I have several 1/2" carriage bolts that I can not tighten because the head of the bolts rotates. Is there a trick to removing these bolts? I suspect I could cut slots in the head of the bolt or in the body of the screw or cut the nut off. Any other ideas? Once I get them out, what is the best way to fix the problem?
Ya' named the choices other than if you can manage to get enough of a hold w/ pair of vice grips on the head.
As for fixing the problem, that depends on the application.
Does the bolt stem stick out past the nut? You might be able to keep the bolt from turning with a pair of vice grips on the stem if so. I wonder if there would be some sort of soft (brass) washer that could help fill the hole where the bolt head fits. That might keep a new one from turning.
There's also 'weld a hex nut to the head' - if he has that skill and tool.
Jim
Didn't think of that. Unfortunately welding is not part of my skill set. I wonder if I could achieve the same effect with expoxy.
These bolts hold the supports for my dock together.
Take an angle grinder and grind off the nut. Have a pitcher of water handy because the wood will smoke and could catch on fire, but just douse it with water when the nut is off. Of course, you'll have to replace the bolt and nut with a new one later, but a standard hex head bolt with a large washer on both sides works well.
I dont think epoxy is strong enough, but JB Weld might work. I have also drilled a hole in the head and driven in a nail on an angle thru the head into the wood. But that depends on how rusted the nut is to the bolt. They also sell nut splitters, I never had much luck with them but I may have had a cheap one.
Grinding is normally the quickest and easiest.
Plus one on that. Lose the carriage bolts in this application.
Grind it now or spend a 1/2 day trying everything else, and grind it this afternoon.
Jim
You said two very different things:
"I have several 1/2" carriage bolts that I can not tighten"
and
"Is there a trick to removing these bolts?"
What are you trying to do? Tighten them or loosen them?
Sometimes a air impact gun will get them as it "hammers" the nut a bit. If you are putting these in wood make sure you don't drill the hole bigger than the bolt. You want square part to be forced into the hole. Metal backets for docks usually have square holes so that carrage bolts work with them. If you have a round hole in metal then you want to use hex head.
On removal, try an air impact. Hold with a pair of vise grips, weld a piece off rebar to the top, or slide a screwdriver under it so the turning of the bolt wedges the screwdriver tighter. If they are corroded, a SawZall or grinder may be the only way. Reinstall them with an air impact. It will tighten them a fraction of a turn at a time, and possibly get what you want. Use lock washers.
Steve
On 5/4/2011 3:32 AM, snipped-for-privacy@myplace.com wrote: ...
...
That's an idea I hadn't ever thought of (the nail in a hole, that is)...
I've used the nut splitter successfully, but only on larger than 3/8" w/ any ease.
For the fix, certainly the machine bolt/washer works; for the appearances sake on occasion I've used washer w/ square hold and stayed w/ the carriage bolt. If necessary, one can use the nail-in-a-hole thru the washer for turning resistance. Generally in that case I'll also plug the original hole w/ a harder wood insert for the new bolt shoulders to have something to bite into.
Was sorta' figuring the deck or similar would be application; since most is either treated or cedar or other very soft woods, the holes don't tend to last long before do get rounded over. A piece of fir or some handy hardwood can work for the purpose w/o too much effort.
But, the 'cheap 'n cheery' way is to simply go to the machine bolt, agreed.
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Thanks for the suggestions. Some of the ideas, I never would hane thought of.
Since some of the nuts are recessed into the wood, I will need to try several of these ideas. If I can remove the nut, I can use a hex bolt or counter bore the hole to get to fresh wood. Since these are galvanized carriage bolt, most are not rusted.
They make some very nice bolts with round heads like carriage bolts, and a hex or Allen or star depression on top.
Steve
Heart surgery pending?
@Steve:
If it doesn't have a plain rounded head with a square collar/neck below it, it is no longer a carriage bolt -- it becomes a very large "machine screw" at that point once you can use some sort of tool on the head of the fastener...
~~ Evan
@OP:
Dude, it sounds like the wood on your dock supports is starting to get mushy and rotten around the carriage bolts...
If this is a dock you take apart every year to store, you could salvage what you have by installing some kind of metal guide tube for the bolts into the wood with epoxy to prevent further rot...
You could epoxy the bolts in place but depending on how your dock is put together that might make taking it apart impossible...
The best way to remove stuck nuts off bolts you can replace is to use an oxy-acetylene torch and burn them off if you have one and know how to use it properly...
~~ Evan
Torque washers, presumably.
g
I use them all the time in pt lumber. You just need to make sure the hole is just the right size so the square part under the head is forced into the wood.
But I think they are orginally designed to be used in metal stuff with a square hole so that the carriage bolt is held properly. My guess is they originally had a specific application on horse drawn carriages.
On 5/5/2011 8:16 AM, jamesgangnc wrote: ...
Ding, ding, ding...we have a winner!!! :)
Of course, they were carried over in a lot of early horseless carriages, farm equipment and other applications, too. They smooth, clean head is of great value in some applications as well as simply the appearance.
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They work good in wood _for the first use_, i.e., tightening. The problem arises when one wants to remove them.
One of the common places they were/are found is in the bed of carts, wagons, etc to give a smooth floor so stuff slides out and a shovel doesn't catch on the bolt head.
Harry K
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