The riser bolt that took me 6 hours to break free on a Pier 86 job in Seattle

I was swapping out anodes on a old barge off Pier 86 last Tuesday and hit a riser bolt that was completely seized. Tried PB Blaster, heat, impact gun, even cheater bar with a 4 foot pipe and it wouldnt budge for 5 hours. Finally grabbed a induction heater from a buddy and after 45 minutes of cycling heat it cracked loose with a hand wrench. Has anyone else had a bolt take a full shift like that or was I just unlucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_shah381mo ago

Honestly man, 6 hours on one bolt? That's borderline obsessive. Could've just cut it off and drilled it out in like half that time.

taylorshah1mo ago

My 1992 F150 had a brake caliper bolt that I spent 5 hours on last spring. I was dead set on saving that original bolt, kept soaking it, heating it, everything. Finally gave up and drilled it out in 20 minutes, and I realized I wasted a whole evening being stubborn for no good reason. I get where you're coming from now, sometimes the quick fix is just smarter.

nancyj111mo ago

Yeah @taylorshah, been there too man, sometimes you just gotta admit when you're beat.