Frozen screws on mast...help!

Stu Jackson · Oct 9, 2011

Liquid wrench does nothing. Get PB Blaster from ACE hardware. Also consider an impact screwdriver. Good luck.

Ed Schenck · Oct 9, 2011

Two thoughts come to mind. Try an impact screwdriver: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...o=2&blockType=G2&prdNo=2&i_cntr=1318204008008 . No? Then grind off the heads and, hopefully, put vise grips on the stub. We used those impact drivers in the Navy to get salt corroded panels off the aircraft.

MrUnix · Oct 9, 2011

I'd leave the horns hooked up and ready to blast! But if you must.. PB blaster and an impact driver are good suggestions. Only other one I can think of is to apply some heat.. maybe not with a propane torch, but one of those micro torches. Heat the screw and get it to expand a little. Hopefully, that will be enough to break the grip it has on the aluminum.

Cheers,
Brad

Ray Bowles · Oct 9, 2011

I'd advise that you be real careful with an impact driver around the mast. It can easily be dented with too powerful of a blow. Grinding the heads off to remove the horns and then filing the stub down to leave a smooth surface is one way to go. If you want more than that then take a finely pointed punch and drive the remainder of the screw into the mast center and fill the hole with a rivett.
Good luck with your new boat. A cutter is a sweat ride.
Ray

CarlN · Oct 9, 2011

Don't use a torch on the mast. Aluminum doesn't like getting hot. Maybe a heat gun but even there be careful.

PB Blaster is your friend. Always let it work overnight. Sometimes it takes three or four overnight cycles. But it may not work. Stainless screws should always be insulated from the aluminum mast with something like Tef-Gel when they are installed. Yours weren't.

If PB Blaster doesn't work, consider getting a set of left handed drills. You just drill in reverse. Usually the screw spins out before you've drilled very far.

Carl

woodster · Oct 9, 2011

Try Kano Kroil insted of PB blaster if you want to get them out ...do a google search and when you find it order it direct from them in Nashville Tenn and when you are on the phone mention the google special and they will send you 2 arasol cans for 12.00 freight and all......

regrards

woody

PeteK · Oct 9, 2011

Kroil and heat are your best friends when it come to 'frozen' fasteners.

Use them constantly repairing outdrives and such.

Pete

SycloneDriver · Oct 9, 2011

When I have a frozen bolt I have the best luck using a propane torch. PB Blaster dose seem to help, Kroil might be even better.
You may want to try a cordless impact driver.

My standard method for removing a frozen bolt is;
1 soak with penatrating oil
2 tap with a hammer
3 heat with a torch
4 remove, if that fails repeat steps 3 & 4

Benny17441 · Oct 9, 2011

I'm not a big fan of penetrating oils. They usually require a soaking period and under some conditions will get on my hands and tools making me loose grip. If I were going up the mast to remove a bracket and screws I would want to do it cleanly and in one trip. My weapon of choice would be an impact driver. Give each screw a couple of blows and it will come off or the head will break off if corroded. Them drivers are somewhat heavy and could cause some damage or injury below if accidentally dropped so I would strongly suggest to rig a lanyard to it before taking it up.

MrUnix · Oct 9, 2011

mdoyle said:
Oh, and once I have those horns down, I will be sure to ship them to Gainesville.

I will be diligently checking my mailbox

Funny story.. Long time ago I had a Chevy Chevette hatchback that got rear-ended. So I turned it into the worlds smallest pick-up truck! Chopped it in half, used the rear hatch for the back window, aluminum sheet, pop-rivets and some fiberglass to finish out the body work, and built a really nice wood bed out of 2x4's and carriage bolts.

Anyway, the horn didn't work and that was back when Florida had vehicle inspections. At the yearly inspection when the guy asked to hear my horn, I stuck my head out the window and yelled "GET OUT OF THE WAY". He wasn't too amused and failed me. When I came back the second time (they gave you 30 days to fix anything that failed), I had installed an air-horn out of a semi-truck. I happened to get the same guy that failed me the first time and he remembered me, the unusual truck, and of course my non-existent horn.

This time however, when he asked to hear the horn, he got a very unexpected ear full that I believe had every inspector and a few of the patrons changing their shorts when they got home

It's something that you just don't expect to hear out of something that small. That's why I think they would be way cool on a sailboat.. it would make you sound like a cruise ship. If you could wire them up so you could play each one individually, maybe you could figure out how to do that Disney cruise ship thing and really confuse people!

Cheers,
Brad

Rich Stidger · Oct 10, 2011

I echo the advice about an impact tool. If you just use a wrench or screwdriver, the screw/bolt is very likely to shear before the torque is great enough to break it free. An impact tool will break the bond with high pulses of torque without putting the bolt into the non-elastic stretch area where it will shear.

Rick9671 · Oct 10, 2011

heating aluminum mast

I agree with carlf. Aluminum melts very suddenly and withoiut warning. Welders use blue carpenter's chalk to indicate when aluminum is at welding temperature. The chalk changes color from blue to white. I would be concerned that heating the mast would weaken the aluminum permanently, so be careful with the torch! Must best results have been with drilling or vise-grip pliers.

Grinding flush with the mast (using a hand file) will leave a smooth surface and the holes filled.

SycloneDriver · Oct 10, 2011

Rick, I agree that aluminum melts very suddenly but you don't need to get it nearly that hot. I'm willing to bet that you would have a hard time melting the mast with a propane torch. I have used a torch to free all kinds of frozen stuff, exhaust bolts, intake manifold bolts, brake lines, even fuel lines.

Snaping the bolt head off and filing smooth is a good option.