How to Install and Remove a Carriage Bolt

Carriage Bolt Install and Removal

The Setup

The first thing we need to do when installing a carriage bolt is to make sure we have the right parts and tools to do so. For this job we will need a:

Hammer
Drill
Drill Bit
Piece of wood
Carriage Bolt
Nut
Washer

For our example, we have already pre-drilled the hole into a piece of 2×4 and attached it to a vice. This will act as our installation surface for our carriage bolt.

Understanding A Carriage Bolt

A carriage bolt is a bolt with threading all the way up the shank to a small square shoulder, with a domed head. The square shoulder of a carriage bolt stops it from spinning as it is screwed into the surface of a material. You would not typically use this type of bolt on very hard wood as it may not properly dig into the material, which would cause the bolt to spin in place. Once you seat the bolt through the hole, it is the job of the nut and washer to pull the bolt into the material tightly. Since there is no drive device for the domed head of the bolt, this is the only way to install it.

The Install

The installation process is fairly simple. First, you drill a hole into the wood for the appropriate size (diameter) of the bolt. Next you slide the bolt into the hole (you may need a hammer as the hole should be just big enough for the bolt to go through).

Now that you have the nut through the wood it is time to attach the nut and the washer. Place the washer on the rear side of the bolt followed by the nut. The washer will help to distribute the force you are about to put onto the nut to pull the bolt into the wood. This will not only protect the wood on the back side but also keep the bolt from digging into it and getting stuck.

As you tighten the nut, the square shoulder on the bolt will be pulled into the wood. Once the underside of the head rests against the wood, the carriage bolt is officially installed.

The Removal

Removing the carriage bolt is a fairly simple process. First, you will want to twist the nut close to the end of the bolt. DO NOT TAKE THE NUT ALL THE WAY OFF THE BOLT, you will need it to help move the bolt along.

Once the nut is backed off to the end of the bolt, hit the nut with a hammer. The force should start moving the square shoulder out of the wood. As you move the bolt further out the nut will get closer to the wood. When this happens continue to back out the nut and strike it again. Repeat this process until the bolt is loose enough to take out by hand or the nut can no longer grip the bolt.

If you find the bolt is stuck but the nut can no longer attach to the bolt, use the nail remover attached to the hammer and use it to pry the bolt out of the hole.

It’s That Simple

There you go now you know everything you’ll need to know about installing and removing carriage bolts. As always, Albany County Fasteners stresses the need for protective gear while working with dangerous materials. Remember to ALWAYS wear safety glasses while drilling to protect your eyes and wear protective gloves that fit to keep your hands safe from harm as well.

Full Installation and Removal process you can find on our Youtube channel

Using Keps K Lock Nuts – Quick Tip

Installing Keps K Lock Nuts

Keps K lock nuts are nuts that have a free spinning serrated washer attached to them. These nuts are made to create tension against the material when installed onto a bolt. It is important to NEVER over torque these nuts. Once you over tighten a lock nut it loses its functionality.

Keps K Lock Washer

The picture below is a hand tightened keps k nut with no added torque. You can see the teeth are pressing lightly against the metal material we have installed the bolt through.

Keps K nut install

Once we have tightened the bolt very lightly you can see the teeth have extended out to create tension against the object. If you over-tighten this type of lock nut you will ultimately flatten out the teeth and when you remove the nut you will see that the teeth no longer perform any function they will just act like a washer.

Installing a Keps K lock nut

Keps K locks are ideal for applications where you might use an external tooth lock washer and nut but the combination is more convenient. You need to carry around fewer parts making installation much faster. They also save you from the fumbling of little lock washers that seem to be designed to fall from your hands and disappear.

How to Remove a Rivet

Rivets are very useful tools that are used to quickly and efficiently connect two materials together. The problem is that they aren’t really designed to be removed.

