Drilling rusted screws

[Pevehouse]

I really appreciate all the great responses. I’m no stranger to automotive for that’s what I do for a living but these particular little screws were kicking my butt. Left handed bits I I have, I just hated to destroy those on this ****. I guess that’s my next step as well as PB and tapping the screw in with a punch. Hell, I’m willing to try anything at this point. This is why I did not go the body shop route and became a technician,lol. Thank you guys

 

[Pevehouse]

Also ordered a pack of cobalt bits

 

[woodchucker]

Curious to know why you think rust would affect a drill bit.

It’s just a decomposed layer of the base metal that is less than paper thin.

because it's abrasive. Crocus cloth if I remember correctly is made of iron oxide. So that maybe why Jake thinks don't use oil. But I'm not sure.

 

[tq60]

Get a GOOD impact rated torx bit and impact tool.

Lots of pressure and short pulses.

How many screws?

Try epoxy to glue the bit into the screw?

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[DeltaCharlie]

Get a GOOD impact rated torx bit and impact tool.

Lots of pressure and short pulses.

How many screws?

Try epoxy to glue the bit into the screw?

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

A slot cut in the head using a tiny cutoff wheel in a dremel then use the impact tool as above might be worth a try. We are not talking about an impact wrench but a tool that looks like a screw driver made of steel and hit on the head with a hammer. I have gotten many stuck screws out over the years using that tool. Does not always work but is always worth trying.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

because it's abrasive. Crocus cloth if I remember correctly is made of iron oxide. So that maybe why Jake thinks don't use oil. But I'm not sure.

You’re either drilling or rubbing.

If you’re drilling that oxide layer is a memory after half a turn.

ETA, you may be thinking of aluminum oxide.

Use of iron oxide as surface cleaning agent

Metal oxides are hard in nature, that's what my professor says. Technically Iron oxide is a metal oxide and must be hard. Then is it used in industries for surface finishing operations like buff...

engineering.stackexchange.com

Read past what the kid thinks his professor says. It’s used for polishing gold and soft metals only.

Like metals and minerals, metal oxides have different grades of hardness depending on a lot more than just its chemical components. Crystal structure is the main factor here. Consider carbon, for example: both graphite and diamond are chemically carbon, but one is used as a lubricant and the other for cutting and grinding. Similarly, just the fact that something is a metal oxide doesn't mean it's well suited for use as an abrasive and for similar processes like buffing and polishing. Apart from crystal structure, particle size and shape are also factors to be considered.

Hence, iron oxide is, to the best of my knowledge, rarely or never used as an industrial abrasive. Aluminium oxide, on the other hand, is. Aluminum oxide comes in various forms, from alumina to carborundum.

Jeweller's rouge is fine Iron III oxide. It is generally used for fine polishing of relatively soft metals like gold and silver as well as some plastics and minerals.

It isn't aggressive enough to be used on harder metals like steel except perhaps for very fine specialist polishing operations. Consider that aluminium oxide typically forms a hard, stable layer on metal whereas rust has very friable structure.

 

[woodchucker]

Sandpaper - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Crocus​

[edit]
Crocus cloth is an abrasive sheet similar to sandpaper or emery cloth but covered with a layer of very fine loose iron oxide particles rather than with bound grains of abrasive. It is intended for final metal and gemstone finishing and is available in various grades (particle sizes). Federal Specification P-C-458 described this material in detail, although the specification was cancelled in 1989.[10]

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Cobalt bits, lots of them

 

[Jake M]

Curious to know why you think rust would affect a drill bit.

It’s just a decomposed layer of the base metal that is less than paper thin.

It's abrasive.

When aluminum oxidizes, you get sand paper.
When steel oxidizes, it's not sandpaper material, but it's still pretty aggressive on tools.

Add to that, rust in a torx head (or phillips, or allen), is not just rust.

 

[Eddyde]

In my experience I never felt rust was a factor in dulling drills or any cutting tool. Being curious, I gave a quick search and could not find anything supporting rust as an abrasive at least not in a tool dulling capacity. Crocus cloth may have some very fine abrasive qualities, it's like 6000 grit, but that wouldn't dull a drill IMHO.