Subject: Stainless screws seized in aluminum mast

Does anyone have some great suggestions on how to removed stainless steel screws that are seized in my old aluminum mast.

I am finally transferring the hardware from my broken Stiletto 27 mast and installing the old pieces and parts on the new mast, which is an old 27 mast salvaged from a wrecked boat and then stripped down and repainted.

It's a great mast and beautifully painted.

I’d consider buying all new cleats and such, but the replacement mast is already drilled for the original hardware and I’m not sure where to even get replacements.

Any ideas out there ?????

Tom

Penetrating fluid is always a good first step, but may not break down the galvanic corrosion.

Since it's the old mast, you don't care about looks, so you could always try heat (torch).

Beyond that, an impact screwdriver is a good choice. Keep in mind that if you strip the heads, you'll need to go to the final resort: drill baby drill...

Mike

I've had success in the past with drilling the centre of the screw with a small blunt drill bit it heats the screw to a high temperature to release it without wrecking the head for the screwdriver

Wow, that sounds like a very cool trick! Never heard that one before.

Mike

Do have any plans for the old mast or is it scrap?

If it's scrap I would use a chop saw or sawzall and cut the sections with the parts you need. Then cut those sections to access the back side of the screws. Grind, chisel, break or whatever works to remove the part of the screw on the inside. Take a punch and drive the screw out. For that matter you could just grind the inside surface until the part falls off or some other variation of destructive behavior.

Bonus points for creativity, not to mention stress relief...

Mike

cut the rest of the mast into short pieces, mount on a wood pedestal, and use as regatta tropies...

I got one from Ryan's wrecked N6.0 mast at a regatta. Bonus points for "green" creativity in their awards.

use an impact driver! Seriously. It will make short work of it and save the screw head.

I had a self tacker jib track from a Nacra 20 where the end of the traveler track was ripped off during a backwards pitchpole in surf (a half-gainer-pole?). The track was attached with stainless machine screws into a thick aluminum bar but the aluminum bar didn't even appear to be tapped. It looked like they just got the holes close and drove the screws into them. With absolutely no barrier between the metals, they corroded badly. I spent a month tinkering with that thing and no penetrating fluid or anything I tried would budge any of those phillips flat head screws so I shoved it on a shelf and forgot about it. Sometime later, I bought a Ridgid tool set that included an impact driver and after being pretty impressed with that thing, I came across that traveler track and I wondered how it would do. The verdict? Amazing. Every screw came out with almost no effort using the impact driver. To make sure I hadn't lost my mind, I tried a couple with a manual screw driver and had the same result - couldn't budge the screw and started to destroy the head. The impact driver immediately removed the screw right after that.

This thing has become one of my favorite tools.

Yeuppp the best thing since canned beer.... something every weekend warrior and pro should have... I liberated a Subaru EJ2.2 complete with ECU and wire harness out of a Legacy in about 5.5 hours using one of these... and they make easy work out of those hard to get off nuts and screws..

Is that an impact driver or a drill/driver? The impact is a necessity for the corroded bolts, IMHO.

Wrong photo.... 18 volt Impact... with two batteries....

Actually, this is the best impact driver for stuck screws. It will loosen them or break the heads off. Works well on slotted heads.

Old School!!!! great for Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki clutch baskets..

And as the instructions say... don't drink and operate...

Google screw extractor?