Customer Reviews

Alden 8440P Pro Grabit Broken Bolt and Damaged Screw Extractor 4 Piece Kit

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

I recently took down a metal gazebo on my deck. The 2.5" deck screws that held the gazebo in place were stripped and the tops were rusted. I tried every tool I had to remove them and they wouldn't even budge. I was afraid they'd never come out and I'd have to shave them down. After ordering the 4-piece Grabit tool, I read the instructions and within 5 minutes I had extracted all of the deck screws. I was overjoyed!!!

After that, I immediately went inside the house to extract two very small & stripped screws that were in a bedroom wall. It took two turns of stripping and extracting the screws, and then Viola! Worked again!

Best $20 I ever spent on a tool!

TIPS:
A. Use eye protection and gloves. When drilling out the screw, it generates a lot of small metal slivers which can fly out and could get into you eyes. They're small enough to stick into your skin as well, so wear heavy gloves. Make sure you clean-up afterwards or you could step on them.
B. Read the directions. I think some of the other people who reviewed this product didn't read the directions and just tried to muscle it (hence the melted extractor bit).
C. Go S-L-O-W. Use a variable speed drill and go as slow as possible. Also, set the torque on your drill to the most powerful setting so it doesn't "click" when it meets resistance.

Good luck!

I was a little skeptical about this, but had a broken bolt that I needed to extract with few other options. I paid $20 at a local hardware store for a set of two. These things work like a gem! That bolt came right out with no problem when I really thought it wouldn't budge. One note to help out, I found it hard to get the drill bit side to stay centered on the bolt when starting. Using a good center punch might be helpful just to get the bit to stay centered. Overall, I am impressed, these are going on the list for stocking stuffers to friends and family next year.

Not sure what the others that gave this a bad review had problems with. I have owned dozens of other models screw removers, and have never had a single one work, sometimes I had one that would get out 1 screw out of 12.

I have used this set 9 times now, and it worked all 9 times saving me countless headaches and a ton of money from not having to replace entire parts because a screw was rounded off or stripped.

I used this set on 4 sizes of phillips head screws, 2 sizes of hex screws and 2 sizes of slotted screws and worked flawlessly on every type. Maybe the others not using it right? You are supposed to "drill" out the head with one end of the tool, turn it over and then use the removal side, money every time I tried it anyway.

This thing grabs so tight that even my Dewalt impact driver will not let go of the stripped screw even when it is "impacting" to get out those stubborn long screws or rusted in screws.

I was skeptical that this tool would work as advertised.
I am happy to report, that I successfully pulled 5 broken, 3 inch long deck screws from their tomb.
Worked Great !!!!!!!!!
Anyone that has ever put down decking screws knows that you can strip them badly.
Removal was simple - first burnish the screw with one end, and then flip the tool and use the extractor end.
You'll be happy you purchased these bits.

NOTE: When you use the extractor end, put straight, solid pressure on it and go slow. Too fast and you could spin out of it.

So about year and a half ago I hung a 19' flatscreen on the wall in the den. And it was a horrible experience.

You see, whoever the "engineer" was that designed it should be flogged and their engineer credentials shoved up their...

You had to screw two 1/4×3" screws (those are pretty big) into a 2×4 stud in the wall using a hex key. A hex key is the hardest tool to work with, and stripped out the head of the screw about 1/4" away from being tight. That's after pre-drilling the hole. So the whole mount has been loose all this time. And you can't undo it because the hex key stripped out the head. The words coming out of my mouth at the time would have made a truck driver blush.

So it finally came time that I wanted to fix it by doing it right and replace the crappy screws they sent with proper lag bolts you'd install with a socket wrench.

So I bought the Grabit screw extractors. Sure they're late night TV fodder, but figured I'd give it a shot, as the set was cheaper than individual screw extractors at Home Depot.

And they worked wonderfully.

I had those crappy screws removed in about 5 seconds.

Then using a proper method of a socket wrench had the whole thing remounted in about 2 minutes instead of the half hour I spent the first time cussing and yelling.

Anyways, the set of Grabits are [........], and every tool kit should have a set.

I had an entire kitchen full of rusted and stripped screws, all of which needed to be removed and replaced.

The Grabit worked beautifully for me. It was merely a matter of adjusting the torque on my drill and working on each damaged screw slowly and deliberately.

24 out of 24 damaged screws removed ... I consider that a great product.

Whenever I see a product advertised that I think may be useful, I log on to read the product reviews. Grabit was no different, but I didn't really have a use for it at the time. Then I put 8 office chairs together at work, screwed one up, and stripped the screw heads. I ordered Grabit. I got them in the mail in 2 days!! Less than 30 seconds after getting back in to work, both screws were out and I was back in business.

I've NEVER had success with E-Z-Outs - NEVER. So I started out a bit skeptical. Now I'm a big fan. Next I'll try this on the broken bolts on my vintage VW Beetle. Yes, I'll buy more!

First time I used it to extract a broken bolt and the bit broke, lodged firmly inside. Created more work for me, a simple task now made complicated as I could not drill the broken bit out as it was harder then the drill bit I had. Wouldn't dare use it again.

I work construction and needed it for the first time last week to remove some philips head bolts. I used it and the end that drills into the head to extract the bolt stripped instantly. And the bolt hardly budged, so I ended up having to go get my old stand by the easy outs. This may work for small jobs for non gawled screws but for stainless steal bolts that are gawled forget it. Definitly not professional grade!!

so..the short of the story is that these bits will break. or maybe i should say, i had the same issue that many reviewers had w/ this item. i followed the instructions to the T. everything looked like it was going to work, then as the bit was backing out the broken screw from where it was stuck, the bit broke. not only was i left with a screw that was partially removed, now there was a broken bit in the end of the broken screw. and the surrounding area was damaged as when the bit broke it slipped and damaged the area around where the stuck screw was located. this has been the worst purchase i've made in a long time. now i'm stuck w/ a screw i can't drill out because the broken bit is too hard for anything else to drill into..and the damaged will cost me more $$$ to have fixed. perfect...oh, and i have an extractor set that is basically useless w/ a broken extraction head. do yourself a favor..don't buy this.