Irwin Industrial Tools 11119 Metal Index Spiral Flute Screw Extractors with Left Hand Cobalt Drill Bits Set, 10-Piece

 (9 customer reviews)

This kit works very well. Extracting broken fasteners does take some patience and skill. Sometimes just using an automatic center punch will remove it by punching it close to the edge angling to unscrew it with every click. If you have to drill it, always use a reverse bit so if the bit catches, it will back out instead of tightening. Sometimes you can drill in about a quarter inch, then angle the drill slightly so it will grab the edge of the hole and the broken fastener will back out. Always center punch the broken bolt to be removed so if you end up having to completely drill it out and retap the hole, you end up with the repaired hole pretty much in the same spot. Once you drill it big enough and close to the threads, you can sometimes use a pick or knife to collapse the remaining bolt in and then pull it out with pliers. If it's severely rusted in, use a GOOD penetrant. If it's beyond severely rusted in, allow the penetrant to sit, even overnight helps. Heating up the...Read more

I bought this item after reading several chat room discussions about removing exhaust manifold studs that have broken off in the cylinder head. I'm not sure if it was the fact that the bits were left handed (have to run the drill in reverse) or that they were cobalt coated, or what it was, but, the bit worked great and the extractor backed the stud out with no problem. A couple of notes: 1. I heated the stud with a propane torch and immediately pressed an ordinary household candle to the stud. This causes the melted wax to be sucked into the threads and lubricate them. 2. I did not run the drill at full speed. Patience is a must. 3. I dipped the bit in motor oil for cooling several times during the drilling. This also allows the metal shavings to be pulled out of the hole you are drilling.

I bought this set to try and extract a rust frozen screw holding my brake rotors on. The idea was to drill in the same direction the screw would need to turn in order to loosen out. Unfortunately I ended up just drilling the screw out and retapping the hole. If you determine that your stubborn screws are really stuck I would suggest just drilling the screw out and retapping the hole. I've had bad luck with craftsman broken screw extracting sets and drill bit extractors. Drill bit extractors are made from harded steel and WILL break if torqued too much, even by hand. It is also impossible to drill out a screw with a broken extractor stuck in it without going to a machine shop = big bucks and time. All in all when it comes to stuck screws I would suggest using a left handed drill bits gradually working your sizes up to eventually drill out the screw hopefully "catching" it in the process and if that doesn't work you can just drill the whole damn thing out and retap it. So purchase a...Read more