Bolt removal questions.

[Brian Ski]

From another thread...

I remove grade 8 bolt with my plasma cutter . put torch centered on broken bolt hit trigger for a second woosh bolt gone with clean hole with threads still there

What size bolt diameter was it????

Any other tricks on removing bolts??? Sometimes I get some that will not come out. I know an EZ out only seems to work for loose bolts. If you get carried away you can snap the easy out off and really be in a heck of a mess. Or you can swell the stuck bolt and jam it tighter. I have a friend whose father used to take a stick welder and stick the rod to the bolt and after a while the bolt would get red hot and drip/fall out. I have also heard of welding a nut onto a broken bolt. That worked a little for me. I have heard of heating them up, then waiting to cool off, then heating again helps. I know the big thing is to heat up the nut or casting to swell the hole to get it to release the bolt, not the bolt.

Bolts that are rusted or corroded in place or bottomed out in a blind hole then snapped off are always tough to get out.

[Rodsmachineshop]

if the grade 8 bolts i use my plasma cutter to remove them since so hi in carbon i just put plasma dead center on broken bolt grind flush firsts . hit the torch and wooosh broken bolt just is gone and empty hole with threads dont work on grade 5 and under --5 and under use reverse drill bits with a centering jig . also heat broken bolt area and use a candle will break a rusted bolt loose

[sportbike]

Left hand drills work pretty well.

Sometimes you can just drill the center of the bolt and then turn it out with a screwdriver or similar once teh center is gone. Drill needs to be smaller than the root diameter of the bolt...

[Brian Ski]

also heat broken bolt area and use a candle will break a rusted bolt loose

Use a candle??? Can you explain??? Never heard of that.

Left hand drills work pretty well.

I have a couple of left handed bits. I guess with my luck I end up getting some busted off bolts from hell... I have cut them in half thread to thread and still can't get some out with a tiny chisel... This is Indiana home of the rust locktite.

Last bolt I had in a head I could not even drill it out all the way. I finally said the heck with it, and what I drilled out filled with weld and was going to redrill and tap it. As soon as I hit the spot I couldn't drill through the first time the bit just stopped and would not cut. I just tapped it shallow. I don't know what was up with that bolt, but it was sure tougher than the drill bits.

[Rodsmachineshop]

1. Heat the nut up, but not red hot or you can distort it and wreck the threads, this will not happen on most bolts but if it does you will be forced to cut it off.

2. Place a candle on the end to melt the wax. The "wick effect" will suck the melted wax into the threads and lube it up enough to remove easily.

This sounds a little wierd but trust me it does work.

[Rodsmachineshop]

ez outs are a waist i dont use them

[undercut]

1. Heat the nut up, but not red hot or you can distort it and wreck the threads, this will not happen on most bolts but if it does you will be forced to cut it off.

2. Place a candle on the end to melt the wax. The "wick effect" will suck the melted wax into the threads and lube it up enough to remove easily.

This sounds a little wierd but trust me it does work.

Think the guy who welded the nut doesn't like broken off bolts ??? ....

That wax trick is slick as slick can be. Never heard of it until now ....

[zoama]

Think the guy who welded the nut doesn't like broken off bolts ??? ....

....

Must be all the oxididation... or having to make up new words.

[undercut]

Must be all the oxididation... or having to make up new words.

Wait, what, no, wait a second, oxididation isn't a word? But he used it with such conviction! LOL I do that all the time. Dictionary would be twice as thick if it were based on me ....

[Rodsmachineshop]

I get so many broken bolts and studs at my shop , that the joy of a machine shop , i do a lot of heli coiling

[EchoSixMike]

Yeah, my local EDM place loves me. S/F....Ken M

[SeanMurphy265]

Kano Aerokroil This is the best penetrating oil! I sold fasteners for a few years, and I would give a can away and the next week they would order cases.

An easy way to remove bolts is to tig weld a nut to the broken head. The heat will help loosen the bolt. It takes a lot of practice, but it's quicker than drilling and using easy outs.

[EchoSixMike]

MIG welders work also, at least for the larger fasteners. For the small stuff, yeah, TIG is about the only choice. S/F.....Ken M

[everlastsupport]

Kano Aerokroil This is the best penetrating oil! I sold fasteners for a few years, and I would give a can away and the next week they would order cases.

An easy way to remove bolts is to tig weld a nut to the broken head. The heat will help loosen the bolt. It takes a lot of practice, but it's quicker than drilling and using easy outs.

I have used something like silikroil. It is amazing stuff for sure. The orange can. Will have to try areo kroil

[undercut]

I get so many broken bolts and studs at my shop , that the joy of a machine shop , i do a lot of heli coiling

Just looked up heli coiling. Pretty cool technology. You use this so that you can use the same bolt for the hole instead of tapping a new, larger threaded hole?

[zoama]

Just looked up heli coiling. Pretty cool technology. You use this so that you can use the same bolt for the hole instead of tapping a new, larger threaded hole?

That's right... it's also used on new aluminum parts where the threads will be under heavy load. Your local auto parts store should have reasonably priced kits with everything you need in single sizes. Most have 10 helicoils (may not have the drill bit).
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...l+kit&_sacat=0

[DaveO]

I had to read up on heli coils too, interesting stuff. If you use them to replace damaged threads, do they have the same torque capacity as the original threads?

[Trip59]

Meh, don't like helicoils...

http://www.timesert.com/html/faq.html

or better

http://alcoafastener.thomasnet.com/c...ts-reg-inserts

[undercut]

I had to read up on heli coils too, interesting stuff. If you use them to replace damaged threads, do they have the same torque capacity as the original threads?

As Trip59 says, there seems to be a few alternatives that are out there. I think I was reading a snippit from Acme(?) stating that their alternative had better torquing capability. As with everything, it all depends on your application. Happy hunting!

[DaveO]

The Time-Sert FAQ says they won't attest to torque capacity because of there is too much variability in installation. But then they say this:

"TIME-SERT will state that if the thread repair is done correctly and with the proper length of insert used for the application e.g. the insert is the same length of the original thread engagement, the result should be a hole that should match the original torque specification of the hole."