Drilling out a bolt

Yup...

A carbide "screw machine drill"......(this a "stubby" drill bit ).....also, suggest use of an air powered drill motor to get your surface speed up, as electric drills generally will run at too slow of an rpm for effective use with the smaller diameter drill bits.

You might try a drill bit made of "carbide" or carbide tipped. jeff

Greetings,

I have had this same problem. In my case I drilled out a 1/2" hole immediately BESIDE the tapcon to get it out. I filled the hole with mortar which I was able to drill into to place another tapcon into the exact same position. Depending on why the tapcon is there a filled

Hope this helps, William

I'm trying to drill out some very old (but recently broken) Tapcon bolts from a brick wall. They are 3/16" diameter bolts, and I tried using a

Do I need a more powerful drill, or should I be using a different kind of bit? Any suggestions are appreciated.

BTW, these bolts are about 20' up the wall. They held the letters of an old sign, and the bolts broke when the letters were being removed for repair. We'd like to put the letters back up in the same place they were before, using 1/4" Tapcon bolts.

Thanks!

I should add that I already tried to use a screw extractor, but I wasn't able to drill into the broken bolt far enough to hammer the extractor in.

Brian Anders> I'm trying to drill out some very old (but recently broken) Tapcon bolts

The bolt and the bit are both harder than the brick. probably end up with a ragged hole even a 5/16th bolt wouldn't fit in. You're better off moving over 1 inch and starting with new holes. It will take less time, cause less frustration and is more likely to succeed.

If the bolts are sticking out a bit, try a vice grip and unscrew but it dosen't sound like you have that option.

Drilling isn't gonna work.

What the world needs is a hollow carbide-tipped drill that fits over Tapcons. Then you could just drill over the busted Tapcon, reaming out a little ring of the surrounding masonry, and then replace with epoxy anchors or fresh masonry fill. Kind of an anti-Tapcon drill.

Send me your plans and 500 dolllars and I will get this patented for you. If you act now, you will also receive two free books, Inventions that Changed the World, and How I made 2 Million Dollars in Real Estate with Only a Thousand Dollars Down.

Meirman

-- If emailing, please let me know whether or not you are posting the same letter. Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

you could search the archives of rec.crafts.metalworking

this is a recurring problem in their sandbox

My own experience is that KROIL brand fluid has incredible power to self-wick into the threads of stuck bolts. Give it time to wick in there.

I think I'll go with the consensus suggestion and simply drill new holes. Thanks!