What's your favorite "stuck bolt" removal process?

My old time favourite is Penetrene , but it's near impossible to find here in Oz now. I still have a couple of litres left and I use it sparingly now.

Reply to
Kevin(Bluey)
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Do you have natural gas in Australia? I worked in a heat treating plant years ago and we used a lot of natural gas for the furnaces. Each furnace's feeder pipe had a drip leg to catch condensation before the gas went into the valves. These drip legs are even put on residential furnaces, by the way. Anyhow, since we used a LOT of gas, each drip leg had a drain c*ck and it was the job of the maintenance crew to empty these drip legs on a regular basis. They saved that condensate and used it as we use PB Blaster, etc. It smelled a lot like PB Blaster. They swore by it.

Pete Stanaitis

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Grumpy wrote:

Reply to
spaco

I got a can of Kroil years ago. I didn't use it enough to know if it worked any better or worse than other products. Many folks says it does.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I doubt they teach anything useful, in schools.

I've found that.....

  • Impact wrench will remove bolts that a breaker bar shears off. This, from experience replacing rear shocks, on a rusty truck.
  • Name brand Vise Grips will remove screws, etc, that Harbor Freight brand locking pliers won't. Cause the HF pliers slip off. No matter how tightly you crank em down.
  • Heat and beat works on rusted on nuts. Heat em up with a torch, and then hammer the flats of the nut.
  • Penetrating oil and hammer sometimes will loosen nuts. Like the one time I was trying to get a pitman arm off a steering gear box.
  • Propane torch (times two) and then breaker bar with extender works on strut rod bushing nut, 1 1/8 inch socket needed. This is before I got impact wrench. I figure the impact wrench woulda worked fine.
  • Pound a socket on, and then turn gently works on rusted bolts, on differential cover.
  • If a nut and bolt don't come apart with a pull on a breaker bar, you need to heat and beat, or use the impact wrench. If you keep cranking with the 25 inch breaker bar, the bolt will snap. This on a friend's wife's Dodge minivan. Taking the front wheel assembly apart for some reason I can't remember. The nut didn't want to loosen. I had my Mapp torch, but he didn't want to use heat. The bolt snapped, and we had to go chase auto parts and try to find another one. We didn't, and ended up using a common nut and bolt. Oh, well. She junked the van shortly after that, and it didn't matter.
Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Ronsonol lighter fluid melts candle wax. If my memory is working. I wonder if you can melt some candle wax in a double boiler. Squirt in a bunch of ronsonol, and stir it up. After you turn off the stove, and take the mix outdoors, I reccomend.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

"Grumpy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@westnet.com.au:

According to this:

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you may be able to get Kroil from a shooting supply place. It's very popular for cleaning bench rest rifles. They also mention Penetrene, which is the local equivalent.

Or you can contact Kano Labs directly & see if they have a distributor in Australia.

Doug White

Reply to
Doug White

Lighter fluid is naphtha is benzine. Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

They might still teach it in Oz, but in the USA industrial arts training in primary schools has gone the way of the Dodo and the Passenger Pigeon, thanks to the ubiquitious liability lawsuit.

The Boomer and Echo generations were about the end of real shop classes - they were already severely watering them down as I went through, and several machines had either been removed as UNSAFE! or locked off and tagged 'For Instructor Use Only" - you could do the setup but had to get your teacher to run the machine it for you... A good friend that taught Electronics and Stage Craft had to teach Sciences for the last few years before retirement, as all the Shops programs had been shut down.

The school districts got tired of students finding the most inventive ways to hurt themselves or prank another student (Iodine Trinitride, or take another students electronics project and add a large electrolytic capacitor straight across the120VAC line cord...) but sometimes they underestimated the dangers and killed somebody. Then the "grieving" parents would call a Shark in a 3-piece suit and sue for everything they could get.

Burn a school district for several million bucks a few times, they sell off all the lathes and welders and printing presses, and teach something safe and benign like Art and Web Design.

You have to wait till you get into a College or Vocational/ Technical School environment to learn these things, because by then you have reached the age of majority - and are expected to take responsibility for your own safety related fsck-ups.

Unfortunately, by the time they can get the mechanical arts education, most of those who would have been receptive 10 years ago have atrophied into nice retail clerks and burger-flippers. Some things you really have to start young to understand.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Some of my favs for you web sight. SHCS - head striped out- using flat drive punch, pean around the hex & "re form" the hex. This also shocks the the bolt helping matters out. Use NEW or reground hex key pounded into the peaned over head. If that fails, drill out the hex head with a drill about the same size as the hex. The head will fall off when reaching the bolt shank dia. Also try using a metric size vs inch size hex keys. FHS - head striped out- these always strip because the shallow socket depth & the head is locked / wedged on the taper angle. Try beating the hex over as above - but when head still strips(usually does), use a SHARP center punch ( an old HSS reamer shank works great) Strike it down to set the punch then walk the head around like unscrewing it. Works every time.I showed this to the electronic guys, they loved it, because they were drilling them out previously. This center punch "walk around" technique will also work for broken off bolt heads, just below the top surface.Saves on the E-Z out or left hand drill routine about 50% of the time. The trick is a sharp hardened punch & setting it as close to the threads without hitting them.

Reply to
cncmillgil

"The All Weather Breakfast! Loosners's!"

David

Reply to
David R.Birch

SNIP

Hey Grumpy,

I have never seen Kroil here locally, but we can get PBblaster in a spray-bomb. Big bucks.

Anyway, I was happy recently with a concoction noted here on RCM, a

50/50 mix of acetone and ATF. Worked for me on a 1/2" socket head cap screw that was rusted in over it's 2" threaded length. Someone else had actually broken the side out of the head in a previous attempt. Soaked it for a couple of days in the mix, and used no heat.

