Any ideas how to remove a stripped Allen bolt?

[spear]

As usual I'm too late but somebody might get help out of this.

tig weld the hole of a flat washer to the bolt head then weld a nut to the bolt, I have even done this when a head is broken off of the bolt. The heating & cooling also loosens the bolt.

 

TC:080402gudl_prv:

 

I have done it with stick rod also

AND DON'T FORGET TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY BEFORE YOU START WELDING - OR PfffffffffT GOES YOUR BATTERY (AND ALL YOUR ELECTRONICS!!!)

[spear]

Whenever drilling a damaged fastener, always use a left hand drill bit.

Some times the bit will catch and spin the remains of the fastener out.

I have seen a right hand drill bit catch just as you are getting through the head and run the remains of the screw farther into the hole, making it even more difficult to get out.

Now - that's something I've always wondered about, left-hand drill bits.

From your comments I gather they do exist. Haven't seen such an animal down-under.

Makes sense though, seeing most drills have forward and reverse.

Would love to find a set.

[RedRider]

Rick Butler (a member here) makes and sells a set of bag bolts with knobs on them. Relatively inexpensive and eliminates this problem permanantly. Look in the Classifieds under 2nd Gen Parts and Acces. Definately worth the money.

 

RR

[raceman62race]

Now - that's something I've always wondered about, left-hand drill bits.

From your comments I gather they do exist. Haven't seen such an animal down-under.

Makes sense though, seeing most drills have forward and reverse.

Would love to find a set.

 

If a tool exists, this place will have it. Just go to this site and search for left hand drill bits. They have a catalog you might get them to send and I'm not kidding.....if it is a tool, they will have it

http://www1.mscdirect.com/industrial-equipment.html

[maindog]

drill it out extractors. great tool to have in the box.

 

I have used this many times and they work pretty good, Also I take a center punch and a small ball peen hammer and tap on the center of the stuck screw around 50 times before i even try any type of tool to extract a stripped or broken off / rounded off screw or bolt.

 

wish you luck on yours its never fun.

[donphantasmo]

Not pushing their products or anything.

I work on airplanes for the Navy. We strip screws and bolts ALL THE TIME. I found that these little "grabit" extractors are probably the best out there.

They're fairly cheap, and they sure work. They work on our airplanes, work on my boat. I don't see why they wouldn't work on a bike.

 

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=299780-41877-8430P&lpage=none

 

And here is a link to all the extractors.

 

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=299780-41877-8430P&lpage=none

 

I can assure you HomeDepot has them, too. I'm sure Sears, Harbour freight, etc.... They work wonderfully.

 

Let me know if you need anything else..

[Al Bates]

That happen to me, A good pair of Vice-grips will do the trick

[Uturn]

After having the same problem, First I tried vice grips, No work. Then next, the dremel but the slot just buggarded up because the I guess the bolt metal was soft and/or the threads were really tight. Then I drilled it and tried the easy-out...whoops the danged easy-out broke off in the hole. Ever try to drill into case hardened metal? I finally resorted to chiselling it out.

 

The next time it happened, I bought a set of Snap-On left-hand drill bits. It was easy using this method because as you drill, you're going the opposite of the threads and when the bit bites, the bolt backs out.

 

Now for your saddlebags, see Rick Butler for a set of the bagbolts. He is in the classified on the site. For reviews of his product, search on "Butler" or saddlebag.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

MIKE aka Uturn

 

[geresti]

Get the quick release bolts that 2 members sell on this site. You will never regret it and NEVER have that problem again. I can take off my bag in less than a minute. The cost of the bolts is worth the time you are taking.

[Kirby]

Get the quick release bolts that 2 members sell on this site. You will never regret it and NEVER have that problem again. I can take off my bag in less than a minute. The cost of the bolts is worth the time you are taking.

 

 

I have to agree with all that's been said above. Having worked in a maintenance environment for the better of 40 years, I found these a few years ago that work really well for removing broken socket head cap screws as well as allen head srews.

http://metalworking.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=4759264

 

They worked so well that over time I started making my own from broken apex drivers. The principle is that they are tapered so they will tighten up if driven deeper into the striped head. Then you use a socket or sometimes even a cresent wrench to remove the screw.

[RAYinCT]

I'm glad a read this, I tried to take the bags off today to I can change my mufflers but I couldnt get the bolt loose. I read some great tips in here, hopefully I wont strip the head. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a nightmare!! lol

[ronhenry4]

I bought a screw extractor from sears for 20 bucks best thing i ever used