REMOVING SS screws from my aluminium Fortress Anchor

[Cherod]

oh,, and the other thing when you are welding the nut on,, be carefull not to burn your fingers,,,,, it is that easy !!!

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I can confirm that from personal experience. I have also used the hit it with a hammer impact driver with good success. In some situations much better than electric or pneumatic.

^This, X1000 if it's a philips or other driver removed fastener, the hammer strike makes sure the bit is set and then gives a twist , no botched screws or bits

having to lean on an air gun or electric drill to get the bite you need just doesn't work with bound threads

(hex nuts/bolts exempt)

as for applying heat, a wood fire burns at about 1100F, aluminum melts about 1200F

soak in PB, put on grate over fire (cool enough to not melt the Al), keep spraying screws/ nuts every 20-30s till you get flames on the metal. Let heat 5 min more, remove from heat. Continue to baste in PB as it cools

firmly stabilize the anchor (it CAN NOT MOVE or you lose the torque of the impact driver) and wack with a hammer style impact driver as soon as you can handle it with gloves

you need to put some tension on the impact driver by twisting it in the direction you want it to go when you wack it (they work for tightening too)

[paul2884]

Originally Posted by Benz

Don't be afraid to apply some serious heat with a torch. Between that and penetrating spray such as PB blaster, added to impact, almost anything can be undone.
Re-assemble with Tef-Gel, or you'll be in the same boat in a couple years.

really not a good idea with alumilium, you will reck the tempeting and have nice soft and bendy anchor!

This ushaly happens between 325 and 400 deg F so not realy hot at all.


turn the nuts with a big spanner/socket they will eather snap or undo. the either punch the left over bits out of the holes or chuck the left overs you will need new bolts anyway.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

IIRC, Fortress anchors are made from 7000 series alloys

Fortress use the 6000 series alloys. 6061 to be precise. The 7000 series aluminiums (such as 7075) are strong, but have much worse corrosion resistance.

When welded 6061 with a typical temper looses about 40% of its strength, which shows you should be careful when applying heat to un-welded extrusions. However a blow torch is not welding. The shank and fluke area rather than than where the mud palms bolt in place is where strength is critical.

So some careful application of heat should be fine in my opinion.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, dario.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Personally, I'd just bend the palm back before I put material heat onto the crown extrusion. A bent-up palm is cosmetic, so long as you get the shape close. The extrusion is structural.


I doubt you would do any harm since you are some distance away... but it's simply not worth it, not at at all.

+1. If it must be replaced worst case scenario is the impact driver, manual or electric snapping the head off. to do this on purpose doesn't make sense to me. This is also the reason I would choose electric over manual on smaller bolts (less aggressive) just be patient. Soak, let penetrate, Drive, repeat.
And I have to comment on fortresses being unreliable. Absolutely not! Pound-for-pound they have the highest holding power but their design is not able to deal with side loads. I've seen both broken and bent shanks, always user failure.

[castman]

If all else fails, find a local machine shop with an EDM ( electronic discharge machine - not wire). At my former employer, we used this process to remove broken taps, drills and fasteners in stainless products, without destroying the underlying structure. As posted elsewhere, your stuck fasteners are probably due to galvanic corrosion. Pretty sure the heat affected zone will be limited. Once the fasteners are removed you will probably have to use a heli-coil or other type of threaded insert as the current threads will probably be toast.

[Juggerknot]

I'm in the impact driver group, smash it and see if that won't break em loose. Heat is always a good persuader as well.