Posted on 03/12/2017 9:53:29 PM PDT by Windflier
These were five inch tubes of steel and we were pulling on them with several thousand pounds of force. We would hit them with a very big sledgehammer and they would break free. What was happening was the metal had become galled.
Forgot this reliable method... again, the screw head is virtually useless... use a steel chisel at about a 10 degree tangent to the edge of the screw head, and tap the chisel lightly with a hammer. You can first notch the screw head for a better grip. Definitely lube with the method.
You minght - I have to get it online or from Amazon:
http://www.kanolabs.com/google/?gclid=CL67tcve0tICFQS2wAodqF8Pxg
My tried and true method for removing stubborn set screws...
After all the other methods (heat and penetrating oil)
Buy a torx bit, they are also called star bits. You should be able to find them at the hardware store but will most likely come with a pack. Hammer the bit in to, what’s left of, the corners. Use a 1/4 socket and you can get a lot of torque that way. The torx bit cuts in to the metal and will sometimes work. After everything else... Time to break out the drill bits and easy outs. If you still can EZ out them drill them out all the way to the threads, chase the threads, or use helicoils if needed.
Burn em out
That’s funny!
I have come to associate the smell of Kroil with the absence of scraped knuckles, the sound of tools not being thrown across the shop, and a lack of swearing.
These screws are countersunk into an aluminum block, and are flush across the surface of the block. They're Allen drive, so are removed by inserting an Allen wrench into them and turning. There's nothing for me to cut off, and drilling them out would probably destoy the female threads inside the block.
I've got to get them to turn, or I'll have to buy a whole new assembly :-(
Drilling the screw will heat it plenty.
Use a small bit and then apply WD or whatever. As the bolt cools it will draw in the lube.
Now try the wrench.
Drill straight, bear in mind that this is a pilot hole for a bit to fit an EZ out in the worse case.
Frozen Allen screws are a piece of cake to remove.
I'd do that, but the aluminum block holds the shaft, which has plastic bushings and neoprene feed rollers attached. They no like heat.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Yes, those things come in handy—and you can use sockets on them as well. A tool chest essential!
I’d forgotten all about liquid wrench. Thank you!
Thanks for the tech tip. I'll try that.
Good luck, and when you reassemble since it is aluminum, use Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant or equivalent.
I hate when I bungle a communication. I didn't destroy the screw - I broke off the Allen bit, which I was able to extract from the head of the screw with pliers.
I think I'll swing by AutoZone and get some PB Blaster. Sounds like a winner.
Regular Coca-Cola is better than WD-40 for freeing rusted bolts. Construct a simple dam around the bolt head (plumber putty or caulk),pour full of Coca-Cola and allow to work. Mix the remainder of your Coke with Bourbon and enjoy a few drinks while you wait.
Wack them just almost straight on with a flat punch and hammer without damaging the allen hole. Then they will come loose.
Kroil, from Amazon, repeated doses and slet it sit for hours in total.
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