The head of a bolt holding the TT risers onto the base bar has sheared off and I’m left with headless bolt I’m unable to remove. There’s not quite enough peaking out to grab the top with a pair of pliers and I’m a bit stuck.
Any suggestions gratefully received!
Here is one example, but you can find these at most hardware stores.
I’ve managed to get thing like that out with needle nosed pliers, you could be lucky. I’ve also had the lbs have to drill out the centre of the bolt carefully.
A screw remover set like this one but there are many cheap sets on amazon that will probably work just as well (before you even order I’d begin with applying plenty of WD40 )
drilling out would be my go to.
center punch what is left of the bolt shaft, drill. (even better if you have a left twist bit).
Drill it out. Dont bother with an extractor set unless you have a quality($$$) one laying around. Start small. Dont be scared.
High speed and minimalist attitude toward presure. Drill straight. Be prepared to re-thread.
Thanks all - going to try an rope in a more skilled friend to help out with the drilling!
Fingers crossed.
Is the thread holding any tension? If it’s not you can usually get threads to back out with a sharp scribe, it sometimes helps to prick punch a small bit for the scribe to grab into. If it’s holding tension you’ll have to go the drill/easy-out method, but chances are any easy-out/screw extractor will cost more than the part.
Also if it is holding tension, can you use a clamp to pinch the part and relieve tension?
I’m a fitter/machinist by trade and have to deal with this sort of thing weekly. Its usually when inserts break on cutting tools and take half the screw with them.
I had this happen on the visor attachment on my Bell helmet.
I drilled the remains of the screw out successfully.
You need to start with a much smaller drill bit(than the diameter of the screw)
once you’ve got a pilot hole you use a slightly bigger bit.
Be super careful not to use too big bit ,as you’ll trash the threads.
Once you’ve drilled away a lot of the metal, you can pick out the remaining bits that are still in the threads by hand using a drill bit or a flat screwdriver the right size.
If it does’t work (maybe thescrew is rusted in, or you trash the threads, you should replace it.
This has worked for me if there is enough of the screw exposed. Hard to tell from your photo, but it is a quick and easy method if you have a Dremel tool
Looks like they could still cut the bolt in half with a saw to relieve any tension if there is any.
I did think that, but then they’ll probably have a harder time getting the bottom half out.
Did this break under normal use or did it break while trying to remove it?
If it broke under normal use then unlikely the bolt is seized and likely broke from over torquing, extractor would likely work.
If it broke while trying to remove it then it is likely seized and a small bolt like that into aluminum is going to be difficult to drill out or extract safely. You may not be able to get away with safely fitting a new bolt if you needed to oversize it and retap it since the walls would be getting thin. Replacing it is probably cheaper than buying anything to remove it.
I’ve used screw extractors as people have described above. Another way that has worked for me is to take a Dremel with a small cut off wheel and carve a slot into the bolt effectively turning it into a slotted screw. Then you can back it out with a screw driver
