Screw extractor brands

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Dave Taylor
What is your favorite screw extractor, or a set that has worked well for you?
Not necessarily for an aviation purpose.

The ones with 4 sharp edges are nice because you can tap them into the hole and get a good purchase on the metal. But the edges don't last as long as the spiral type.

What is the best material for them to be constructed of?

Bonus points for Made in USA.

Did one yesterday...I believe it is one of the most satisfying 'saves'.
 
I have pretty good luck with the GRABBIT.
 
like this one?

grabit

I wonder why they narrowed the neck between the tip and the shaft...seems like a weak point. Nice 'grabby' tip however.
 
It really depends upon the job. I've never had much success with small screw extractors, I have the Snapon screw extractor set that I use when I can.

Small screws that you can remove the head try this, remove the head, remove the component, then heat the screw with a hot air gun, and clamp on the stud a frozen vice grips, they usually back right out. a little drop of oil of winter green helps too.
 
I have the craftsman set. My uses however are few and far between and for minor home jobs.
 
I used to have to remove Hawker leading edges on a regular basis and always had twenty to thirty screws that I couldn't get out. A left-handed drill bit got
three quarters of them out just by drilling and the rest with a easy-out.
Dave
 
d.grimm said:
I used to have to remove Hawker leading edges on a regular basis and always had twenty to thirty screws that I couldn't get out. A left-handed drill bit got
three quarters of them out just by drilling and the rest with a easy-out.
Dave
Click to expand...

My grandfather used to do something similar in his shop. I don't know the brands (I was just a kid) but he could get pieces out of old continental (Kaiser/Frazer cars) engines reliably.


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Pb blaster, a hammer and a dremel. If its a bolt, pb blaster then heat, then frozen vice grips.
 
Not getting any hits on "Lead Blaster"
??
Also, what are you doing with the dremel tool?
 
PB Blaster (not lead blaster) beats the pants off WD40. Just have to be patient and let it soak for a while.

I've had good success with the Kobalt screw extractor set I got from Lowes.
 
I have used a dremel to make a phillips a slot, much more torque possible (but the heads will twist off occasionally) - is that what you are doing with it?
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I have used a dremel to make a phillips a slot, much more torque possible (but the heads will twist off occasionally) - is that what you are doing with it?
Click to expand...


Yup! Cut a slot, put the screwdriver in there, give the handle a few taps with a hammer and then unscrew.
 
dell30rb said:
Yup! Cut a slot, put the screwdriver in there, give the handle a few taps with a hammer and then unscrew.
Click to expand...


Works good on button heads, but as one whose had a plane come in for an annual with nice slots cut around countersunk screws...

Let's just say it's good they were only inspection panels!
 
I spent 12 years as a shop foreman in a machine shop that remanufactured all the compressors and control valves and actuators for air brake systems, and a number of hydraulic components. Many thousands of components annually, and since many of them were aluminum or zinc, there was always corrosion and steel bolts were seized and the heads would break off.

We tried all the different extractors. The Proto or Gray square types with fluted edges worked the best. The spiral extractors would screw themselves farther into the hole and spread the fastener and jam it tighter. The guys would try heat, and with zinc parts it was easy to melt something, never mind take the hardness out of the extractor.

Eventually we settled on the good old welding technique. If the thing was broken off with a bit sticking up, we'd just Mig a nut to it (welding to the inside of an oversized nut). Let it stand for a half-minute so the heat softens the corrosion, then back it out. If it was stubborn, work it back and forth and it would allow ever-increasing movement and eventually come out.

Sometimes we'd just weld a length of steel bar to the stub and pull it out, especially if we had a pile of them to do. Once the bar was all prickly with removed stubs we'd chop the end off and go at it some more.

When bolts were broken off below the surface, we'd make short Mig bursts and build up the stub above the surface so we could weld the nut or bar to it.

We'd lose a few, but very few. Beats losing them all. Cast iron and steel parts were sometimes a bit harder to get stubs out of, since the part expands at the same rate as the fastener, but they'd also tolerate a lot more heat and one could get a little meaner with them.

Dan
 
I can avoid the need for the screw extractor by using a speed handle, Apex screw driver bit, and valve grinding compound on the tip. If the screw is tight and doesn't want to move or your afraid it might strip the slot, then try turning the screw inward first to break it loose then turn it out.

I would do anything before I use the extractor. When I'm on the road I always carry my compound and never an extractor. Try it, it really works. I've taken out too many screws in my time.

Kevin
 
Tom-D;805430\ \ and clamp on the stud a frozen vice grips said:
Do you mean "frozen" as in the freezer?
I have never heard this before but it is great info to have.
Click to expand...
 
I can avoid the need for the screw extractor by using a speed handle,........
Click to expand...

haha, that all presumes you are the first person on the scene of the wreck!
 
kmead said:
I can avoid the need for the screw extractor by using a speed handle, Apex screw driver bit, and valve grinding compound on the tip. If the screw is tight and doesn't want to move or your afraid it might strip the slot, then try turning the screw inward first to break it loose then turn it out.

I would do anything before I use the extractor. When I'm on the road I always carry my compound and never an extractor. Try it, it really works. I've taken out too many screws in my time.

Kevin
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use one on aircraft sheet metal, but a hand impact driver works well when you have a solid mass behind it. The trick is to minimize the rotation so most of the impact goes to beating the screw loose and not stripping out the head.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-impact-driver/p-00947641000P
 
Yes, valve grinding compound works wonders. However many times it just won't cut it.
 
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