Need Help!- THE BEST WAY TO EXTRACT HELICOIL INSERTS?

[david rendon]

Hello good friends!,

I'm trying to find the best way to extract damaged helicoil inserts.
I'm using them to bolt down fixtures on a plate I have fixed on my VF4 table.
The big problem is that the inserts are located below and concentric about a bushing, and the threaded hole is blind .
I'm using shoulder bolts to align everything in place and to bolt down.

Any ideas to remove a damaged helicoil out of this assemble without having to un-bolt the plate to the machine table ??? ....
Thanks!

[br1]

Extracting Tool for Heli-Coil Inserts

[MadMax]

Is the right angle tang broken off yet? Helicoils have a bent bit which is used to drive them. Usually this bit is broken off so a screw can pass all the way through, but if it's still there, you might be able to grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers and pull/unwind the whole deal out the hole. I've occasionally removed inserts by picking up one end and hauling on it.

[peterwalker58]

Helicoils are a spring A screwdriver with the sides ground with about 10 degrees clearance will usually unwind them _____________
/____________/
I can do a better drawing if needed peterwalker58@yahoo.com

[turboglenn]

I've tried all things one can think of a and the only reliable way that works everytme is to take a punch that you can get in the hole at some good angles, sharpen the tip of t up, and anywhere you can get in between it and the material it's in, give the punch a quick hit with a brass hammer, then some "good" needle nose that are solid (for thesize i'm usually working with anyway) and each coil will take 4 - 6 "punchings' and the rest i dig out withthe needle nose and a small screwdriver. it sounds crude, but done carefully you'r workpiece can be"danced around" enough to not have any dissapointment in what you had to do.

I love inserts in aluminum heads and such on race engines that see frequent teardown as they wear better where aluminum oem threading on an older woked over asting will always let you down at the track, or somewhere far from your tooling that can't travel, but after a while i started getting to where i was dealing with a lot of deformed heli-coils and swapped to time-serts (sp?) been "off" for a couple years from injuries now but i think there's a "off letter" in the name spelling IIRC, but ayway, the time-serts are way better, they make heli-coils look like cheap import endmills on 440 SS

mind you, try thescrewdriver trick first, but as for the tang and it being left in... that's the fastest way i've seen heli-coils ruined to where they need removed.. some one didn't break the tang off...then they or another some one runs a bolt down to it, meet with resistance and add a little pressure to the wrench and viola.. that hole needs re-done adn they're saying..what the hell..the thread was perfect before i started the bolt!!!!!