Heat Treatment
Pat Goss of MOTORWEEK Source

No matter what you're working on, if it's been in service a while, sooner or later you're going to end up with a seized nut or bolt or pulley or something like that. Well, lots of times heat is going to be the answer: get it glowing red and it comes right off. One way to do that is with this Mini-Ductor from Induction Innovations, a pretty clever tool. It's flameless and it uses inductive energy to heat the part, comes with a bunch of different adaptors to fit different sizes, and does a great job! But make sure that you follow all the instructions that come with it otherwise you could get yourself in trouble.

But no matter how loose you get that nut or bolt with heat you may still have a problem because when you put the wrench on it, it may be rusted away so that the wrench no longer fits and just spins on it. What do you do then? This is called a Bionic Wrench and the Bionic Wrench has a series of jaws that as you squeeze it the jaws come inward to grab any size of bolt or nut. That means that you don't have to have exactly the right size because this fits them all.
It could get you out of a lot of trouble. They're different sizes and they're highly recommended to have in your toolbox. But maybe you don't have an induction heater. Maybe you need to use old-fashioned flame, a hand held torch or perhaps acetylene torch. That would mean that you would need a Uni-Weld Flame Barrier. This is actually like a blanket that goes on parts that you don't want to get hot. Now what happens here is on the white side of this, it resists the heat, reflects it back and it protects everything underneath it. Now that can get you out of trouble or keep you out of trouble and it's inexpensive, readily available, and if you're ever going to use a torch around an automobile or any type of equipment you should have multiples of these on hand.

 

 

Those are some pretty cool inventions. Thanks for sharing space!

 

 

Kewl post Space. I've used torches in the past to loosen up bolts. Works every time.

 

That induction heating unit is pretty cool, I've never thought about using it for something like that. We do induction heating/hardening at work (20-50 inches diameter, 6-14 feet long)- and I just never thought about much smaller application, much less for breaking nuts loose. Seems like it would be perfect for that if you could easily access the nut becuase you wouldn't have stray flame going everywhere- and you wouldn't have the consumable of using gas either. Cool post!

 

..WoW Bump'in `Chad, you work on some large projects 4-Sure...I really like the Bionic Wrench... I think it's a great invention/tool.....Expensive, but it seems all good tools are today : ( Thanks for your post & what U `do...WoW
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The Bionic Wrench Set
WAS 59.95 NOW 39.95

Winner of a Popular Mechanics Editors Choice award, this is the tool that combines the versatility of an adjustable wrench with the simplicity and ease of use of a pair of pliers, surrounding a bolt or nut on all sides to grasp up to 30X more surface area than typical wrenches or pliers for increased gripping efficiency with reduced effort. The patented six-sided mechanism eliminates guesswork when choosing wrench size, fitting both metric and SAE size bolts, and eliminating stresses normally exerted on the corners of a bolt by standard wrenches, grasping powerfully without slipping or damaging the bolt surface. The cushioned squeeze handle multiplies your hand strength, making it easier to tighten and loosen, and the wrench can be quickly repositioned on a bolt simply by releasing the grip, turning, and re-gripping, allowing you to develop tightening and loosening speed similar to a ratchet. Hardened, cold-rolled steel-laminate construction has a black oxide finish that resists rust, corrosion, and chipping. Set of two: 8" wrench works on SAE sizes 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, and metric sizes 11 to 20 mm. 6" wrench works on SAE sizes 9/16, 1/2, 7/16, 3/16, 5/16, 1/4, and metric sizes 7 to 13 mm. (3/4 lb.)

Sale item quantities are limited — please order early as availability cannot be guaranteed.

 

The MINI-DUCTOR is a 1000 watt hand held induction flameless heat tool that uses electricity (110v). Basic kit comes with one pre-formed coil, one Bearing Buddy (rope) coil, a U-form coil (23" insulated wire) and an owners manual. Makes removal of stuck nuts, bearings and other mechanical hardware and parts easy. See the pdf for more information.

For the tire installer. Many custom wheels are very costly and applying an open flame to a wheel nut is out of the question. With this flameless heat tool seized wheel nuts can be heated in a controlled manner, eliminating the risk of damaging the customer's custom wheels with an open flame.

For the auto technician. Loosening a seized nuts and bolts on the vehicle with an acetylene torch can be risky, due to surrounding parts receiving collateral heat. Using the Mini-Ductor the auto technician to put the heat directly on the part reducing the risk of damaging components nearby.

For the body man. Today's vehicles are assembled with adhesives. As you know, not only body side moldings and decals, but even windows and some body panels are held in place with adhesives. Most body shop operations require R&I of these parts. The Mini-Ductor flameless heat tool empowers the technician to do FAST R&I of any part that is bonded to a metal structure, and in many cases lets you save the part.