We already did a post on how to remove a spinning rivet so if your rivets start spinning during this process please hop over to that post.(make this a link to the blog post once that post is live)

What You Will Need

drilling out a rivet

A Punch
Drill
Drill Bit

Remove a Rivet

Now that you have to tools that you need, get your safety gear on (gloves and glasses) and grab your punch.

Locate the center of the rivet with your punch and create an indent into the rivet on the flange(integral washer) side. This hole will provide a seat for the tip of your drill to sit in.

drilling a rivet

Now that you’ve made your hole and have your drill seated start slowly drilling into the rivet. You can use a drill bit that is the same size as you used on the install or smaller if you plan on reusing the hole. Make sure you apply steady pressure to the drill so that it stays in the seat you made for the bit.

You should be able to cut through the rivet very quickly. Once through back the drill out and whats left of the rivet should either fall or slide out with ease. Assuming you drilled with the right size your hole should still be the same size as it was before you installed the first one.

drilled through a rivet the hole after a rivet is removed

How To Use A Screw Extractor

Removing Bolts and Screws With A Bolt Extractor

To show you how to use a screw extractor we had to begin by getting a screw stuck into wood. We decided to demonstrate on a one way security screw, given that it is designed to not be removed after install. This drive style is designed to be driven in by a flat head, but it cannot be uninstalled with a flat head.

As a test, we were able to get vice grips around it but they would not hold when trying to loosen it. The screw is very firmly in the wood. So how do we extract it?

Enter the Screw Extractor

Drilling a Hole into the Screw

Bolt extractor bits are designed with reverse threading to dig into a screw and make it as easy as drilling until the extractor can grip the screw and break it loose from the wood, also known as “left hand drill bits.”

Our first step here is to punch a hole into the screw. This punch will allow the drill bit a place to sit and start drilling. There are two bits that come in a drill bit extractor set. There is a standard drill bit and a tapered bit with backwards threading. Place the smaller regular drill bit into the drill, seat the drill bit into the hole you’ve punched and begin to drill a small hole into the screw.

Once The Hole Is Drilled

Screw Extractor in action

Next, put the extractor bit into the drill. Make sure your drill is set to turn left when you start drilling. The bolt extractor bit has reverse threads. Insert the bit into the hole you just drilled and begin drilling to the left. Once the threads have enough grip on the screw they will stop drilling and break the screw loose from its hole.

Keep drilling and you will spin the screw all the way loose. Then take a pair of vice-grips or another pair of pliers and spin the screw off the drill bit. Congratulations! No longer will stripped screws stand in your way of completing a project.

How To Use A Castle Nut

Installing A Castle Nut

Castle nuts are nuts that look like crowns or parapets of mid evil castles. These nuts are used together with a bolt and a cotter pin to create a secure nut in place so that it cannot be tightened or loosened.

Before We Begin:

In order to install a castle nut you will need:

Castle Nut
Cotter Pin
A Bolt with a hole

You can find bolts that come with pre-drilled holes for castle nuts, but you must know the length of the bolt you will need. If you do not have a bolt with a pre-drilled hole, you may drill your own, we can talk about that in another post. In this post, we will drill out own hole to show you how to make one yourself for better sizing.

Step One:

Now that you are ready to begin, slide the bolt through the installation material and screw the castle nut onto the other side. You can use a sharpie or pencil to mark the area where you need the hole to be (inside the peaks of the nut). Then remove the nut and bolt and place the bolt into a vice.

Step Two:

Screw the nut back onto the bolt and align it with the mark you drew earlier. This will serve as the drilling point. Use a punch to create an indent into the bolt so your drill bit has a starting point. Make sure you drill perpendicular to the hole so that it comes out in between the peaks on the other side as well.

Step Three:

After you have drilled your hole, remove from the vice and place back into your installation material. For the purpose of this blog, we have left ours in the vice as we did not have an installation material readily available. Once it is back in the material place your cotter pin through the hole. Take a pair of pliers and bend the cotter pin out away from the center on each side. This will create a locking effect and the pin will not be able to fall out.