petersemple 15th April 2013, 04:25 PM In a few days time someone is coming to remove a stump for us, but the section of fence that the tree is against needs to come down for access. It is a timber paling fence with cross pieces screwed to uprights with those great huge hex builders screws. I cannot budge them. At all. I have tried a battery impact gun, and I have tried an allen key bashed with a hammer. No dice. None of the 6 will move a single bit. Now, I can just saw the fence off and replace it, but if there is any way that I can just take it off, and then put it back again then that would be better. Any ideas on how to get them moving? The heads aren't rusty, but I can't vouch for the threads. They are galvanised screws, and the house is 12 years old, and so the fence can't be older than that.
Thanks
Mutawintji 15th April 2013, 04:28 PM If possible ... I would angle grind off the bolt head or the nut and just replace them when its time for reassembly.
Gregf
petersemple 15th April 2013, 04:38 PM Yeah, I wondered about that. think I'm out of grinder disks but might be worth doing some shopping. The heads are countersunk so I'd be taking away a decent amount of wood and it would look a bit ugly - but it's only a fence
Mutawintji 15th April 2013, 04:42 PM In that case i would sink a small pilot hole into the centre ... and then a drill bit large enough to take off the head .. slide the timber off the 'headless' screw or bolt ... and then you can remove it with footprints or multigrips.
Hard to know exactly without seeing it.
Greg
petersemple 15th April 2013, 04:53 PM Ooooh, good idea. A bit of work but hopefully not too much. MIght need to sharpen a few bits, but that's doable.
Skew ChiDAMN!! 15th April 2013, 05:33 PM Just curious... when you used the impact driver, did you try alternating tightening with the unscrewing a few times?
Surprisingly, this often works with old screws & bolts in timber. I'm guessing that it's easier to 'break the seal' - as it were - when tightening than vice-versa.
petersemple 15th April 2013, 05:47 PM I kind of did. Finger slipped on the direction lever by mistake. :doh::B:D
Rod Gilbert 15th April 2013, 07:21 PM You might find that they are a bit hard to drill out I think the grinder might be the best option.
Regards Rod.
Fuzzie 15th April 2013, 08:19 PM Have you tried a manual impact screwdriver, the kind you whack with a 2lb hammer?
Chris Parks 15th April 2013, 09:33 PM You can buy allen keys that fit a socket ratchet or flex bar. My thinking though would be that if they are that tight then there is a big chance they will break. I doubt the average impact gun would have enough grunt to loosen them.
rustynail 15th April 2013, 10:28 PM Fences are often built using green timber. When the timber dries it shrinks. So too do the holes the screws go through, which means they become extremely tight. This shrinkage principle is used when building log homes were reinforcing bar is driven through holes in the logs to fasten them. As the logs shrink they remain suspended on the bars rather than the whole wall shrinking downwards which would cause problems with the roof. Even if you remove the head from the screws you may well find the grip of the timber to the screw shank far too great to move. Tension can be relieved by drilling a small diameter hole through the timber rail hard against the screw shank. Sometimes more than one hole is required.
petersemple 16th April 2013, 10:29 PM Yeah, tried drilling the heads today. Even with heaps of oil to cool it the timber started to catch on fire. Not exactly ideal. I think I will just cut it off. My wife suggested gang nail plates then to put it back up. I might try that - or just replace the rails if I need to
AlexS 16th April 2013, 11:06 PM If you have a small propane torch, you could try heating it as much as possible then letting it cool before trying to shift it. No guarantees, but if all else fails...
Mutawintji 16th April 2013, 11:17 PM The timber shouldn't get hot because you are drilling coach bolt/screws ? Your drill must be blunt.
opps ... OK I just realised the 'screw' your talking about ... has an Allen Key head ..called a hex-drive. In which case the head is hardened.
Can you overtighten them so that they either pull thru or break the heads off ?
Alternatively, instead of banging the hex key with a hammer, fit an arm/lever to it, like the ring on the end of a 12" shifter and slowly try to turn it that way
Greg
petersemple 18th April 2013, 09:54 AM Ended up cutting the rails off. There is a large cutout in the fence to accommodate the tree that is on the fenceline which is being removed, which is why the fence needed to be temporarily removed. I was going to have to rebuild the fence in time to remove the cutout, but was hoping that it could be a later job with everything else that's going on at the moment. Looks like it might have to be a sooner job. At least there is enough overlap that I can prop it in place temporarily until I can get to it.
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