Started in 1962 as a production machinist and that's where I first used a tap disintegrator. Lot's of broken taps in a big shop like the one I started in.
Moved on to maintenance machinist in a cast iron foundry. Used mostly torches and welded nuts there.
Maintenance machinist in can company, mostly drilled them to body drill size and either pulled out the old thread or ran taps in. Very little welding allowed there.
Became a millwright. Lots of broken bolts there. Mostly drilled out, sometimes heat and tapping with a punch got em.
Back to maintenence machinist in a plastics plant. Again mostly drilling and an occasional nut welding job. Getting hot work permits in that invironment didn't happen often.
Then I retired.
Now it's a no holds barred. Just any way I can.
Success rate with any type E-Z out was never high with me. Broke as many of those as I did taps.
The new one for me is now the Extracalloy, never tried it, but it looks like something I really could have used over the years, thanks for mentioning it. Just called, ouch, $58 a pound, five pound minimum. Sure would have like to tried some.
Don't know what I'll find when I get back up there, still have a lot of irons in the fire, so if it's a rattled out bolt (which I'm hoping for) I'll be tickled and use the loader right away, if not got to get a new CNC plasma cutting going first since it means income.
If not rattled out, it's probably sheared just below the FEL loader mount, so that's a whole new ballgame.
In any event I've got a couple of different metric bolts ready and I'll keep you posted.
Almost forgot, last boss told me he never knew a lathe could do so much.
