Armor removal and armor screws

[Lauren Child]

It comes with a kit of tools including a strap to go around you neck (to brace against your chest) and a stand for working on lower bolts.

[Lauren Child]

It has a 3/4 inch female square drive socket on the end for adaptors. This is one for 1/2" square drive socket and one for the kit of flat head and allen hex screwdriver ends, which are a special type (presumably hardened - it cautions you against losing them or making your own replacements). Hope that helps

[Lauren Child]

To use it you apply pressure to seat the driver into the screw (with a second person guiding it if you need), then push the handles sharply forward. This spins the disc up which then whacks into the end delivering a forward rotary shock. You then grab the disc and pull back which rotates the driver, undoing the screw. You can click it into an alternate runner for doing back up (making sure that it's good and tight).

The book states it's for rusty tank screws and female war workers who may not have built the needed strength for such work. A nice and useful bit of history.

I don't know why they don't still make them.

[Mrs Vampire]

Now that looks very noice but very very hard to find one :?/

[Lauren Child]

Originally Posted by Gina Vampire

Now that looks very noice but very very hard to find one :?/

Unfortunately yes, but it gives you an idea of what to look for (or to try and replicate with modern tools). Basically you need a shock push and twist motion at the same time, with a bit that fits exactly into the slot (very little play).

[Mrs Vampire]

The results of my latest attempts at unscrewing the bolts.

I have managed to get all but ten of the large bolts out and have made good progress on the smaller ones.

I have made some , for me, startling discoveries. The penetrants I have use made virtually no penetration apart form some very slight surface intrusion.

All my theories about penetrants are out the window. My primary penetrant was WD-40 with Methyl Salicylate added to it. I have used methyl Salicylate straight, RP-7 , CRC, Reducteur H-72 and Wurst Rost Off plus. Not one of these made any penetration worth speaking of. Once I had the screws out a sixteenth they aided in further extraction but they played no part at all in helping with initial release.

I will experiment with phosphoric acid and see if that gets in. The next attempt will be to heat and cool using penetrant along the way .

The best helper yet has been a small rivet gun with a chisel end , my 1/2 inch drive rattle gun and the long handled T bar with my home made drag link.

The small rivet gun is not a big hitter but has a very high cycle. I tried my big hitter Rivet gun with a lower cycle rate without success. Likewise my 3/4 rattle gun is to hard to hold in place and hits to hard to control.

Photos are of extracted screws showing how nearly new some are , how little rust and how crummy the penetration...they are all dry.
Also a heap of removed bolts...just because I am so pleased to have them out... the very expensive penetrant that is useless the el-cheepo rivet gun that did the best work and the head of a screw showing the slight damage done in removing them.

Not one of these screws would move using a drag link with a four foot extension bar ( it broke the drag link) or using either rattle gun the little rivet gun moved them in seconds.

I checked the parts book and finally found the tool originally designated for Armour removal...it was a 1/2 inch drive drag link socket

[Steve Greenberg]

Gina,
Have you tried Kroil? I have used it before and it does seem to penetrate after it sits for a bit. http://www.kanolabs.com/
Steve

[maple_leaf_eh]

How about diesel fuel in a squirt bottle? I had to clean some minor rust and grease spots off a rifle barrel. Diesel and a scrub brush worked as good as any more expensive fluid.

BTW, I was told that Kroil is only sold business to business, and not to consumers.