How well do the el cheapo hammer drills with chisel bits do at cutting off nuts and bolts? I've got some in very inaccessible places where I can't get any tool but an air chisel of an electric hammer drill with chisel. Not confident my air compressor will carry the air chisel. Bolts I need to cut are 3/8".
They won't at all. Hammer drills have rotary and rotary/hammer modes, they do not have a hammer only mode for use with chisels. A rotary hammer will have a hammer only mode and cost a lot more. Try a good chisel and a normal human powered hammer if your compressor isn't up to powering an air chisel.
Pete C.
I would think that if you can get a hammer drill into this space you could get a sawzall blade into there to cut your bolts off. You can buy them cheap also.
Chisels are not the way to go. Use a pneumatic cutoff tool, a grinder or a sawzall with a good blade. Watch for hot metal bits on you and on anything that might catch fire. If it's wood framing wet down the area with a spray bottle.
R
a dremel tool with cut off wheels cuts through even hardened steel nuts and bolts, though can be a very dangerous tool capable of causing bodily injury or even death
Not a chance for bolt cutters?
-- Oren
"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."
I don't see a smiley face, so I gotta assume you're serious. What is the body count on Dremel injuries??
A sharp chisel in a "hammer only" tool.....(I have a Hilti tool that can drill & hammer OR hammer only)
MIGHT do the job
IF the nut / bolt is old/rusted....if it's a new installation & you've got a low strength bolt it could just wind up "mushing over".
How burly is your is your air tool? Is the bolt backed up by something stiff like concrete or is it backed up by wood?
The success of the chisel appproach will be dictated by how stiff the backing is, how britttle the bolt is & how burly your chisel tool is.
I used to break off A193B7 rods (alloy steel heat treated ) embedded in concrete by "nicking" with a 4" grinder & then hammering back & forth (a very few blows) until they broke
I'd be prepared to Sawzall, Dremel or die grind as back up methods
cheers Bob
serious comes from working with a dremel tool in person
don't know the body count and chances are the dremel company would not share its information regarding litigation it has been in regarding injuries under strict liability in tort, which most large companies like dremel have undoubtedly had
Get an electric hand-held grinder, cut thru it in 30 seconds easily.
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