When metalwork cannot be avoided

Every now and then I am forced to put on a metalworking hat, and I don't like it.  I have nothing but respect for metal workers.  And even though I know we woodworkers are better off knowing basic metal working skills, I get no enjoyment out of it.

So this week I received a really nice Stanley No. 3 smoothing plane in the mail.  Unfortunately, in a freak shipping accident, the lever cap screw snapped in transit.  Not only that - the bottom half of the bolt was stuck inside the frog, with no bits sticking out which I could use to unscrew the bolt.  I think the photo below does a better job of showing my predicament.

As you can see on the right side of my bench vise, the top half of the screw is shown clearly broken off, with the bottom half stuck in the frog.



















After my initial 20 minutes of panicking and cursing, I decided to surf youtube for methods of removing the offending screw.  After skipping on the more extreme methods (involving welders, torches, and all manner of metal working magic) I decided on what appeared to be the simplest- a left handed (or reverse) threaded drill bit.

The idea is pretty simple, if you drill into the broken bolt using a reverse threaded drill bit, with your drill in reverse, the bit will eventually catch and unscrew the bolt.  I bought this screw / bolt extraction kit from KMS Tools which came with both left handed bits as well as special extraction bits.  Super good idea.

I then used a centre punch to mark the middle…which turned out to be a pretty difficult thing to do with the rough, uneven surface, but I needed something for the bit to catch on.

I then drove the reverse bit, in reverse of course, in my hand drill.  This was nerve wracking.  I kept drilling deeper into the broken bolt, not knowing how much metal there was left.  After about a quarter inch, the bolt caught onto the bit and began slowly turning out.  Eventually, as you can see, the bit had spun out enough that I could remove it with my fingers.

And there it is on my bench - the extracted, broken screw part

Here's the frog with the screw extracted.  No damage was done to the frog.

And there she is - reassembled, with a new screw.  Perfect condition, and after a few quick honings on the blade, ready for use.

So if you ever find yourself in my situation, don't panic.  Just find yourself a vendor of left-threaded drill bits.  It will get you out of trouble in a hurry.