - it works when everything else has failed. For flush heads, the rubber-band trick first (free, no damage), then the cut-a-slot conversion.
Yes, on screws big enough to drill into - typically #6 and up. Buy a kit with left-handed drill bits, run the drill in reverse, and let the taper bite gradually. They struggle on hardened screws and tiny ones, where the cut-a-slot and pliers methods win.
Match the bit exactly (size and type - Pozidriv is not Phillips), press hard along the screw's axis, drive slow, use the drill's clutch, and pilot-drill in hardwood. Worn bits strip good screws: a fresh $1 bit beats fighting an old one.
That is different: the threads in the material have let go, not the head. Pull upward on the screw (or lever gently under the head) while unscrewing so the threads re-engage. Once out, the hole needs packing - glued toothpicks or a wall anchor - before any screw will hold there again.
