On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 14:40:54 -0700, Nonnymus wrote:

Noozer wrote:
"mm" wrote in message
...
First, Steve asks good questoins.

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 09:49:51 GMT, "Noozer" wrote:

I've got a broken bolt in my cars engine block. I'm trying to locate a
source for left handed (counterclockwise) drill bits in Calgary, AB,
Canada.
In most places they just look at me funny until I explain why I need it.
Some places have heard of it, but don't have any.

If I was in the U.S. I could buy a whole set for about $8... To order from
Please, let me know where. I'm serious, and I would appreciate it.

Amazon.com...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=...%2Ci%3At ools



I've used "Easy Outs" my entire life to get out broken studs
and snapped off bolts. I guess I have learned something
new, but don't really understand the "why." When I've used
the Easy Out (extractors), they were always tapered and had
left hand threads. I just drilled an appropriately sized
hole in the bolt or stud, inserted the Easy Out into the
hole and began "tightening" it until the bolt came out.
What would be the reason or advantage of drilling the hole
with a left hand bit? Could the reason be that using a
right handed bit on a LOOSE-but-broken-off stud or bolt
would move it further into the hole as you drilled? I've
never had one that was loose, so I never worried about it.
In all my cases, the blasted things were frozen solid in the
hole. Is that the reason for the LH drill bits?

I've only had need for left-handed bits when I was dissassembling
Black and Decker appliances (I ended up with a boatload of broken
ones) and there there were small screws, not rusted at all.

With right handed bits, I would start small and keep using bigger ones
until I drilled out allmost the whole shank, the head fell off the
shank, and the shank was close to falling out the other end. My cheap
set of screw extracters didn't have one small enough to go into even
the biggest of these little holes, and I don't think a good set comes
with one much smaller.

With left handed bits it took much less time. I only had to drill once
(which worked out fine since I only had one or maybe two drills
smaller than the screw I was working on, and often when I was only 1/3
of the way in, the screw would come out. FTM, there wasn't enough for
a screw extractor to bite on at that point.

I have no idea how it would work on big ones for an engine, but he
asked the question, so I did my best to answer.


I can't emphasize enough that I think it is important to warm the
engine to operating temperature or at least somewhat, regardless of
what method is used.

Maybe when it is hot, and hotter still from the spinning bit, that
would break down the rust and it would come out. I don't really know
the nature of rusted in bolts. Is the rust weaker than solid steel, or
does it literally bind the bolt to the hole? It seems like the rust
might break down when hot.

Nonnymus