[AJD] Looking downstream - Heat

[Karl Olmstead]

It's hard to beat a good oxy-acetylene rig, Mike.  I finally took the plunge 
a couple of years ago,  and it's proven to be very handy.  I still haven't 
managed to burn a steel stud out of a cast iron block without damaging the 
cast iron threads, but some people can do that.

I recently bought one of those propane torch heads that features a trigger 
which turns on the gas valve and pops the igniter.  It is extremely useful 
and saves a lot of gas.  Didn't cost much, either. The one I bought came 
with a MAPP bottle, and I was astonished at how much heat MAPP puts out 
compared to propane.  I'm sure it will bring any reasonable sized nut or 
bolt up to red heat quickly, and that's all you need.  Won't cut steel, of 
course, that is one big advantage of an O-A torch.

You're on the right track.  There is nothing else out there that will loosen 
rusted fasteners as effectively as heat.  Followed up by a little 
penetrating oil, of course!

-Karl
------------
> Having read lots of other posts about loosening frozen nuts and bolts and
> understand the three main ingredients are patience, penetrating oil and 
> heat.  I
> expect I'm going to be up against some of those hard to remove/loosen nuts 
> & bolts
> pretty soon and will need a heat source.  The best I have right now is a 
> small
> propane torch I purchased to make some plumbing repairs to copper pipe, 
> but
> suspect that it will either not be up to the task or not economical in the 
> long run for
> working on my B.  I have no welding skills, so I don't need one of the 
> large gas
> welding rigs... I don't think.  If I find I need to develop some 
> welding/brazing skills I'll
> upgrade to meet those needs.  In the meantime I think all I need is a good 
> heat
> source to apply to those frozen nuts and bolts and am looking for 
> suggestions and
> recommendations from the list.  If you think I'm being short sighted 
> please say so
> and recommend some more appropriate equipment.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Mike
> Robert M. Massengale
> Fredericksburg, Texas