Corded impact driver to shift seized screws

Not a lot of scope for 'error' , fit to fixing and hit with hammer ! , lots of scope for over expectation though !.....
 
ean_p said:
Not a lot of scope for 'error' , fit to fixing and hit with hammer ! , lots of scope for over expectation though !.....
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You should have a feel for when you're hitting something too hard and likely to damage it. If not you're a numpty, that's the only word for it. Actually, there are other words.
 
Ah - I see!

You have to know when you aint going to release it, no matter what, and then use heat/ drilling/ rethreading oversize.

All my use has been on max 12mm diameter screws or bolts, For bigger stuff different methods might be needed.

I have a permanently bent Proto 1/2 drive breaker bar. It got bent undoing a bolt through a silentbloc bush on a rally car tramp bar. A combination of cow slurry and road salt left for a time had siezed it solid. A metre of steel tube was put on the end of the Proto bar but all my strength would not shift it.

My much heavier partner in the business then held onto the roof and bounced on the steel tube. It burst a 5/8 AF socket! Good thing it was his :)

A power tool socket was put on wherupon we got the nut off. No way the bolt was coming out, but with the nut off it moved enough to allow a hacksaw blade into each side to cut through the bolt. Once off, the silentbloc was pressed out, complete with the siezed remains of the bolt.

Sometimes, as others have said, constant hammering over a period can be effective. That is when a pneumatic/electric impact tool might help.

Horses for courses I suppose:cool:
 
Before my thread degenerates into a fist fight and gets banned, may I say thank you to all who have offered advice.

I should have said at the outset that I had tried most of the techniques suggested, except for the hot water (worth a try), and drilling out the screws (a last resort) before I had a go at one screw with a hammer operated impact driver, and reached the conclusion that I would like to try an air powered impact driver.

But, not having access to one (my boatyard in France won't lend out its tools) I wondered if a 230vac powered one would do as well. They seem fairly cheap and, if I never used it again, I could sell it on eBay and get a good chunk of my money back.

Anyway, thanks again.

Seconds out!
 
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What I'd like to see recommended in here is an SDS+ air-powered breaker designed to shift corroded zip sliders on sailing kit bags. :cool:

Intrigued to note the 'carpenters brace' recommended, as one o' they surfaced among F-in-L's legacy tools the other day. I've been wondering if I'd ever find a use for it.... :)
 
zoidberg said:
What I'd like to see recommended in here is an SDS+ air-powered breaker designed to shift corroded zip sliders on sailing kit bags. :cool:

Intrigued to note the 'carpenters brace' recommended, as one o' they surfaced among F-in-L's legacy tools the other day. I've been wondering if I'd ever find a use for it.... :)
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Here's the screwdriver bit I bought for mine:

1637686313905.png

It is very good quality, unlike another unbranded one I bought that was brittle and broke first time I used it.

Here's a joice brace I have that is useful in confined spaces

1637686279357.png
 
My manual one that I whack with a lead mallet has never failed me in 40+ years. Sometimes it works without whacking it because the tips are hardened steel and the body of the driver provides a really good grip. The trick is to apply torque to the screw then whack repeatedly until it starts moving.
 
Dipper said:
My manual one that I whack with a lead mallet has never failed me in 40+ years. Sometimes it works without whacking it because the tips are hardened steel and the body of the driver provides a really good grip. The trick is to apply torque to the screw then whack repeatedly until it starts moving.
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Lead mallest are good as they don't bounce, also deadblow hammers.
 
Poignard said:
Before my thread degenerates into a fist fight and gets banned, may I say thank you to all who have offered advice.

I should have said at the outset that I had tried most of the techniques suggested, except for the hot water (worth a try), and drilling out the screws (a last resort) before I had a go at one screw with a hammer operated impact driver, and reached the conclusion that I would like to try an air powered impact driver.

But, not having acces to one (my boatyard in France won't lend out its tools) I wondered if a 230vac powered one would do as well. They seem fairly cheap and, if I never used it again, I could sell it on eBay and get a good chunk of my money back.

Anyway, thanks again.

Seconds out!
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I for one, and others no doubt, would be only too happy to be flown out to carry out further inspection in-situ. If you leave the wine list and the number of the local poissonnerie handy I'm confident the job should take no more than a week or two.
 
dankilb said:
Not to disagree with the lean towards manual impact, heat, leverage on a brace/screwdriver, drilling out etc…

But my (Worx 20v) brushless impact has 3 torque settings - plus the option to ‘jockey’ the power a bit with the trigger.

On the lowest setting, it wouldn’t shear the head off a starling (I chose a starling because they’re leaving the nastiest guano on our deck at present!)… But it does provide plenty of little impacts - if one believes in slow/steady percussion.

The better cordless ones aren’t ‘all or nothing’.
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My Makita one has all those adjustments but I still get on better with a manual one for screws. Just the way it is I guess…?

To the OP: a decent hot air gun can get things very hot. I high wattage soldering iron held on the screw gets the screw hotter than the surrounding metal initially.
 
john_morris_uk said:
My Makita one has all those adjustments but I still get on better with a manual one for screws. Just the way it is I guess…?

To the OP: a decent hot air gun can get things very hot. I high wattage soldering iron held on the screw gets the screw hotter than the surrounding metal initially.
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I needed a fair bit of practice with the trigger control but now I find it the best tool for seized screws.
 
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john_morris_uk said:
My Makita one has all those adjustments but I still get on better with a manual one for screws. Just the way it is I guess…?

To the OP: a decent hot air gun can get things very hot. I high wattage soldering iron held on the screw gets the screw hotter than the surrounding metal initially.
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Thank you for the suggestion but the problem with using heat is that there is a thin Tufnol backing pad (see post #1) interposed between the winch and the mast which would not stand much heating.
 
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