Broken bolt extractors

When the head breaks off at the screw fastener, only extractors for unscrewing the broken bolts can save the situation. This type of device is a kind of drill that can help in the extraction of intractable hardware. The specifics of choosing a tool and how to use the kits for removing bolts with stripped edges are worth talking in more detail.

A popular tool used by builders and repairmen, the broken bolt extractor is a tool used to remove fasteners with stripped edges or other extraction problems. It works successfully in the most difficult cases. The special construction of a drill and tail section provides convenience when removing broken bolts and screws.

However, the scope of this tool is somewhat wider than commonly believed. For example, he is good at working not only with steel hardware. Aluminum, hardened and even polymer options also lend themselves well to this effect. It is only important to take into account some of the subtleties of working with them.... For example, hardened bolts are always preheated by tempering. This makes it easier to drill.

With the help of extractors, the following types of work are performed.

1. Unscrewing stuck and broken bolts from the car engine block... If, when dismantling a part, low-quality hardware does not allow you to cope with the task, it is worth resorting to using a special tool.
2. Removing debris from the hub... In some car models, it is the bolts and nuts that are used to secure the wheels. When tightening, the cap breaks off not so rarely. By using the extractor on time, you can avoid replacing the entire hub.
3. Removing fasteners without caps from the cylinder head, valve cover. If you have a garage and are ready to do your own repair, extractors will be very useful.
4. Unscrewing hardware with a torn off head from a concrete monolith... If something went wrong during the work, deformation occurred, the fasteners fell apart, you will have to unscrew it from the hole manually.
5. Removing disposable (anti-vandal) screws. They are well known to motorists, since they are placed on the fastening part of the ignition lock. If this unit is to be replaced, it will simply not be possible to dismantle it in any other way.

To perform the extraction - to remove the stuck hardware from the threaded fastener, certain preparatory work is required. It is necessary to drill a hole in the bolt body corresponding to the diameter of the screw part of the auxiliary tool. The working element of the extractor is inserted into it and fixed inside. Removal is carried out using a knob or a hex wrench.

Depending on the type of handpiece, broken bolt extractors are designed for different types of work. Outer - the tail element is most often in the form of a hexagon or a cylinder... For damaged hardware of different types, you need to select your own options for tools.

Products of this type have the shape of a faceted cone in the area of ​​the working surface. In a broken or torn hardware, it is installed with preliminary preparation of the hole, simply by driving it into the thickness of the metal. When the desired level of the hitch is reached, unscrewing is carried out using a wrench. When working with wedge-shaped extractors, it is very important to correctly center the hole being formed, otherwise there is a great risk of simply breaking the tool. It will still not be possible to unscrew the damaged bolt when the axis of rotation is displaced.

Quite an easy-to-use type of tool. Its design includes a rod, hammering in and riving out the jammed bolt. Such extractors lend themselves well to rotation with a key after jamming in the hardware. The problem arises later: it can be difficult to remove a tool from a metal product after work. With rod extractors, the working section is noticeably shorter. Straight edges here are complemented by perpendicular slots. Outwardly, the tool looks like a tap, with which threading is performed on metal nuts and bushings.

The most effective solution that allows you to easily unscrew almost any bolt, regardless of the complexity of their breakage. These extractors have a tapered tip with a pre-applied left or right thread. Their distinctive feature is screwing in, not driving into the bolt when installing the joint. When working with the tool, not a wrench, but a hand crank is used. This should be taken into account: when buying kits, it is usually included in the kit. Otherwise, you have to purchase an additional device separately.

When choosing an extractor for unscrewing bolts, it is very important to know exactly how often the work is done. It is better for the DIYer to purchase separate tools, taking into account the most commonly used bolt diameter. For professionals who often face similar problems, a set for turning out broken hardware is suitable. Among the advantages of such a kit can be noted.

• Availability of extractors of different diameters or types... You can choose the most convenient option right now and not waste time.
• Availability of additional components... This includes wrenches and wrenches, drills for forming holes, bushings for centering and installing keys.
• Convenient storage case... Extractors will not be lost, you can use them if necessary. During storage, the set takes up little space, it is easy to transport.

