"Rasputin" wrote in message
...
I've got a baby high chair which has had one of the heads
of a supporting Allen Bolt shear off.

So I've got a bolt stuck in the chair. I'd like to get it out
myself, otherwise we're looking at 2 weeks without the chair
while the manufacturers decide if they want to replace it....

My guess is I need to somehow get a slot etched into the top so
I can get it out with a flathead. But how can I do that since its
flush with the wood?

I hear EZouts are a bad idea, since they're prone to snap off...

Mmm, Rasputin - you should have known this would happen........... :-)

Depends how it sheared off: when tightening, when trying to loosen it, or it
just plain fell off!

Your slot idea sounds good - isn't that the sort of thing those Dremel chaps
are good at doing?

If it sheared off when loosening, then unless the bolt was faulty, the stub
will be tight. One way to do it is centre punch the stub and drill it out
progressively - eventually you will break into the thread and it should come
out no bother - slight risk of knackering the thread though. I would have
though Easyouts would be fine on a baby's chair - it's when you use them on
heavy duty & corrosion riddled stuff like car bits that they can break. You
don't say what diameter the bolt is - it's obviously tricker drilling out
smaller diameter bolts. If possible, try drilling out from behind, that way
the stub may well come out of it's own accord.

If it was when tightening, or it just fell off, then the stub may not be
that tight so either use a sharp punch to gently tap it round or try try
drilling a small hole in the centre and jamming a piece of rod or similar in
the hole and extracting with a pair of mole grips - (I assume you don't have
Easyouts). Or if you can try drilling from behind..........

With either method, a bit of WD40 or the like in advance wouldn't go
amiss......

And if the bolt happened to be stainless steel, perhaps you should forget
the drilling out idea.......

A word of warning though - if you have a go yourself, you can probably kiss
goodbye to any warranty............

--
Alan Shilling
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