Sunday lesson

[Roger Long]

When you go to try and remove a S.S. screw corroded into aluminum with one of those spiral screw extractors, be damn sure it's going to work and don't break it off. Once you have that hard nugget of hard steel inside the softer stainless which is inside even the softer aluminum, you aren't going to drill it out.

I even propped the boom up so I could put it securely in a drill press but nothing was going to keep the bit on track. I finally had to drill a path to pull the screw stub out sideways creating this nightmare.

After filing the screw stub down, there is still a bit of the extractor left. I'll put a coat of epoxy over it but I'm sure I'll find rust bleeding out of the fitting in a few years. I can patch the boom up with epoxy before I re-paint it (the major reason for all this) and move the screw to sound aluminum but it's still humbling and annoying to have screwed up so badly. My work is usually better than this but then, Sunday is a proper time to confess your sins.

 

[Ross]

That's enough to make a preacher swear. I hate it when those things happen. The machinists in the Air Force used High speed steel lathe tool bits to make their e-z outs for pulling broken studs on aircraft engines. It was always a nail biter.

 

[sailaway78]

It happens

Roger, I know it is a bit embarassing when this happens, but hold your head up. It has happened to all of us, or at least those who have tried. If it had never ever happened to me I would laugh at you, but alas, it has.

 

[Ray T]

Next time you have one of these and you can get it in a drill press try a center drill. They are much better in getting you started straight.

 

[Roger Long]

Next time you have one of these and you can get it in a drill press

I had it in a drill press.

I think the take home lesson in this is that, once you have twisted the head right off the screw, an extractor is unlikely to budge it, at least using the drill size recommended for use with the extractor.

I should have stuck to what has worked successfully before, drill it out until it's just a thin, threaded tube, increasing drill sizes until you just break into the bottom of the threads. It will then compress enough to come loose. This is when the extractor will sometimes work. A little clean up chase with a tap and the hole can often be used again or else re-drill and re-tap for the next larger size.

 

[Ross]

Yuo just plain can't drill a heat treated e-z out they are as hard as the drill bits.

 

[jibes138]

Been there done that

Exact same problem but on my universal M25 coolant and exhaust manifold. Had the classic alternator bracket bolt break off flush to the manifold. Drilled it, screw extractor, didn't budge, more force, broke screw extractor. Driled and tapped new hole next to it but insufficient casting stock so the hole broke into the manifold. Now I need a new manifold for a lot of dollars. Anyone know where I can find a used one? Might be worth a new motor as I'll probably screw up the manifold installation too. Coupled with a new alternator, starter, panel, etc, at what point is a new motor worth it versus a seemingly never ending bunch of repairs?

 

[Prime Time]

I Hate Easy Outs!!!!!

Each time I've used one for an extraction from metal, this has been my experience. The worst was trying to get a sheared bolt out of the block of an old snowblower. The not so easy out broke as your picture described. Had to drill out the block, retap to a larger bolt/thread size.

Has anyone EVER actually gotten one to work for extraction of something from metal?

 

[Roger Long]

Has anyone EVER actually gotten one to work for extraction of something from metal?

After hearing Jibe's story, I'm convinced that "EZ Out" means that they should only be used on screws that will come out easily and have lost their head due to some other stress or damage

I will never use one again unless this is clearly the case. The downside and recovery is just too ugly.

 

[Ross]

They work with an impact wrench and a torch when applied to steel or iron. We used left hand drills when ever we had to attempt a broken bolt removal. Often they would back out before they were drilled through but these were larger than 3/8 inch bolts. Smaller screws we just drilled out and inserted rivnuts in metal or plugs in wood. The smallest in the aircraft engines were 1/4 inch and those were drilled in steps to nearly 3/16 before we tried an e-z out. If they got completely screwed up, the engine was pulled and sent to depot.

 

[RichH]

Too damn bad they dont make suitable aluminum heli-coils. Just drill out all the crap and insert new threads. I use (proper depth sized) drive rivets whenever possible for aluminum fastening.
:-D

 

[Maine Sail]

Been there!

EZ Out extractors are far to brittle IMHO for many tasks. I have sheared a few over the years and, like you discovered, no they won't drill out.

One thing I have learned about stainless in aluminum is quick heat followed by a dead blow with a punch and a hammer to try and break the corrosion bond. I then give it one whack with a hammer screw driver and then use my impact gun. I find the quick blows of the impact gun tend to break this type of corrosion much better than just slow steady hard pressure with a regular screw driver which usually seems to just spin the head off.We've all been there!!

 

[Timo42]

The only type of extractor I will use anymore is this type,

​

l they allow you to work the broken bolt back and forth to free it and aren't as brittle as the other type. That said, I will usually go ahead and helicoil an aluminum part that has had a bolt seize in it. Someone can correct me if I am wrong for marine use, but it seems to me that if you install the helicoil with antiseize, you will have no more corrosion than you would with a bolt screwed directly into a tapped aluminum hole, with the added benifit that the helicoil will seize to the aluminum, not the bolt.

 

[Chris Burti]

Monday's lesson...

Here is a little trick I learned while working for a short time as a steam fitter in my youth and it has served me well over the years.

Whenever you need to remove corroded or galled threaded hardware...hit it with a hammer and then always tighten it a quarter turn first. When you hear that unmistakable metallic click or pop, the part has broken free and you can remove it with relative ease.

The hammer blow helps to loosen the corrosive bond. Threads operate on the same lifting principle as a ramp, but the machining is such that they are more much effective when tightening than loosening. Therefore, they will usually turn without breaking the part when tightening.

When this trick doesn't work, odds are that both the part and your easy-out will break because the parts have, in effect, become welded together.

When a bolt breaks off in aluminum. I just drill out the bolt and use either a helicoil or a couple of the aluminum brazing rods to fill the hole and re-drill.

http://www.alumiweld.com/

 

[sailingdog]

One warning, a lot of the aluminum on boats is heat treated and heating it will cause it to lose its temper, and much of its strength, so be careful if you're going to use a torch to heat it.

Also, in the future use TefGel or some other compound to prevent the galvanic corrosion from occurring.

 

[Capn Dave]

Say no to Easy Outs

Ahoy Mates,

After breaking about every Easy Out that I have ever tried, I'm a slow learner, I happened on, left handed drill bits. I bought a set of these and they really work. If I drill all the way trhough with it so what. I would end up retapping anyway. The good news is I have only had to retap one time. I start off with a smaller size than the screw diameter and usually by the time I am about half way through, the head and reversing of the drill, breaks the threads loose.

Here is one link for left handed bits http://www.mytoolstore.com/hanson/hanson.html

Fair Winds

dave

 

[Pops]

I have broken many easy outs, probably 10 or 15 to each successful one. I hate those things. Last year while trying to take a case cover of a moped I discovered GRABITS at my local ACE hardware. These things are great, I almost look forward to stripping a crew or bolt head. I have no financial interest in these things, but I wish I did. http://www.4grabit.com/Default.asp?gclid=CNbAgaDWp5kCFQG7GgodDiv5pg&bhcp=1

 

[MrBee]

This will work on steel.
We do this at work when thing brake. I will have to check what the type of Welding rod is but you take a NUT, sit / hold it over the Bolt and use a welding rod to tack the inside of the nut to the top of the bolt. You then have a nice large Bolt to grip when turning out the broken piece. I know this won't work on all things. I'm trying to remember the Exact Rod number. I know it is orange or brownish in color. the type it is makes it easy to stick the rod tip down in the nut and build up a weld to the top of the nut. I wish I had a picture.

Bee