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Don't Lose Your Head!
Do stuck fasteners make you come unglued? Here’s help. Squirrel away these simple tricks in your memory ’til the day you need them. They’ll ease your troubles, save time and maybe keep a few colorful expressions out of your toddler’s vocabulary.
Heat to the Rescue
Click image to enlarge.
Heat, oil and tapping will unstick most nuts and bolts in metal. Apply only enough heat to cause expansion in the entire bolt—about a minute or so for the average-size bolt. When the bolt is cool enough to touch, squirt penetrating oil (it comes
in a spray can or squirt bottle) on and around it—and the nut if it’s accessible. Be careful, that stuff is flammable. Tap the end of the bolt a half-dozen times with a hammer to help loosen the threads and allow the oil to penetrate. Wait another minute or so for the oil to work, and then use your wrench.
Get a Grip
When a bolt head has become so rounded that a wrench won’t get a bite, use a locking pliers. Get a tight grip: You may have only two or three chances before the head gets so rounded that even this won’t work. Use penetrating oil, heat and tapping if it slips after your first try.
Adjustable Wrench Technique
An adjustable wrench isn’t the ideal tool for loosening stuck fasteners because it can round over the head, making matters worse. But if an adjustable wrench is your only option, here’s your best shot at preserving the shoulders on the nut or bolt head: Slide on the wrench all the way, so there’s full contact at the back of the jaws. Then tighten the wrench thumbscrew so there's no play at all in the jaws. Always turn the wrench handle toward the lower jaw, never away from it.
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