Broke bolt extractor - what to do?

GreyGhost said:
He was going to cut the shank in the compression slot. I don't know if that will leave any of the larger shank or if he will just be left with a threaded rod. I suspect he will just have threads as you wouldn't want the shank bottoming on the fork leg (although you could counterbore the fork leg, I suspect they threaded it all for more meat).
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If he cuts that bolt through the slot, won't that leave at best damaged threads or worst a burr that won't easily go through the threaded bottom hole if he wants to "push" it through? And possibly also block it from being pulled up the non-threaded hole?
 
Relax said:
If he cuts that bolt through the slot, won't that leave at best damaged threads or worst a burr that won't easily go through the threaded bottom hole if he wants to "push" it through? And possibly also block it from being pulled up the non-threaded hole?
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Assuming he's careful, there shouldn't be much thread damage. Ideally he'd chase with a steel nut after cutting but that's obviously not possible. Without the extractor in there, I'd put drilling the head off way in front of the saw. With the broken extractor in there, it may take a but of work (and drill bits) to pop the head from the top.
 
Relax said:
I'm thinking a profesional quality one a machine shop would use, as opposed to something from Princess Auto or Amazon. Won't be cheap.
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The pro shops I know weld on a nut or use a carbide cutter in a mill.

Now, if a size came up often, making a case hardened extractor from tool steel might be the ticket. Not worth it for a one off though as it would take longer to make the tool than complete the job using other methods.
 
GreyGhost said:
The pro shops I know weld on a nut or use a carbide cutter in a mill.

Now, if a size came up often, making a case hardened extractor from tool steel might be the ticket. Not worth it for a one off though as it would take longer to make the tool than complete the job using other methods.
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I guess I just assumed someone must make them for popular standard sizes. There's definitely a market.
 
Another thing I'd do before trying to unscrew that bolt counterclockwise from above using whatever method is to check the end of the exposed bolt for corrosion and brush it all off. That could be what's holding it in there in addition to the tension.
 
Relax said:
Another thing I'd do before trying to unscrew that bolt counterclockwise from above using whatever method is to check the end of the exposed bolt for corrosion and brush it all off. That could be what's holding it in there in addition to the tension.
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There's no corrosion visible from the bottom, but you can really only see the bottom of the fastener, which is slightly recessed.

As to your earlier question - the extractor is still stuck in the top. I did consider the possibility that I could making things harder. Barring damaging my fork leg, if a shop would need me to remove the fork leg and then either drill it out on a mill or weld a nut, they could do that pretty much no matter what I do to the fastener. It will just cost more.

It does seem like I keep hitting obstacles, but I am also inexperienced at this game, so a certain amount of that is expected. . I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude and view each obstacle or outright failure as a learning opportunity - doesn't matter if you fall down, what matters is whether you get up, blah blah blah. I've given my kids that lecture more than a few times, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and if I want to do this stuff myself, I need to learn.

If I feel like I can't drill out the bottom with the front raised on the Skylift, or if that fails, then I will probably (have to) bring it in. Unless I can make friends with a good welder. I always tell my wife I should have married a massage therapist or chiropractor. Maybe I should have married a welder.
 
Without reading the complete thread, have you tried jamming a torx head socket into the bolt?
 
NuggyBuggy said:
There's no corrosion visible from the bottom, but you can really only see the bottom of the fastener, which is slightly recessed.

As to your earlier question - the extractor is still stuck in the top. I did consider the possibility that I could making things harder. Barring damaging my fork leg, if a shop would need me to remove the fork leg and then either drill it out on a mill or weld a nut, they could do that pretty much no matter what I do to the fastener. It will just cost more.

It does seem like I keep hitting obstacles, but I am also inexperienced at this game, so a certain amount of that is expected. . I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude and view each obstacle or outright failure as a learning opportunity - doesn't matter if you fall down, what matters is whether you get up, blah blah blah. I've given my kids that lecture more than a few times, so I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and if I want to do this stuff myself, I need to learn.

If I feel like I can't drill out the bottom with the front raised on the Skylift, or if that fails, then I will probably (have to) bring it in. Unless I can make friends with a good welder. I always tell my wife I should have married a massage therapist or chiropractor. Maybe I should have married a welder.
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Seems like you're making this harder than it needs to be. You have these in the back row of your rotary tool bit set. Use them to grind out the extractor without making the socket head any worse:

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Then use something like this to turn it out:

1753622692342.png
 
At this point there's been more time spent talking than doing - this thread is getting longer than one of those bikini-tinfoil-cola-marshmallow-hotub videos on Facebook.

This isn't a moon launch - get at her! If you're stumped or afraid to perform the procedures, I'm sure someone here will help you. (I would except I'm a days drive from the GTA most of the summer).
 
Mad Mike said:
At this point there's been more time spent talking than doing - this thread is getting longer than one of those bikini-tinfoil-cola-marshmallow-hotub videos on Facebook.

This isn't a moon launch - get at her! If you're stumped or afraid to perform the procedures, I'm sure someone here will help you. (I would except I'm a days drive from the GTA most of the summer).
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I'm guessing you have your bike and a garage at home. If so, consider yourself lucky in that regards.

I have my bike 2-h away from my home and am only there on the weekends. Right now I have no good way of getting to the spot I need to get to. I have no garage, so setting up to work each time is an event that requires clearing space on my driveway, and hoping it doesn't rain. Any work needs to be done by the end of the day or weekend if I am lucky. And as is obvious - I don't have the tools or expertise that many here have.

My working time is pretty limited and I have to be deliberate. I don't have the luxury of puttering around in my garage when I have an hour or two, and finding everything setup the way I left it. Things were definitely better when I had a garage.

Thank you for the offer to help @Mad Mike. There's a good chance this won't be done by the end of the summer - in which case I'll come and see you! As it is, I am getting ready to put everything away for the weekend, so there will definitely be no progress made until - maybe - next weekend.
 
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