easiest way to remove rounded & rusted chainring bolt?

[jax13]

don't you just love honest ebay sellers!!!

'middle chainring needs replacing' in this case translates to 'i've completely rounded one of the chainring bolts trying to loosen it & its now gone rusty & won't shift at all'

so, any methods that people know to remove said rusty, rounded chainring bolt that won't damage the rings themselves please feel free to give me some options!

i've tried gentle heat, large screwdriver across the backing nut, slightly large hex key to grip any remnants of an angle & a .5mm larger allen key all to no avail. my fear is i'm gonna need to drill it but just wondering if anyone has come up with any other method before i break out the pillar drill!!!

 

[ishaw]

Reverse thread drill bit or just drill straight through. Not many other options really.

 

[racer x]

Same here drill bits at the ready mate

 

[badger1]

drill and easy-outs time

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

A drill is acually your best option here, you can carefully drill the head of the bolt clean off before you get to the ring - just use the smallest drill bit you can to get the job done.

 

[Splatter Paint]

If the ring is toast anyway what about griding the head off with an angle grinder?

 

[jax13]

If the ring is toast anyway what about griding the head off with an angle grinder?

a grinder won't take off a counter sunk bolt without damaging the outer ring.

the middle ring is knackered but i don't want to risk any damage to the outer, before I drill it i'm gonna try an old allen key & a small tack of weld either side, hopefully this should give me enough purchase to crack the seized joint & get a screwdrive on the back.

 

[IWish]

Is the back piece with the groove in accessible?

If so cut into a old knife or something, just a butter knife should do(It's what I use) and grind/cut a gap in it that's the size of the holes for the chainring bolt. You can use this with a allen key that grips some. Use the allan key to hold the top half of the screw and use the knife to undo the bottom.

 

[kareena]

This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks

 

[jax13]

managed to get it with a ground down screwdriver going corner to corner in the allen slot.

cameron 1 - dishonest ebay muppet 0!