You can buy a device called an "Easy Out". You basically drill into the severed bolt, then screw in a thingo which with it's thread bites into the outside of the hole you drilled. You then unscrew the stuck bolt with it. Make sure you measure the diameter of the bolt you need to remove, as they come in a variety of sizes. Your local tool shop will help you out.

McMahon said...

"surprising oversight"

Heh...it's amazing what people try and get away with. a friend of mine drove three hours to buy a formula board that was advertised in good condition.

"Good condition" by this seller's definition meant multiple holes and a spongey deck. This seller vehemently denied this fact even when pointed out to him, but grudgingly sold the board at a reduced price. What a muppet (no offense Elmo).

busted 4 screws flush with the board myself over last few years. if there's any advice i can give it is that you buy the more expensive single screw extractor (easy outs as easty said) for at least $10 each rather than the $10 5 piece set from supercrap auto etc which are very soft and strip themselves. Use a shifter to grip the extractor and turn it veeeeeerrrryyy slowly as they are very brittle

as a result i now change screws each year, but not sure gf is impressed

Or you could ask Smooch to remove it by suction

Ive alway used an easyout .
Just drill a 2mm pilot hole first follow followed by a 3mm drill be careful not to drill to far check how deep the other inserts are first.
Then use the right size easyout which you can buy from automotive shop.
the hardest part is drilling the hole on center .
oh yer Ive always use a new drill bit to start with.

McMahon said...

(I'm worried I'll screw it up)

err, but that's what you want to do

use an engraver to make slot than use flat head screwdriver

OK, I have actually done this and it worked!

A friend of mine snapped of a screw while fixing a footstrap into his board. I used a soldering iron to slowly and carefully heat the screw. Just touch the metal of the screw and avoid the surroundings. The screws fasten into a nylon plug glassed into the deck. With the right amount of heat the nylon softens and the screw will move about quite easily. In my case the screw had a small ragged bur at the point it snapped. With fine needle nose pliers I was able to grip the end of the screw and gently turn it out of the plastic. Once soft it moves quite easily. If no part of the screw is above to surface I suggest using a 'very' small drill or similar to remove some of the nylon/glass around the end of the screw so it can be gripped with the pliers. Previous suggestions about easy outs (I am also a tradesman in this field) are unlikely to be successfull as the diameter of the screw/bolt will be very small to successfully drill out a large enough size hole. Also the screw is very tight in the hole and will be difficult to shift, thats probably why it snapped in the first place. What will happen however when a hole is drilled into hardened stainless steel there will be significant heat which will soften the nylon having the same effect as the soldering iron so be very carefull. This is how I found out about the heat method in the first place as the screw started moving about as I drilled. I had more control with the iron and could apply the heat with more care as I easily wiggled the screw loose. The nylon plug did not appear to suffer any damage from the heat once it cooled down, the trick is not to overheat it!

Let me know if it works?

Good Luck

geee economy must be tough if engineers are spending their time removing sheared screws from boards.

I spoke to the bloke who was going to do the work on the board. I'll chat to him Monday morning to remind him to go easy on the board and run the dremel idea past him. If he's having troubles, there's still plenty of strap positions available.

Thanks all, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Sailhack,

I have boards 4 years old that require a 1/2 turn of some (not all) screws about every 20 sessions.

Thus I think you have screws that are too small or your inserts are stripped from screws done up too tight etc.

Easiest fix is to bung a matchstick or two in each hole and then stick the screws in again.

If waaayyy tight (like they should be ) put a bit of soap on each screw and use a good elec screwdriver or drill to put them in 99% of the way and then use a screwdriver for that last 1/2 - 1 turn.

Mark _australia said...


I agree.... I would not let anyone without specific windsurfing knowledge go anywhere near it.

The dremel idea was spot on.... and as a close second (if you still can't get it out with a slot cut in it) I'd heat with the soldering iron.

Fot the $70 they will charge you, you could have bought resin, q-cell, a new insert and a $20 router and put a whole new insert in

Mark, I think the new insert option is pretty optimistic. It might be a good idea if all of the insert was stuffed, or there are more than one insert that needs replacing.

You really should cover the insert with some glass and then there's the hassle of the footpads and all the rest of the trouble that goes with it.

I am (still) in the process of adding some new inserts to a wave board to make it less wave orientated. I have done the rear inserts, but I have still got to peel the pad at the front and add the new ones. Where has my enthusiasm gone...

If I had a choice of paying someone else $70 or adding new inserts, I would choose to pay someone else.

One out, one to go. They are going to get some of 'the good Easyouts' and have it out tomorrow. I stressed that I would rather a screw left in rather than both out and a damaged board. Strictly no clamps.

had to settle for 1 screw out. The other screw has been drilled through but they didn't want to break anything getting it out.

It will be interesting to see if the shop (not Victorian) who sold it to me will come to the party with the engineer's bill.

Big Al said...

I had the same problem (also with a Fanatic - go figure). I asked the "Board lady" who had the simplest solution out of all mentioned so far. She suggested just drilling a new hole (4mm) in between the broken screw hole and the next one. The nylon plug is a single piece so what's it gonna matter anyway and the screw will create it's own thread pattern.

Only tip was don't drill too deep - or then you're screwed (double entendre...oh yeah.)

AB....

This will probably work for a lot of inserts, but with the Chinook inserts there is a void in-between each of the screw holes. You 'might' get away with a hole right next to the existing one, but you have only a few mm tolerance as the full length insert bit is only 12mm wide.

Looking at the JP inserts that I took out of a board it looks like they are solid, so maybe you can drill safely into those?