Need Help To Remove A Bolt With Stripped Head

i run a ranch in south texas and broken bolts are a way of life

if the head of the bolt strips or breaks off i have found that none of the conventional extraction technics are worth a damn

the only method i have had good results with is mig welding through a nut as mentioned here by others

it never works on the first try but on the 2nd or 3rd they always come out

got to love serious heat cycling when it come to seized bolts
 
Kiwi: I mentioned them way back on post #3. We NEVER use heat on removing messed up bolts and screws because we are working in thin composite and aluminum, and most often, in a fuel cell. Steel, stainless or titanium fasteners are not a big problem drilling and removing with an easy out. It comes down to technique and being deliberate in the prep work. I can think of less than a dozen times in the last 10 years that I've had to drill out a fastener and drive the nutplate off due to not being able to unscrew it. We often have to drill off screw heads due to the nutplates coming off the structure, but that's a slightly different process
 
Y'all, this is a great catalog of tips n tricks, worth hanging onto. Before I consolidate, print out, and put with my easy outs, I'll add a couple of other ideas to consider:
  • Since it's a through hole, even if all you have are right-handed drills & taps, you can approach from the bottom. Then as you engage the screw stub, it will tend to loosen rather than tighten.
  • Presumably this is not the only bolt holding the plate on. Re-tighten the others to take the load off the stuck one.
  • If it is the only bolt, try rotating the whole plate around the base.
  • Even if there's NO chance the thread is LH, try turning CW anyway. I have made the wrong assumption more than once over the years. If it is RH, it may still help, because, as has been pointed out, that may break the seal.
 
Mad Monty said:
Y'all, this is a great catalog of tips n tricks, worth hanging onto. Before I consolidate, print out, and put with my easy outs, I'll add a couple of other ideas to consider:
  • Since it's a through hole, even if all you have are right-handed drills & taps, you can approach from the bottom. Then as you engage the screw stub, it will tend to loosen rather than tighten.
  • Presumably this is not the only bolt holding the plate on. Re-tighten the others to take the load off the stuck one.
  • If it is the only bolt, try rotating the whole plate around the base.
  • Even if there's NO chance the thread is LH, try turning CW anyway. I have made the wrong assumption more than once over the years. If it is RH, it may still help, because, as has been pointed out, that may break the seal.
Click to expand...
 
I was going to ask if the item is small enough to ship. Got a metal disintegration machine. Removes broken bolts, drill bits and taps with ease.
 
First glad to see the op got his bolt out. With socket head bolts my first go to is torx bits usley can find one just a hair bit bigger drive it in and it works most of the time. Dext up is left hand drill bits slow rpm and bump them and try to get them to grab. Next is easy outs but I only use square eaasey outs thay don't expand the bolt like spiral easey outs do. And to ( janvanruth ) I have dever had a problem drilling bolts out, and messing up threads. Just drill in the center..
 
kd4gij said:
First glad to see the op got his bolt out. With socket head bolts my first go to is torx bits usley can find one just a hair bit bigger drive it in and it works most of the time. Dext up is left hand drill bits slow rpm and bump them and try to get them to grab. Next is easy outs but I only use square eaasey outs thay don't expand the bolt like spiral easey outs do. And to ( janvanruth ) I have dever had a problem drilling bolts out, and messing up threads. Just drill in the center..
Click to expand...
Before any of that try tapping around the socket with a ball peen, then take a NEW (as in unused) hex and drive it into the socket. Grasp the hex with locking pliers and tap on the top while turning. This works about 70 percent of the time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top