Thanks again guys, what a terrific resource ! As many of you suspected, the propane routine was just not getting things hot enough. Finally got back to the project today, and the oxy/act combined with my old impact driver and a significant number of birthday candles did the trick. Got them all out. I have noted the Eastwood unit if I am in a similar situation again. Also noted the welding of a nut in case I need to do that in the future. Thanks !
the "shake-and-break" attachment for air hammers is fantastic. I've never had it fail me. I like using an air hammer with a trigger that can feather easily. Apply gentle hammering while moving the arm back and forth, favoring the losening direction. Then just increase the strength of the hammering until it comes loose. really super easy it does work best if the fastener isn't already boogered though. anytime I'm taking apart something real crusty, if a decent grunt on a screwdriver doesn't get it loose, I'll switch to the air hammer method before I make things worse.
Yeah, these have been around for a good while and used to be called an "Old Man". Another tip on smaller screws you fear camming out is to apply valve grinding compound to the interface and run the bit in a speed handle. You can lean on the back of the speed handle with your chest/belly and the compound really grips. For these bigger screws not so much. JMO D
If the head of the screw isn’t damaged too much a touch of valve grinding compound on it will greatly improve the force you can apply before it slips. It often works very well if you have something to work with. John
i like "areo-kroil" ... then try and break it loose by tightening it, if it strips the slot it doesn't strip it in the unscrew direction... saving it for trying something else...
One of the many tricks my gramps taught me was when trying to remove a bolt or screw, broken or not, was to heat the fastener dead center, and don't heat around it. Several hot-cold cycles works best- the fastener will swell up in the threaded hole, and pulverize the rust in the threads. If you can squeeze in some Kroil of PB etc in the cycles, even better
Jegs has the air tool accessory too. It was less shipping than Ewood when I bought mine. Works beyond belief. Order extra bits. They are known to fly and join the missing hardware from the last decade.
mean jean 427 has it... when you heat the screw red hot it bakes the carbon from the steel, when heated it expands and it gets bigger, then when it cools it shrinks... a couple rounds of hot/cold and it should back off..
The Jalopy Journal