I've made up a bottle full for future use, with a "mixture label" on it so I won't forget.

Brian Lawson, Bothwell, Ontario.

Reply to
Brian Lawson

Thanks for all your input. I learned several methods that I hadn't tried before. One thing I could still use help with is actually getting the hole in the exact center when drilling out a fastener. The @##$$$%^%^^^ bolt never seems to be in a decent position to get straight at it. I center punch as best I can, then drill undersize so I have room to correct, but I'm never sure exactly where the center is until its pretty late in the game. I sure wish that drill motors had X and Y levels on them!

I added your comments to the webpage that I put up yesterday or so,

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Thanks again, Pete Stanaitis

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Reply to
spaco

Way back when I was kid, a neighbor who was one of those old time, life long 'real' mechanics of years past told me the original Liquid Wrench was condensate drained from New York's gas street light plumbing system.

He said when it first hit the market it worked well enough, but reeked bad enough to gag a buzzard on sight. Supposedly, it was some while before they de-stenched to tolerable levels.

Also remember him saying it was a God send to steam locomotive and marine techs.

Erik

Reply to
Erik

G'day Bluey Penetrene is as rare as rocking horse manure these days as well. I think I'll try some of the ATF /varsol/ acetone mixtures and see what happens. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

Reply to
Grumpy

Snap-On makes a nice drill guide set; used it for years. Of course, you don't really need it. Grind the broken fastener flush. The center drill point isn't the apparent center of the fastener, but the center of the major diameter of the threaded hole, apparent when you grind it properly. Center punch by eye; a light one. Move the punch mark as req to get it on center. For your 1/4" bolts, use 1/8"drill, drill just to the flute edge, and visually check the index. If no, angle the drill bit and adjust. When satisfied, drill all the way through the fastener, on axis. Usually, there is some open space under it. Squirt some penatrant in, and let it sit. I use the Snap-On straight flute extractor set; excellent quality. But note: extractors are intended to remove only fasteners broken off from vibration or over-torque. They are NOT for removing seized, thread-welded fasteners. Tap the 1/8" Snap-On extractor in about 1/4" . Apply only moderate torque. If the extractor starts to twist, pull it out with Vise Grips, and drill the fastener to the minor thread diameter. Chase the threads with a tap, and on to the next one. If you break off an extractor, delete last step.... JR Dweller in the cellar

On Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:17:09 -0600, spaco wrote:

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Reply to
JR North

.

Seems Penetrene is still available here in Oz . Idid aGoogle search ansd all I could find was a horse linament of the same name . Then I found this

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stock it in 500ml , 1 ltr bottles , 400ml aerosol and 5 liter cans .,they even say they can supply 200litre drums.

Reply to
Kevin(Bluey)

Thank you. I usually avoid easy outs, because the possibility of having to remove a broken one was such a negative thought. I see now when using one is appropriate.

Pete Stanaitis

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Reply to
spaco

For getting a drill centered on a section of a bolt that's a bit higher than the surrounding metal, one could make up a set of drill bushings on a lathe, that would center a pilot drill. The bushings should get the drill started in the center, but won't help a lot with axial pitch. Not so simple when the bolt breaks off flush, though.

Managing a Dremel-type tool can be easier than trying to use a moderately large drill motor to get a center start on a broken fastener.

Having a magnetic base drill for steel/iron base material would definitely be helpful with keeping the drill on the axial center. Mag base drills are generally large and expensive, but the recent shop-built magnetic chucks made with high strength hard drive magnets shows that it may be possible to make a smaller version for pilot drilling broken fasteners.

Another tool that would help get a drill centered and keep the drill on the axial center would be a Cole drill. The foot/base that comes with the Cole allows for easy attachment to an adjacent fastener hole (head surface on a vehicle engine block, for example). Again, this example isn't very compact, but an inspired HSM could make some brackets to support a spindle and chuck, that would hold a drill perpendicular to a surface.

I remember seeing a drill motor with bubble vials on it a number of years ago, I don't remember the brand, or how long ago it was.

Reply to
Wild_Bill

Drill motors are made with bubbles, but bubbles are easily added with double-stick tape (and shims if needed) to other drill motors.

A carbide burr in a dremel-type (die grinder for the well equipped folks) tool is good for making a starting hole (and grinding out broken drills/extractors/taps, if need be - though it goes faster if you don't have to deal with those hard obstructions). Roto-zip tile cutters are a convenient hardware store source for carbide burrs, and they side-cut enough that you won't likely get that stuck if you manage to break it off in the hole.

The "candle wax trick" was lauded at anther place I frequent dealing with old machinery. I haven't tried it much yet. In thinking about it, it also offers the ability to do something about fasteners you may not plan to take out now, but which may not have been put in with anti-size

- fill 'em up with wax now, and at least they won't be full of water and rusting (more) between now and when you get to them.

As for putting things back in, antiseize or loc-tite (depending on the fastener) will pay large dividends the next time you need to take it apart. Guy I sold my dead chevy to (for parts) was amazed when he took the springs (I'd replaced a decade or so earlier) off, since I had put them in with anti-sieze and silicone grease. Came right apart, no fuss.

Reply to
Ecnerwal

That is truly a problem, especially if the screw is broken off right at the surface. The threads make it awfully tough to tell where the true center is. And even if you locate it exactly, it's not easy to punch and start a drill there.

If the fastener is broken so that threads are showing above the hole or in it, things are easier.

I made up some screws drilled in the lathe right down their centers. If your screw is broken down in the hole, screw in one of your drilled scrrews as a guide for your drill. If the screw is broken above the surface, screw a long nut such as a coupling nut on it, then screw a drilled screw into the coupling nut.

John Martin

Reply to
John Martin

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