When choosing the type of extractor design, you need to remember that the most convenient to use are spiral spiral tools... Pivotal ones are slightly inferior to them. Wedge - the cheapest, but difficult to use, difficult to dismantle the unscrewed element from the tip. If you do something wrong, there is a high risk that the tool will simply break.A wedge extractor is useless when access to the work surface is limited or shock loads cannot be applied to the surface.

If the broken bolt is in an area where it is impossible to drill, you have to use a rod extractor. They can be mounted directly in the chuck of a drill or screwdriver thanks to the hexagonal shape of the tail tip. In this case, instead of drilling, the extractor itself is screwed into the damaged hardware. Having fixed it in the metal, you can apply a reverse rotation and remove it together with the bolt.

Having decided on the type of product, it is worth choosing the right place to buy it. For example, it is better to look for kits in large construction hypermarkets. One-off items are also found in small stores. But in addition, you will have to buy a wrench and bushings, while in the set they will most likely already be included in the total cost. You should not choose an extractor on a Chinese website: here soft and brittle alloys are often used to make tools, the risk of product breakage right during operation is very high.

Using an extractor to unscrew a jammed bolt is not so difficult. It is enough to follow a certain order of work. To mark the metal surface in a damaged bolt, you need to prepare a center punch and a hammer. It is important to strictly observe the centering of the product, to pay attention to its correct positioning. Having put the mark, you can proceed to drilling, the diameter of the future hole must correspond to the size of the working part of the extractor.

If you have a set of tools, it will be easier to handle. If not, you can simply use a bushing to center the drill. It is necessary to work carefully, without significant deepening of the drill. Next, you can install the extractor by knocking it deeper with a mallet and hammer. Depending on the design of the product, a wrench or a special tap wrench will help to screw the tool deeper.

As soon as the stop is reached, you can proceed to the next step - unscrewing the broken bolt or stuck hairpin. For this, the tool is rotated in the direction of the axis. It is important to observe the specified alignment, if it is displaced, the extractor may break down. After the bolt is turned out, it is carefully removed, taking care not to damage the tool. From the screw extractor, the easiest way is to twist the bolt with pliers or a wrench. This is a basic, universal technique, but it may not work if the piece of hardware is located outside the box, in which case you should act individually.

The extractor itself should also be prepared for work. Before starting it, you need to align the grooves of the tap and the tool guides, move until the stop is reached. After that, the sleeve is displaced to the surface of the part. An adjustable wrench or knob is attached to the tail of the extractor. Upon completion of the extraction of the hardware from the tip, you need to remove its fragment - for this, use a vise and a knob, rotating the tool clockwise.

The most common difficulties are worth considering in more detail.

• Bolt broken below plane... With such an arrangement of the damaged hardware, a sleeve corresponding to the diameter of the hole is installed in a recess above it in the surface of the part or product. After that, drilling is performed to the desired depth, if necessary, you can start with a smaller diameter and gradually increase it. Then you can drive in or screw in the extractor.
• The fragment is above the plane of the part. The sequence of work will be the same - first, a suitable sleeve is installed, then punching or drilling is performed. The extractor is placed only in the prepared hole in the bolt body, with sufficient depth.
• Fracture on the plane... The work is carried out in 2 stages.First, the upper part of the broken hardware is removed, then all actions are repeated for the element remaining inside the hole. There is no need to rush. Accurate marking, preliminary punching, and the right choice of extractor for the job will help to remove the split bolt correctly.

There are a number of useful tricks to help you recover a broken bolt faster and more efficiently. These include heating a bolt or stud in a hole. Under the influence of the thermal expansion of the metal, things will go faster. If the screw thread is torn off, an ordinary hexagon can solve the problem - a wrench put on the part of the hardware protruding above the surface. It is helpful to apply lubricant to the bolt surface before using the extractor. A stuck, rusted bolt in the joint can be treated with acetone or another solvent to make it easier to come off the thread walls. If this does not help, the hardware remains motionless, you can slightly tap it, and then knock it down with a hammer. You need to apply force at several points - at least 4 places.

When using the tool it is important to correctly select it. For example, wedge-shaped extractors cannot be used on materials with increased fragility. Even a steel part can deform under impact. Rod options are universal, but rarely come across on sale. When working with spiral screw extractors, it is imperative to pre-drill a hole, if this is not possible, it is worth choosing a different type of tool from the very beginning to remove damaged bolts.

For information on how to properly use extractors to unscrew broken bolts, see the next video.