(un)Screw this!
Whether I’m building or un-building something, the one thing I seem to excel at is stripping screws. And I should know better. Use the correct size bit, take it slow and steady…blahblahblah. Well, after years of “screwing” it up (ugh, sorry!), I decided it was time to invest in a screw extractor. It’s a small, inexpensive tool that looks sort of like a drill bit, and you can find one at your local hardware store. The secret is in the reverse tapered threads (check out the labeled photo on the bottom left) that allow you to twist the extractor counter-clockwise straight into your stripped screw. The threads dig in, loosen the damaged screw, and pull the sucker right out. 
Ta-da!
