We have some kind of machine that burns out broken drill bits at work. Not sure how it works...

Well ...tried the punch method, no joy, going to try the welding next.  Had to remove the header thats was fun!  Now I need to do some grinding to get a flat surface.  Have no clue how I'm going to get a washer or nut to stay in place vertically while I weld. I'd include a few pictures but they are all over 1 Meg can't figure out how to compress and upload (I guess thats a different forum?)  Suggestions?

I'd put a dab of silicone on it to hold it in place.

Another update - well, don't know what I was thinking - that I could waltz into the garage set up the MIG rig and weld away!  NOT!  I did get the welder set up and took me a while to learn how to strike and control the arc (I've never welded before!).  Ran out of practice materials so went to the Home Depot for some more so I can continue to practice before I even dare to get the welder near my car.  SO the saga continues....! Here's a pic of the culprit, hope I uploaded it correctly!

http://www.c3vr.com/member_uploads/10001_10100/10002/FZF8D_Broken_bolt.jpg


(huge image converted to live link-aapple)






|UPDATED|5/22/2012 9:28:41 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Just a thought...if your looking for metal to practice welding go to a body shop..tons of scrap go flying out of here every month..

Is that pic of the broken drill bit, or just the broken stud?
Ida no...that's a toughy there...welding a rod, or bolt to the end of that is gunna be hard to do, as small as it is. If you do manage to get something welded to it, heat the block up around that stud boss before trying to twist it out. You might also try tapping around that boss a little with a small hammer, to help break it loose.
If all else fails, you MIGHT be able to use a die-grinder with a carbide burr(cutter), and get right in the center of that thing, and see if you can grind it down....
This is gunna be one of those frustrating situations that you may need to back off of for a while, and then come back later to try something else...

Joel, Thanks for the feedback, you gave me a great idea, what if I were to cut a vertical (or horizontal) slot in the end of the bolt and use a regular or philips screwdriver to back it out?  Remember this was a brand new stud that broke, I already had the old one out, so I do not believe it is seized and I know its not cross threaded.  Here's a pic of the broken ball socket.  Did you resize that  one?  I'll try to make it smaller this time!last

I'm a little confused now...easy enough to do...
Do you have a broken off drill bit in the stud or not? I thought you said in your original post that you had broken a drill bit off in it.
Anyway...you could grind a slot in it...I thought about that too, but don't know about the possibility of getting into the casting there. If that doesn't bother you, then it's definitely worth a shot.

and yeah...I changed the life-sized image to a link in your post above....

Well I think if you never welded before I think I would hire a real good welder to come over to the house and do it, instead of welding a bolt I would weld on a grade 8 nut making sure the first pass was tied in good to both the inside of the stud and nut, IT WILL BE MORE LIKE A PLUG WELD THAN A PASS, fill up the rest of  nut without burning up the nut, let it cool to stone cold, if the treads were clean and not cross treaded  say you prayers and it should come out, mite not hurt to offer the welder a Ben Franklin if it comes out clean, where did that piece of crap stud come from?...BTW FOR THOSE NOT EXPERENCED IN WELDING WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WELDING THE INSIDE OF THE NUT TO THE BROKEN STUD SO THERES NO MISTAKE, ALSO THE INSIDE OF THE NUT IS TO BE SMALLER THAT THE OUTSIDE OF THE BROKEN STUD SO ONE DOES'NT WELD THE NUT TO THE BLOCK BY MISTAKE, 1/2" STUB 3/8" NUT AND SO ON , A GOOD EXPERENT WELDER WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO, GOOD LUCK!!

|UPDATED|5/23/2012 6:52:08 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|