Screw extractors that actually work

[francovendee]

mmmppphhh - come on, we should be recommending the best possible

I once sent my wife a picture of the Amazon Chinese 5 screw extractor set I had bought (for about £7.99)
She replied with a photo similar to this though her kit is colour coded and about 4 times the size!

oh and in the thousands for the kit!

I'm guessing that she's a surgeon, orthopaedic maybe.

 

[Bod]

Anyone remember the old Triumph 1850 Dolomite with those wonderful inclined studs that had to be removed in order to get the cylinder head off, yes they did put slots in the end and the good old haynes manual showed them just being unscrewed but for most this was not reality?

Another good tool for removing studs that have enough shank left is the socket with rollers where it grips the stud tighter as you apply more force, you need one for each size of stud and so can be expensive for decent ones.

Yup!
I had a Snap-on screwdriver with a twist in the shank, from trying to remove on of those studs, from a stag engine.

Bod.

 

[julianf]

I thought I'd try a stud extractor the other day. I've never had much success with them in the past.

It was on a broken bolt on a turbo.

I set up a, kind of, jig thing so I got a small pilot right down the center of the broken bolt. I enlarged it and screwed in the stud extractor.

It promptly snapped


I then spent the next hour and a half drilling various angled holes around the snapped extractor, damaging the cast turbo as I went, until I finally got the snapped extractor out.

I then used the remainder of my original pilot hole to drill the rest of the bolt out, and then a tap to clean what remained of the original thread.


I cursed myself for ever thinking it was wise to try the extractor.

 

[HamsterJam]

I bought some cheap Erbauer screw extractors on a whim some while back (IIRC I needed to spend a few extra quid to use a voucher so they were effectively free).
We recently moved house and I needed to remove some tamper proof screws holding a sign I wanted to bring with me.
I tried using the screw extractors directly and that failed so drilled a small pilot and tried again, this time with 100% success.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-screw-extractor-set-4-pieces/9811v

 

[akirk]

I'm guessing that she's a surgeon, orthopaedic maybe.

Yes - hands mainly - 20 years of training in using a drill, she is far better at DIY than I am.

 

[Torx]

These are the best I’ve used, no idea where I got them. Never managed to break one and being able to turn in both directions is a big advantage

 

[Inspector]

Torx my buddy worked for the airlines and he has a set of similar extractors. His came with the drill bits and the special nut slides down the "spline" until it touches the fastener or surrounding metal. If it doesn't work you're down to carefully drilling out the fastener until you can pick out the threads with a dental pick.

Pete

 

[Tom P]

The screw extractor shown in the photo Torx sent in are made by Rigid tool co They are not cheap like all Rigid stuff but they are the best and they work.You have to use the correct size drill for the pilot hole and then hammer the hardened spline into the pilot a hex nut slides over the spline and you then use a spanner to remove the broken stud. I've used mine several times and it never fails.
The problem with cone shaped extractots being they expand the stud into the sides of the threaded hole causing it to bind even more.
Tom P

 

[Bingy man]

The main point of all types of screw/ bolt extractor is you use what’s appropriate for the fixing you are trying to remove. A screw or bolt broken off in wood is completely different to a stud broken off in a engine which is subject to very high temperatures. Also different metals - ie aluminium in steel or brass in steel etc will most likely need a completely different approach and specific tools to remove them . Like most things I use what works for me and if that fails then it’s on to plan b , c until it’s resolved. I worked on a ch boiler a few years back that was condemned as the 1st engineer could not undo the 10 or so m6 round headed screws - now I’m not one for giving up on a problem but they were tight as !!!!! but 1/2 a can of release oil and a blow torch and the socket type stud remover and a lot of silent cursing and 1 by 1 they came out .

 

[John Hall]

A lot depends on what you have available. If it’s broken just above the surface welding a nut on usually works as the applied heat helps free any rust.
Presto / Dormer left hand thread extractors work quite well.
I also have the tapered square shank extractors that are knocked in with a hammer, which also helps to free the bolt. It’s important to spend a little preparation time, applying heat, soaking with penetrating fluid, tapping with a punch etc to help free any over tightened bolts.
After drilling a hole in a stud, bolt etc to accept an extractor, it’s a good idea to run a blunt drill bit at high speed in the hole to generate heat.