broken sprue plate bolt

[mustanggt]

A few months ago I got a lightly used old Saeco 444 mould. It's a four holer 44 cal.The sprue plate bolt on these moulds are also how the handles are attached. The bolt wouldn't budge while cold so I heated it up and tried it again. As I was putting pressure on it the bolt snapped part of the screw head off. I emailed Redding to have them send me a bolt but since it is discontinued the guy said they don't have them anymore. He sent me a kit to fix todays mould type. So I am at a loss as what to do next. Anyone got any ideas?

[bhn22]

So are you looking for hardware, or advice on how to get the broken screw out?

[mustanggt]

I have a craftsman screw and bolt out tools. Thought I'd try that. If there is an easier or better way to do it I'll take the advice but more so the hardware location would be great. Thanks.

[MT Gianni]

Pics would help.

[MT Gianni]

There is a sticky on shop tips with a lot of info on broken screw extraction. It would be worthwhile reading.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=3026&highlight=broken+screw

[JIMinPHX]

I've used a lot of different tricks for getting broken bolts out of holes. Most start with Kroil. Some involve mig welding a nut onto the broken bolt. Others involve the use of a left handed drill bit. If enough of a nub is still sticking out, I might try vice grips or file flats & use an adjustable wrench. Some methods get more creative than that. Sometimes I'll fixture the part up on a Bridgeport & plunge an end mill. If you could post a picture of what you have, it might help us to help you better.

[mustanggt]

Sorry for the bluriness. I don't have a macro setting. I hope this will give you enough to understand what I am talking about. The screw I'm refering to is the one in the middle of the picture. It has one half of the head sheared off. http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/5209/castboolits.jpg

[bhn22]

Kroil is always the first step. Give it a few days to soak in. And the pic magically appears as I was posting. You might get lucky, it looks like the screw head simply fractured at the slot line. After a few days of soaking, I'd try gingerly trying to turn the screw with small vice grips.

[mustanggt]

Unfortunately I didn't find out about kroil till after I dinked with the stupid thing. Thanks, I'll give er a whirl.

[MT Gianni]

That looks very salvageable. When you get it out check the thread pitch to see about replacing it or tapping to a more common size.

[JRR]

I would start with a penetrating oil like kroil. Let it soak for a few days. Get some ice cubes and try to get the mold really cold. This will contract the metal and perhaps reduce the tension and friction on the threaded part of the screw. You might take a dremel with a ceramic disc and make a new slot on the top of the screw. If you do that don't worry about cutting into the sprue plate a bit.

Phone the mold manufacturer and find out if they used a thread locking compound like loctite. If they did, a hair drier will soften the adhesive enough to break it free.

I have been there before.

Jeff

[montana_charlie]

If that screw holds the mould block on the handle, and acts as the sprue plate pivot, it may be locked in position with a setscrew.
Have you checked that possibility?

If it doesn't have a setscrew, somebody may have used LocTite to keep it from readjusting itself.
CM

[RP]

I would not do this on a mold but just a trick I have learned to remove bolts. I did exhaust work for awhile and we had manifold bolts and emissions tubes that were rust and seized together. I would heat the part up sometimes red hot then drop it in water. It was amazing how easy they would come apart after that. Just some info maybe someone can use it someday.

[Echo]

+1 on the ice - or freezer! I learned recently that heat will expand the blocks in all directions, including making the holes smaller, tightening the screws, for eample! So cold will cause the blocks to contract, and increase the ID of the holes, including the sprue plate hole. Kroil for a few days, then into the freezer for a day, then get out the vice grips.

[mustanggt]

Thanks for the help fellas. Soaking in kroil now will try the freezer deal also. I will also check for a set screw to see if that is the problem.

[ChuckS1]

I sent mine to Erik ...http://www.hollowpointmold.com/

[bhn22]

If you need to apply heat, you can use a soldering iron or pencil torch on the screw head. It will take a while to heat up, which is kind of the idea. Then you can touch an ice cube to the screw head. I doubt you'll even need to go this far.

[MT Gianni]

+1 on the ice - or freezer! I learned recently that heat will expand the blocks in all directions, including making the holes smaller, tightening the screws, for eample! So cold will cause the blocks to contract, and increase the ID of the holes, including the sprue plate hole. Kroil for a few days, then into the freezer for a day, then get out the vice grips.

I was taught that heat expands all things including the space between threads.

[mustanggt]

I pulled it out of the freezer and started to unscrew it and I thought it was going real well and then it wouldn't turn out farther. It kept turning but it wouldn't go. Now I'm back to square one.

[bhn22]

try heat. In fact, heat the mould as if you're going to cast with it. Let it get nice & hot. Then try the vice grips. I swear that every screw on a mould comes loose as soon as the mould gets hot anyway. If it still sticks, hold an ice cube on the screw head for a few seconds, then try again.

[mustanggt]

:Actually it is turning just not moving anymore. I don't know if that makes sense or not but it came out a quarter inch or so and wouldn't come any more. I spun it around for two solid minutes and never moved further. :?:mad:

[bhn22]

If it turns freely, but doesn't move up or down, then the threads are stripped. Since it worked up to this point, it's likely that the threads in the mould block are probably okay, but the screw threads are stripped out. Try locking your vice grips on the screw head & pulling up as you turn the screw.