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Bolt removal tools - resources, tips, how-to videos
Gregger Man wrote: If they made a 3/8-16 threaded SDS adapter it would make life much easier. Getting from fine thread to coarse is the issue.  |
timothy fisher wrote: Very cool. I tried a few years ago to lop off and anneal a worn out drill bit in order to make a spinner that way. I couldn't cut threads because I had apparently only softened an outer layer of material and it sheared off instead. Since then I have made a small forge for a pocketknife, and I could revisit that method successfully. Not sure exactly how much to temper it after hardening, tho. Thoughts? Having a coarse threaded Doodad and spinner would be better. Making coarse threaded SDS adapters is definitely a bottleneck of its own. The adapters for core drilling are 5/8" coarse, but I have seen them fail while attempting to spin a bolt (the adapter itself twisted and deformed). As long as you get 1.5 x the diameter the strength should be appropriate even with fine threads, no? That hasn't been a failure mode for me yet, except for some of the early coupling nuts that were bored out to 1/2-20 using a tap. |
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That drill bit material is tough even after annealing the crap out of them. I have used the 3/8 threaded spinner a lot. This is probably not something I would do for someone else. It is hard work cutting those threads. |
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Maintenance: I had an aluminum shim between the bike stem and the cylinder part of the ball nut. I cranked hard on it and the shim folded and pushed inward on one of the three plastic dots you see on the outside of the cylinder. That caused a major problem- the three dots are plastic pieces inserted from the inside that provide a little bit of 'give' in the channel for the ball bearings. If you push them into misalignment with the spiral channel, the force of the rolling bearings can simply chew up the plastic piece and make the whole thing non-functional. eBay to the rescue: luckily, 16mm ball nuts and screws have pretty universal specs. I ordered a new ball nut for $17. It came with a plastic tube that holds the bearings in place until you screw it onto the ball screw. Easy fix and I'm back in business. Here are what the parts on the old one look like disassembled: the two plastic rings are held in place by set screws, the three dots are inserted from inside and stay in place because of wings on each side, then there are the ball bearings. Pretty simple, actually.  |
Gregger Man wrote:
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mattm wrote: Link not allowed. Search for 'SFU1605 Ballscrew Nut 16mm Ball Screw RM1605 Nut for 1605 Nut Housing US ' You will get many search results in the same price range. |
Gregger Man wrote: Found it. Thanks Greg. |
Two grinder slots and an R clip to make the sheath captive but easy to change. Square coupler nuts so they can’t spin within the square sheath. |
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Two lessons learned over time and curious about thoughts on increasing efficiency with #1 below: 1. Spinner tools by their nature routinely lock on to the stud. Mine are all shortened adaptors with a threaded insert. To losen the stud I have to slightly unscrew the chuck adaptor from the adaptor sleeve which then usually allows the spinner tool to be removed. Sometimes the threaded insert remains on the stud no matter how much loctite I use and I need to then use vice grips to remove it (really 2 vice grips- one on the stud, one on the sleeve) and then reassemble the spinner. Totally doable but just takes a lot of time and slows down an already tedious process. Any thoughts for speeding it up? Im thinking elimimating the inner sleeve and using a stop pin? Just have not seen any resources for building such a model. 2. I have started carrying a die and a small file for 3/8 wedge bolts. I found cleaning up the threads, especially if the top of the bolt is mushroomed, makes the whole process more prone to success. With a gnarly stud I clean the threads before trying to remove the nut which reduces the chances of spinner studs. The die handle is not worth bringing along as it often doesn't have room to work between the stud and hangar but after starting by hand (sometimes after filing the mushroomed threads a little) I use my large crescent wrench to turn the die which works great. If the threads are a mess I start with the wide side of the die but always finish by running it back down the stud narrow side first. |
Jesse Morehouse wrote: McMaster Carr makes reducing coupling nuts that can solve the problem of the insert not staying put. It looks like they are 1.25" long, so you might need to shorten one or both ends in order to get the length right (at a minimum for the 1/2-20 adapter side + short enough to not hit the rock face in use on the 3/8-16 side). Unfortunately LocTite doesn't bite stainless the way it does plated. I have rescued several spinners that had studs break off flush by sawing a line down the middle deep enough to get a flathead screwdriver to unscrew the broken off piece of bolt. In my process I'm spinning, removing just the adapter from the coupling nut while it's still on the bolt, screwing on the puller, then pulling. When the bolt comes out, it's time to move the coupling nut back to the adapter for spinning the next bolt, so getting the freshly removed bolt out of the coupling nut doesn't involve any extra disassembly steps. |
Gregger Man wrote: Great suggestion, thanks! Now I get the whole coarse threaded chuck discussion too |
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I've been working on a better design for the spacer tube that might be a little lighter & stronger and require less work to manufacture. McMaster Carr sells this hexagonal aluminum tubing, a steel cap that is designed to lock a nut but will serve to protect the ends, and a nylon lock nut that would replace the square nut and index the shaft to the spacer:
This is how I imagine assembling it- 1/16" washers would be required to shim the cap:  Any actual engineers out there with comments or suggestions? |
Finally a 1/2-20 to 3/8-16 reducer coupling nut!! Thanks to whoever found that! Anyone have an estimate of how much McMaster charges for shipping on small orders? I want to get just a couple of those coupling nuts, and they don't provide shipping costs up front... seems like they're geared for much larger quantity orders, and I just want to make sure I won't be charged $50 shipping for a $25 order. Anyone have experience with this? I don't mind paying for shipping, as long as it's reasonable. PS. Greg, you might want to update your original post on this thread to mention this product ^^^. Trying to find/make this coupling nut was one of the more frustrating aspects of building my rebolting kit early on. It was hard to find the threaded insert at a reasonable price. (looks like it's $25 a pop on amazon right now?) |
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Shipping for some coupler nuts was like 7 bucks iirc. And they showed up almost instantly. Nothing outrageous. We order from them a lot at work and I’ve never seen crazy shipping charges. |
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This hex tubing looks like it will be a nice upgrade. I'm not sure the steel cap is necessary (I doubt it will mushroom much). The Nylock nut takes enough force to screw it in place that it will stay put in use. If the cap is needed, shims can be avoided by twisting it prior to drilling for screws - the symmetry keeps it centered.   I'll update the first post with an improved shopping list sooner or later. Busy at the moment. |
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I found another option for the handle. Here's an off-the-shelf handle: Aluminum crescent wrench made for plumbing joints. Weighs 195 grams. Also available on Amazon for about $12.00
 Many potential re-bolting aficionados are reluctant to make their own puller devices because of the difficulty of machining custom parts. I've almost found the right shopping list to eliminate all the custom parts. Hacksawing the length of the spacer tube is a small, easy step that can't be avoided, tho. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000119162469.html https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-BESTZY-Aluminum-Bathroom-Disassembly/dp/B07PZY7S83/ |
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I think this will work. It's ridiculously light. I did a pullup on it with it clamped to a basement i-beam at this particular jaw opening, so it'll take 170 lbs. It could be tethered to the ball nut with some 3mm cord and a strip of packing tape around the clove hitch. Alternately, use a ~2.5" washer below it and drill thru one jaw for a rivet or small bolt. Bonus: package says it's a 'sanitary adjustable wrench', so there's that  |
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Any update on how aluminum holds up? My own experience with mild steel has me skeptical about an even softer material. |
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I'll get a chance to use it soon. It's large/thick enough that I doubt it will buckle or break. I thought an oversized fender washer would be available locally, but it might be a special order item. |
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Didn't need a puller tool today - all Triplex bolts. Two tips, tho:
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