Using a torch can be tricky if there's a finish involved that you want to
preserve. Here's an alternative that gets the same results at lower
temperatures:
Pack the offending area in dry ice for a while. Put a wrench on the
offending bolt and apply moderate force. Gently warm >>the area that the
bolt goes into<< with a propane torch (set very low), heat lamp or heat gun
(you don't need the heat of oxyacetylene this way). NOTE: if it's a nut
you're trying to remove, warm the wrench and the nut. You only apply
moderate force with the wrench, because major force will cause you to hurt
yourself when the offending bolt goes "POP" and comes free. This works
really well with steel bolts in aluminum, by the way.
Most ice-cream places (real ice-cream, not the soft-serve stuff) will sell
you a pound or so of dry ice.
Trevor's right, there's no beating high temperatures 99 and 44/100s percent
of the time, but this can be handy for that other 0.56 of a percent
Chris Kotting
ckotting@iwaynet.net
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 02:19:16 -0400
From: Trevor Boicey <tboicey@brit.ca>
Subject: Re: rusted bolts
William M. Gilroy wrote:
>
> Here in the states I use a product call "Liquid Wrench", it is also
> called "Penetrating Oil" (I think). In any case it works well on
> freeing rusted bolts.
I just found myself reacquainted with my own oxyacetylene
torch after a few years of absence... so this is fresh in
my memory.
NOTHING remove bolts like heat. Everything else is practically
a waste of time.
If you haven't used a torch before, beg borrow or steal one
and try it. After a proper heating and a cup of water to
cool them safely, most rusty bolts will more or less
fall out.
- --
Trevor Boicey, Ottawa, Canada.
tboicey@brit.ca, http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
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